Taylor Sheridan’s 6-Word Coldest Sicario Quote Is Still the Gold Standard After 11 Years

Taylor Sheridan is now the king of Paramount+ with his incredible shows like Yellowstone, Lioness, and Mayor of Kingstown, but his journey as a writer began with Sicario. Directed by Denis Villeneuve and starring an ensemble cast of Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya, and Jon Bernthal, the 2015 film was set in a cartel-ridden world.

The film is filled with haunting scenes, but the one golden line near the end of the film takes the cake and proves why Sheridan is a masterful writer. When Del Toro’s Alejandro infiltrates the house of the cartel boss who killed his family, he finds him having dinner with his own. Right after killing everyone Alejandro loves in front of him, Del Toro menacingly says,

Go ahead and finish your meal.

Chills! Absolute chills!

Benicio Del Toro Drops the Hardest Revenge Quote in Sicario

Benicio Del Toro in Sicario | Credits: Lionsgate

Taylor Sheridan is known for his golden words throughout his written works. Yellowstone is filled with quotes that are badass and valuable life lessons. There is a certain melancholy and dark humor attached to them, showing that Sheridan’s worlds are often bleak and filled with people who have faced intense tragedy. Sicario provided the blueprint for this style.

The film follows Emily Blunt’s Kate Macer, a rookie officer who accompanies federal agents into Juarez for a cartel-related arrest. There she sees firsthand the unethical practices of the American government in how they deal with cartels and Mexican immigrants. It is a weird, coming-of-age story set against a world of violence and dr*gs.

The film is pretty dark, with director Denis Villeneuve choosing to make the audience sit in the discomfort and violence. The intense line from Benicio Del Toro’s Alejandro goes alone to confront the cartel boss, Alarcón, who had killed his entire family. Alejandro is armed, and he sees Alarcón having dinner with his family. As the two negotiate, the power rests solely with Alejandro.

Alarcón tries to minimize the destruction by claiming that his killings were never personal and that he should not kill him in front of the boys. Cruelly, Alejandro kills Alarcón’s kids and wife first and then calmly tells him to finish his meal. While the line is said calmly, the situation is dark, and Del Toro seemingly challenges Alarcón with this line, asking him to try to go back to his comfortable life after this tragedy, echoing his own state of mind.

After a few beats, he shoots him. The scene is partly conversed in Spanish, which adds so much depth to the scene.

Taylor Sheridan’s Incredible Writing Will Be Missed in Sicario 3

Taylor Sheridan in Yellowstone | Credits: Paramount

There is a reason why Taylor Sheridan is at the top of his game. Almost all of his shows are at the top of the charts on Paramount+, with his latest shows, Lioness and Marshals, beating out star-studded projects like MobLand. Sheridan’s writing has long appealed to audiences as it explores areas and people that have been underexplored in recent Hollywood cinema and TV.

The writer-filmmaker wrote both Sicario and Sicario 2: Day of Soldado, but will reportedly not be returning for the upcoming threequel. It is especially disappointing because the third film will be reuniting Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro with Emily Blunt again after she skipped the second part. Instead, Steven Knight will be taking over writing duties.

While Knight is a great writer, his Peaky Blinders has similar, darkly ironic moments; his style is still not like Taylor Sheridan’s work. Apart from the scene we just discussed, there are many moments of absolute dread in his writing that are not that easy to replicate. His experience with ranches, Native Americans on reservations, and other frontiers of America gives him particular insight into the lives of the people the films explore.

While Josh Brolin has assured fans that the new duo of Steven Knight and director Padraic McKinley are competent enough to pull it off and that it is too early in the process to doubt anything, Sheridan’s work will definitely be missed in the upcoming film. It was a world he created, and having another writer who has not lived in the world like Sheridan did would always have a bit of distance from it.

Do you think Taylor Sheridan should return for Sicario 3? Comment below.