WARNING: This review contains MAJOR spoilers for the Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 premiere
Well, they did it. Theykilled off John Dutton. InYellowstoneseason 5 part 2’s opening moments, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilley) arrives at the Governor’s Mansion in Helena, Montana to a crime scene, the driveway cordoned off and an ambulance waiting outside. When Kacey Dutton (Luke Grimes) shows up, he forces his way into the house so that he and Beth can see John’s body on the bathroom floor, a gun mere inches from his hands. It looks like suicide, though Beth knows right away that her brother Jamie (Wes Bentley) is behind it.
Cast
So begins what is said to be thefinal batch of episodes forYellowstone, Taylor Sheridan’s universe-launching neo-Western that may or may not be ending later this year. It’s been a long road up to this point — the first part of season 5 bowed in 2022, but significant delays caused a two-year gap between episodes and, though the 2023 Hollywood strikes were a huge part of this delay, it’sKevin Costner’s exit fromYellowstonethat will be on everyone’s minds now that the new episodes have premiered.
John Dutton’s Death Sets The Stage For Yellowstone’s Endgame
The Season 5 Part 2 Premiere Is In Between Two Eras
The newYellowstoneepisode takes place over two timelines, one set in the immediate aftermath of John’s death and one six weeks before, roughly where the last episode left off. It makes for an odd premiere, one that splits its time between waxing poetic about the death of the cowboy and wrestling with what happens next for the Dutton family.
It’s fitting for what the show itself has become — the dying figurehead of an expanding empire that has changed the television landscape. Even asYellowstonecomes to a close (for now),Sheridan’s television universecontinues to yield more entries. How that will play into these episodes remains to be seen. Rumors of a Beth and Rip spinoff and/or continuation have circulated in recent months, though nothing has been confirmed, likely to maintain secrecy about how things will shake out for the Dutton family.
Why Yellowstone Had No Choice But To Do That Kevin Costner’s John Dutton Twist
Yellowstone’s return doesn’t waste any time explaining John Dutton III’s fate. Sad as it may be, the show didn’t have a choice about the matter.
Right about now, it’s looking pretty grim. With John off the map, there’s a power vacuum in Montana and several parties are looking to take his place. Beth is the one most likely to carry on her father’s legacy, at least when it comes to the business side of things. She spends most of the episode grieving and contemplating revenge, herCold War with Jamieevolving into a full-blown battle of wills.
It seems Jamie may not be up to the task. When he finds out that John is dead, he doesn’t even realize it was thanks, in part, to his girlfriend’s doings. He is shocked that she follows through on the idea of killing John at all, bringing into question his ability to see through what he started. It’s no surprise that the cowardly Dutton sibling responds in this way, and it hints at a future loss inJamie’s ongoing war with Beth.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 Narrows Its Focus
But Can It Maintain This Momentum?
One of the biggest criticisms againstYellowstonehas been its lack of focus. Partly a bug of Sheridan’s writing and partly just the nature of such a sprawling series,Yellowstonehas had a history of picking up and dropping stories left and right.John Dutton’s death, though, is not something that can just be dropped. It fundamentally alters the fabric of the series, ensuring that every single one of its characters will be enveloped in this mess.
There was plenty to put a bow on before dealing with the real meat of the season, and it seems this renewed focus will give Sheridan and crew that final push to endYellowstonewith a bang.
It’s unclear if the series will maintain the split timeline format going forward, or if this was just a product of Costner’s exit. It’s hard not to see the goings-on in Texas as leftovers from what Sheridan originally envisioned the back half of this season to be, which acts as both a meditation on cowboys and a setup for the futureTexas-setYellowstonespinoff6666.But all of that is eclipsed by John’s death and the impending fallout.
Regardless of your feelings about how John died, it’s hard to deny that Costner’s exit might have been the best thing to happen toYellowstonein quite some time. It feels like anything could happen in these final six episodes. The board has been reset and, as the dust settles, new battle lines will be drawn. That this episode was slow isn’t surprising. There was plenty to put a bow on before dealing with the real meat of the season, and it seems this renewed focus will give Sheridan and crew that final push to endYellowstonewith a bang.
Yellowstoneseason 5 will continue with five more episodes, which will be released weekly every Sunday on the Paramount Network.
Yellowstone
Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, led by patriarch John Dutton, as they defend their expansive ranch against external threats from land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first national park. Released on August 22, 2025, this series examines the complex dynamics and violent conflicts surrounding the largest contiguous ranch in the United States.
