'Yellowstone' Recap: Love It When a Plan Comes Together
The following story contains spoilers for Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, "Give The World Away."
WELL, WELL, WELL. With two episodes left, Yellowstone is barreling toward its (potential) grand finale. As the hawks circle the Yellowstone ranch looking for taxes, airports, and the culprit behind John Dutton’s death, it seems that all is lost for the Yellowstone ranch.
But that may not be the case after all.
But before we get into that, we must pick up the pieces after last week’s bonkers episode. Kayce’s trip down to Texas seems to have cemented the safety of the Dutton family from assassins unseen, but that doesn’t account for Jamie, who seems to be in total free fall following the death of Sarah Atwood. This week, the Duttons sell everything they own to cover the taxes to pay for the Yellowstone ranch, but what follows could change the landscape of this storied land forever.
Read on for the recap of season 5, episode 11, “Give the World Away.”
Everything (and Everyone) Must Go
It’s a fire sale! This week’s episode opens up with Beth taking stock of the ranch as the Duttons prepare to sell as much as possible to conjure up some money to hold onto the Yellowstone. Rip even tells Ryan that the Yellowstone as they know it is about to change – after the auction, he’s only keeping Lloyd and Carter around. Everyone else has to find new work. The battle for the land isn’t just being felt by the Duttons either. Across the way, Rainwater and Mo stand looking over the land as pipelines are being laid, destroying the land that Broken Rock has been robbed of for generations.
Teeter, Ryan, and the rest of the ranch hands return from Texas to see most of the Yellowstone ranch torn apart. On top of that, Teeter and Ryan are reeling after the death of Colby, heading to the bunkhouse to reflect on their fallen loved one. Lloyd comes in and presents Teeter with Colby’s hat, telling her that he didn’t let them take everything of his before she got back. She puts his hat on and holds it close before joining everyone else out on the ranch.
Party Like It’s 1989
Beth takes matters into her own hands when it comes to the ranch’s future. On a trip down to Texas, she goes on the hunt for Travis Wheatley (Taylor Sheridan), who runs the Bosque Ranch. He is, naturally, surrounded by women who have largely lost a game of strip poker when Beth interrupts him for a word. She has gone down to put pressure on Travis as he attempts to sell horses on behalf of Rip and the Duttons. He wraps the deal up for a prized stallion, bringing in three million dollars, and then we get a big rundown of how insanely expensive it is to buy a prized horse while Travis and all of his lady friends get naked in the pool, or, as Beth says, “party like it’s 1989.”
Travis’s antics are impressive enough though that Beth asks Travis to come to the Yellowstone auction and show off his cowboy skills to help move the ranch’s assets. He says he will if Beth will play him in a game of strip poker, and shockingly, she agrees. As she begins to strip after losing the hand, Travis tells her that he’s Rip’s friend and he’ll come anyway, which sends Beth into a rage. You know, for a woman who says she doesn’t care about this ranch at all, she sure seems willing to do a lot for it.
Jamie’s Final Stand
Oh, in case you were wondering about Jamie, his life is spiralling harder now than it ever has… which is saying something, because I’m not sure Jamie has been in a good spot since this show started. As news of Sarah Atwood’s death reverberates across Montana, the media publicly reveals that Jamie and Sarah had an intimate relationship and that Jamie stood to benefit from the land deal put into place after John’s murder. In a rage, Jamie calls Beth and threatens to reveal all of the family secrets, but Beth is surprisingly unbothered, telling him that she’s not worried, as she takes a sip of Tito’s on her private jet.
Panicked, Jamie goes to visit Christina who works with him to help him escape the ramifications of (checks notes) being complicit in his father’s murder. She says that the only reason she’s helping him is because they share a child, then tells him that he needs to open an investigation into both Sarah and John’s murders, ultimately connecting Sarah to John’s murder and hanging the blame on Sarah’s corpse.
Death and Taxes
On auction day, Kayce gets the news that the coroner’s office is ready to release John’s body. Monica tells her husband and Beth that she will make the arrangements to bring John’s body to the Yellowstone, sparing them the heartache of doing so. Beth says they’ll have his funeral after the auction is finished. And thus, steer by steer and stud by stud, each piece of the Yellowstone is put up for sale.
As the night ends, Beth has a surprisingly sweet conversation with Senator Perry. She invites her to come to John’s funeral, considering their long history together. Continuing on her kindness tour, Beth seeks out Teeter next to talk with her about Colby. As she explains to Rip, women don’t talk to men about their problems because they only try to fix them. And Teeter’s problem can’t be fixed. Her solution for Teeter? 'You want to get drunk with me and fuck with a lot of out of towners?' Women supporting women. For the record, only Beth can pull off the kind of quick snark Beth can deploy.
The next day, the final tally comes in and it seems the assets come to a staggering 30 million bucks, but the Yellowstone is left with none of the horses or cattle that made it a ranch. Kayce makes Beth promise not to use her money to try and save their home. She makes him promise the same. But then Kayce has a follow up for Beth – a business question. If she were to sell him her car worth 300,000 dollars for only a buck, and she does so… and then he registered it, how much would we have to pay in taxes? She tells him the tax is based on the amount he paid for it. He smiles and says, 'That’s what I thought.'
He begins to drive away and Beth stares out and whispers, 'Why didn’t I think of that?' She runs after his car, leans in, and kisses her brother on the cheek. It turns out… the Yellowstone may not be dead yet.
Notes from the Train Station:
Beth having Jamie saved in her phone as “fucktard” is really proof that no matter how much character development Beth has seen over five seasons, Beth is gonna Beth.
'When you’re done violating every fucking workplace harassment law in existence, I’d like a word' is exactly what you say when you walk up on Taylor Sheridan’s strip poker tournament.
Listen. If this really is the penultimate episode of Yellowstone, we’ve spent a lot of time with Travis.
I’m glad the ranch hands have gotten a nice sign off. They even brought back Jimmy, Emily, and Laramie the barrel racer!
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