How does Yellowstone season 5 cope without its leading man? Well, Taylor Sheridan is not shy of ideas. Spoilers.
“Should we watch the whole thing?”
I’m glad that Paramount issued a proper recap at the start of Yellowstone season 5’s return. For reasons related to drama off the screen rather than on it, we’ve been waiting nearly two years for the fifth season of the show to begin its second tranche of episodes. Now they’re here, Kevin Costner isn’t, and in truth, a lot’s happened in my life since. If you’re testing me on what’s happened in season five so far, I won’t be winning any prizes.
55 minutes, then, is what the returning episode ‘Desire Is All You Need’ gives itself to a) keep the story going forward and b) try and pretend lots of us have forgotten everything that happened in the last episode. That and c) working out how they’re going to get around the fact that the main character, John Dutton, won’t be appearing.
Here come the spoilers.
Start then with lots of tears and shocked faces, with a smattering of flashing blue lights. Luke Grimes’ Kayce and Keilly Reilly’s Beth are left staring at a gun on the floor next to a body. Is it Dutton? Did show overlord Taylor Sheridan really get so angry with Costner that he offed him and killed off any road back even before the starting credits?
The episode spent a good few minutes implying that, certainly. Governor John Dutton’s impeachment hearing was due to begin, we learn, but what’s this? Television news reporters are actively speculating he’s dead. My memory of the last episode though was him riding away, and not expecting to return in a hurry. I had the residual memory too of the character once being diagnosed with cancer, and with all the toing and froing behind the scenes, I think a few of us expected that storyline to return.
But no.
It was then left to Wes Bentley and his terse face to all but confirm the key news (although it’s Beth that pretty much confirms it).
The moral of the story is clear: don’t piss Taylor Sheridan off. He can get rid of you in 12 minutes flat. Cut then to the opening credits starting with Costner’s name still at the top of them, even as his character’s death is discussed. Add in a line a little later: “this land don’t care enough about you to be cruel. They just forget you. Forget you til you disappear.”
Ouch.
It’s a hell of a spanner in the works for a series whose narrative hasn’t been too short of them over the last years. What now happens to the ranch now that John Dutton is out of the picture? The power games that have underpinned the show are shifting at speed, even if – after an explosive start – we’re then taken back six weeks.
In effect, the recap part of the episode.
Cole Hauser’s Rip doesn’t want more than one person to pat his animal (although my favourite moment with him here was his little game of ‘nobody talks’), Beth knocks back a bit of booze on her community service whilst smoking a fag. Kayce, Monica and once-kidnapped Tate look like they’ve found a new home. Jamie’s been having a sexual relationship with Sarah Atwood That’s roughly where we are.
In terms of moving things forward, Sarah Atwood is the ignition. She walks into a very posh, cold office, with strong implications over how John Dutton actually died. And a mysterious ‘fixer’ style figure in the room. There’s a plan here clearly, that’s got ramifications for anyone with ‘Dutton’ in their name. As Sarah points out, nobody’s buying that John Dutton will have committed suicide, so it seems we’ve got as much a murder mystery to contend with, as well as the broader story of where the Yellowstone ranch itself will end up. Plus, another person who talks economically, who initially has to look sinister, is introduced to the ensemble. Box ticked.
There’s time too to squeeze in Gil Birmingham’s Chief Thomas Rainwater to talk about oil pipelines and hills to die on (and then he’s gone again). Just to make sure all the moving parts are in place for wherever this is all ultimately going. But also, time for a bit of a sing song about the coming to the end of the cowboy era, while soaking in the glorious landscape. One of the things I’ve always liked about Yellowstone is its willingness to stop and have a look around, which is just what it did as we headed to the episode’s end.
Quite what the ultimate endpoint of all of this is remains up for a little bit of debate. Rumour suggests that negotiations are ongoing for a season six, but also, I’d imagine there’s some bet-hedging required to get us to a possible end point in five episodes’ time (there are six episodes including this one to complete season five of the show).
Wherever it goes, Wes Bentley’s Jamie might just be carrying a bulk of the weight. By the time the episode concludes, he’s been confronted with a) Sarah in her pants (British meaning of the word) and b) the implications of his actions. The evil finale in this twisted game of thrones might just see Jamie wrestling with some cows, although as is also established, Beth – assuming everything is as it appears – is already on his case.
18 months on then, this may not have been how Taylor Sheridan originally envisaged his Yellowstone story to go. But his star character is dead, the security cameras weren’t working, and a family whose Christmas dinners were never the most cordial are now set on yet another collision course. An efficient 55-minutes, then. 12 minutes of setting off fireworks, and then a whole lot of time preparing the next lot…
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