No element of Yellowstone has proven as volatile or consistently gripping as Beth vs Jamie Dutton. And that’s all thanks to the wild chemistry of actors Kelly Reilly and Wes Bentley.
Now, that’s all set to end prematurely, something Bentley says he’s got mixed feelings about. It still feels a strong, sudden loss for audiences, too, and that’s because it is. Season 5 was in no way meant to be the end for the most popular show on television ahead of equally volatile behind-the-scenes drama this year.
Regardless, ending the franchise’s flagship means no more Dutton sibling feuds – the one element that has drawn audiences into a truly powerful love/hate relationship with Yellowstone and the Duttons above all others. And while television will be far less magnetic without Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley) duking it out, it’s actually their central feud that makes Yellowstone Season 5 the absolute perfect finale.
The first 8 episodes brought grand new layers to this feud, what with Beth finding out about Jamie’s child and then her father’s murder-dumping-grounds (see: Yellowstone‘s infamous Train Station) from him, too. The former also brought the first true “will they reconcile?” feelings for audiences in years as Beth took in what it meant for her brother, adopted or not, to be a new father. But it was that big Train Station reveal that put the wind back in Jamie’s sails after that would-be bonding turned sour (again).
“I think that revelation of John not trusting her with everything means Jamie has something on her. He sees for the first time in a long time that feeling in her, and it’s an empowering moment that opens the floodgate for Jamie,” Bentley tells The Hollywood Reporter in his latest interview.
We’ll miss Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley and this beloved cast, but there’s no way to top what’s coming
“He has more power in this dynamic than he has been realizing. And it’s not physical. He’s not going to beat her physically. He’s tried and given up, so he’s trying with information. I think that gave him power and him having power on her for the first time in years is invigorating in a toxic way. And I think that feeling will carry on in their relationship,” Bentley adds.
And so it will come to blows as it always does with these two. With these gaps in knowledge finally closed, though… What else is there that these two could possibly fight about?
The answer will always be “their father,” John (Kevin Costner). But Costner is 100% out no matter what happens with this franchise, thanks to that BTS drama. So as Beth and Jamie definitively chose sides for or against their father in the Season 5 mid-season finale, the Dutton family drama reached its peak. The ultimate climax is being set up. Someone – whether it’s John, Beth, Jamie, or all three – is going to die.
Could Yellowstone ever top this? Could the show’s central focus – the conflict between these three wildly damaged characters – ever move on from one of the nuclear family being maliciously responsible for the other’s death?
Well, yes, because Taylor Sheridan knows how to write himself out of a corner. But would audiences buy it? Probably not. And so the perfect finale Yellowstone Season 5’s second half will become.
‘I think a lot about working with Kelly because it’s one of the most special experiences I’ve had in my whole career… But, it’s also so hard to yell at each other and hurt each other like that.’
“I think a lot about working with Kelly because it’s one of the most special experiences I’ve had in my whole career,” Bentley reflects of their work together over the past six years.
“We’ve really hammered something in here, and it keeps getting deeper. There’s so much nuance in every scene; we keep pushing each other further apart and there’s something so fascinating about playing that.”
“Even on days when we’re not fighting and other people are around and we’re just picking at each other, it’s still the prevalent thing in the scene for me,” he continues for THR.
“But, it’s also so hard to yell at each other and hurt each other like that. The feeling of degradation I have to go through and her being heartless; it’s hard on us to get through the day. And so we do it and we laugh at each other, and poke a little fun at each other, and we also congratulate each other on giving it for a whole day, a whole scene.”
This, as Bentley realizes himself, is “Something that is vital to the show.”
That’s an understatement, too. It’s also exactly why Yellowstone ending after Season 5 – despite all the shock and drama – feels right somehow.
And the more Bentley thinks about it, “the more I really am appreciative and thankful I’ve had that experience with her. And the writing from Taylor for all of us, these are dreams come true.”