Where Does 'Yellowstone' Go From Here?
Yellowstone's future is wildly unclear. As the Western drama wraps its fifth season, Paramount Network has already hoisted several potential spin-offs in the air. Audiences may even see a season 6 if enough cast members want to remain with the series. There’s just one important character who saw his final Yellowstone episode this past weekend. If you missed it, we’re reaching into spoiler territory now—and this is a big one. I would reckon it’s probably best if you didn’t hear it from me first. Yellowstone killed John Dutton.
Without Kevin Costner, it’s tough to figure out where the series heads next. The show’s leading patriarch is a major factor in the success of Yellowstone. Plus, the way in which Yellowstone axed his character occurred rather unceremoniously. In season 5’s big return, John Dutton’s children Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce (Luke Grimes) find him in his bathroom after apparently committing suicide. Yellowstone quickly reveals that he was murdered, following Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Sarah Atwood’s (Dawn Olivieri) plot to take the Governor’s seat and seize his land in one fell swoop.
Where does the series head from here? Yellowstone audiences now find themselves following a cycle of revenge. The Dutton children will seek vengeance for the death of their father, and I wouldn’t be surprised if only a few Yellowstone characters make it out alive. Let’s make a few predictions based on all the new information we learned in the season 5, part 2 premiere.
Sarah Atwood Is Done For
Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan pinned John Dutton’s death on Sarah Atwood, of all people. After countless villains and threats against his family, John Dutton meets his end by the hand of Market Equities’ fixer. It’s an odd choice, but it’s what we must live with for now. Killing John Dutton also means you most likely face a fate even worth death once his children have their revenge. She’s villain number one now.
“I need Sarah Atwood to meet her end in the most dramatic way possible,” one Reddit user commented, with another chiming in, “I would like to see Beth slit her throat.” I think the Yay’s have it on this one.
Jamie Could Meet His End as Well
If there’s any saving grace for Jamie, it’s that he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger. The sibling rivalry between Beth and Jamie has propelled Yellowstone for all of season 5 while Sheridan cast John off to do his Governor duties... A.K.A. film Horizon. Still, no one really knows how this story will end for Beth or Jamie. I’d say Beth has a way higher chance of surviving this series than Jamie does—especially since Paramount reportedly asked Kelly Reilly to return in the future.
Justice for Jamie?
"Jamie should outlast all the members of the Dutton family," one sympathetic Yellowstone fan commented on Reddit. "He's been treated like a bastard by them his whole life. The Duttons are an evil murderous family and have used him to clean up a lot of their messes legally while also using him as a punching bag."
Anything’s possible for Jamie—even this.
The Yellowstone Ranch Passes to Tate
Strong foreshadowing in season 5’s latest episode suggested that Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) could become the last cowboy to take John’s place. At the same time, Beth mentions that the family trust leaves everything to John’s grandson, Tate (Brecken Merrill). Season 5 will need to brush audiences up on Tate’s character for such an ending to hold significant weight, but it’s possible that Rip and Beth run the ranch in some capacity until Tate is old enough to step into John's shoes.
Taylor Sheridan Comes Out on Top
As one Reddit user pointed out, "With John gone, Beth can set up the beef packing business." John Dutton's daughter wanted to sell their cattle to Taylor Sheridan's character, Travis, in the first half of season 5. That's partly why John sent us all his cattle to Texas after a disease threatened to kill them all. Is it possible that the end of Yellowstone finds Sheridan the king of Costner's old domain?
All I know is that Sheridan better spill on who in the hell the Clyburns are somewhere along the way, because the upcoming Yellowstone sequel series doesn’t make much sense just yet. If you’re looking for answers there, anything’s fair game.
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