The final installment of Yellowstone couldn’t come fast enough. Now with the writers’ and actors’ strikes delaying its release even further, it’s likely that the neo-Western drama won’t come until 2024 at the earliest. In the meantime, we’ve compiled Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 theories around your favorite characters, from Jamie and Beth to Mr. Dutton himself. Read on for what we think will happen in the series finale below.
Yellowstone is Paramount Network’s drama series following the Dutton family, the owners of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, also known as “The Yellowstone,” the largest ranch in Montana. The series premiered in 2018 and stars Kevin Costner as patriarch John Dutton III. Yellowstone revolves around the family’s drama at the ranch with the nearby Broken Rock Indian Reservation, wealthy land developers and more.
Yellowstone Season 5, Part 1, aired from November 2022 to January 2023. The second part of Season 5 was slated to return a few months later, but due to a series of events — including Costner’s drama with creator Taylor Sheridan, as well as the writers’ and actors’ strikes — the release date is now in limbo. Nevertheless, Sheridan and Paramount have assured fans that they will eventually get an end to the Yellowstone saga and a sequel series starring Matthew McConaughey (whether Costner is involved or not).
Below, check out some of our Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 theories, including what we think will go down with John Dutton, Beth, the ranchers and more.
1. John Dutton will get killed off
With the news that Kevin Costner is exiting the series, John Dutton’s death in Season 5, Part 2 is becoming more and more likely. In June 2023, Sheridan hinted to The Hollywood Reporter that John was never going to be around for the very end of the show, so Costner’s lack of participation doesn’t change too much. He was even asked specifically whether the show’s leading man would be axed. “I don’t do [beep]-you car crashes,” Sheridan said (referring to Shonda Rhimes killing of McDreamy in Grey’s Anatomy). “Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling.”
What we do know is that the headstrong ranch owner isn’t going to give up his land without a fight. There are plenty of cowboys who would take a bullet for John, like his right-hand Rip or longtime friend Llyod, but this battle is perhaps one that he’ll need to face on his own, leading to the ultimate sacrifice like the Duttons that have come before him – death. And because Costner is reportedly no longer under contract for the show, there’s a good chance his death will be an off-screen one.
2. Beth will take Jamie to the train station (or vice versa)
In Season 5, Part 2, estranged siblings Beth and Jamie Dutton have waged war against each other after their seasons-long feud. Beth mentioned to her father that she wants Jamie to go to the train station (aka get killed and dumped off a cliff), while Jamie expressed to Sarah that he wanted to murder his sister and have someone do it for him.
Perhaps Beth will finally tell Rip about what happened when they were kids (when Beth was pregnant with Rip’s child as a teen and Jamie took her to the clinic that left her unable to conceive) and he will be the one to kill Jamie. Or Jamie might get to him first with the help of Sarah’s evil associates.
In February 2023, Bentley told Entertainment Weekly about what could happen with the estranged siblings moving forward. “We’ve got something coming. We’re both threatening each other now in some serious ways,” Bentley revealed. “It’s a mystery to me too where it’s going. I just know this is an inflection point….Something major will come of this moment between Jamie and Beth. This is kind of the final straw. He didn’t much how much Beth was really fed up with him until really recently, and I think that is now flipped a switch in Jamie that he feels similarly.”
3. Kayce, Monica and Tate take over the Yellowstone Ranch
Out of all the Dutton siblings, Kayce is the clear frontrunner when it comes to taking over the ranch if his father passes. After all, he was the Livestock Commissioner in Season 3, which has been under Dutton family ownership for six generations, proving time and time again that Kayce can protect his family and Montana. We can definitely see Kayce, Monica and Tate moving into the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, especially as Monica lets go of her resentment toward John.
However, in an interview with Kayce’s portrayer Luke Grimes, the actor told People in June 2023 that he’s not getting too attached as to what may happen to his character. “Here’s the thing with Yellowstone and my character: Hope doesn’t happen,” he explained. “I just learned to take it as it comes, and that’s it,” Grimes explained.
4. Summer Higgins will get caught in the crossfire
Some fans are convinced that Summer (Piper Perabo) – the environmentalist who became John Dutton’s lover in Season 4 – may become collateral damage in an assassination attempt against Beth. Seven months ago, a Reddit thread titled, “Summer will be killed by Jamie’s hitman instead of Beth,” caught the attention of fans. In the thread, the user @ingrahamtx wrote: “Since Summer is living in the main house, I really think Jamie’s hitman will mistakenly kill her instead of Beth. That is the only reason I can see why she is in John’s house other than she is a convenient piece for John’s enjoyment now that the ex-Governor has moved on. I can’t see Beth getting killed just yet.”
After Dutton helped get her prison sentence commuted in Season 5, Summer was released under house arrest and is staying at the Yellowstone Ranch. So there is a real possibility that if Jamie sends a killer to John’s house, they could mistake Beth for Summer. “Oh I could see that…,” another Reddit user said in response. “Interesting theory. Killing the wrong person isn’t exactly what professional hit men do. But I could see it,” another Reddit user added. Meanwhile, another Reddit user said it’s something that Sheridan has orchestrated before. “It’s also something Taylor Sheridan has done before in Sons of Anarchy,” @Fincadin penned about the FX show. “When Opie’s wife was killed during an attempted hit on Opie.”
5. Ranchers will move to the 6666 ranch
Two big mysteries are how Sheridan is going to set up his two sequels: 6666 and the untitled sequel starring Matthew McConaughey. For the former, one of our theories revolves around the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. Paramount previously said that the show will explore the legendary ranch and its long history. “Founded when Comanches still ruled West Texas, no ranch in America is more steeped in the history of the West than the 6666.
Still operating as it did two centuries before, and encompassing an entire county, the 6666 has inspired a new scripted series where the rule of law and the laws of nature merge in a place where the most dangerous thing one does is the next thing,” the statement said, according to TV Guide.If you remember in Season 4 of Yellowstone, Jimmy was sent to the Four Sixes to become a real cowboy. He fell in love with Emily and decided to stay instead of return to the Yellowstone ranch. Jimmy and his girlfriend returned for the Season 5 midseason finale, and the ranchers (led by Rip) were last seen taking a journey to the Four Sixes to save their cattle, which could also be a nod to the new spinoff.
As for the Matthew McConaughey spin-off, it was previously thought that some of the original cast from Yellowstone will be moving to the sequel. However, Sheridan has recently said that may not be the case. “My idea of a spinoff is the same as my idea of a prequel — read into that what you will,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. Prequels like 1883 and 1923 feature an all-new cast, leaving little hope that we’ll see some of our favorites again after Yellowstone ends with Season 5.