Paramount’s hit series, Yellowstone, is one of the most impactful shows on television — wowing audiences worldwide and telling an absolutely captivating story about family, respect, and ultimately love.
The Dutton family owns the Yellowstone-Dutton Ranch, and the fight for their land is unending, which means as a family, they’ve got to be a tight unit. They have to know where one ends, and another begins, where one ebbs and the other flows; they rely on one another in an almost otherworldly way.
So when fans began to notice that there were bonds that were not as close as others, cracks began to appear within the family. One of those bonds is that of Jamie and Beth, Dutton siblings who were about as far from cordial as you could get.
In fact, it was quickly evident that Beth hated Jamie with a passion that burned far beyond an average amount of disdain. So why exactly does Beth hate Jamie? It’s something fans asked themselves for several seasons.
A straightforward answer to this question isn’t exactly an easy thing to give. With the Duttons, family is everything — it’s all about loyalty and respect for your people. Even when they don’t like one another, their love for each other and the Dutton name can usually be enough to tame any fire.
That’s not the case with Beth and Jamie, the hate she has for him comes from a place of pain — and you can’t placate a pain that deep.
Of course, a moment started it all, and it was a heartbreaking revelation for fans in July of 2020.
The Ultimate Betrayal
Jamie and Beth have always had differences, but a specific moment in their history changed the course of their future. The “Cowboys and Dreamers” episode told the story of the tipping point in their relationship.
Beth found out she was pregnant when she was just 15 years old, and she went to Jamie to ask for help. Jamie’s big idea was to take Beth to a health clinic outside of town — specifically, on an Indian Reservation, so as not to attract attention and remain anonymous. Their father and his colleagues wouldn’t know what was happening if they were outside their realm of knowledge.
There was another level to the visit, and it was where the betrayal came from. When Jamie went inside to ask about the procedure for Beth, he was told that the termination of pregnancy would be a two-part procedure — it was also mandatory that they sterilize their patients.
Jamie said it was fine without consulting Beth and sent her inside none the wiser. Beth’s pregnancy was ended, but so was her ability to have children in the future — something that caused her pain and heartache for years to come.
That pain and heartache didn’t just cause irreparable damage between the siblings; it caused Beth to lose a type of relationship with herself.
This is something we recognize in Beth before this episode and is highlighted later in the series. Beth finds the happily ever after she so tried to push away. She found love and romance, a yearning for a family of her own, and she finds herself questioning whether or not she is enough for Rip because she can’t bear his children.
It’s hard to watch as we see Beth be vulnerable with the love of her life as she explains that she can’t have a child with him. While Rip isn’t concerned with that, you can tell it’s still a worry she carries deep within her.
Of course, Jamie didn’t just hurt her once; he’s continued to break her trust and make decisions that weren’t right for the family name — something Beth desperately tries to protect.
Each time Jamie betrays the family, lets someone down, or otherwise embarks on a walk outside the Dutton path, Beth is the first to call him on it. She’s the first to take him down a notch, and she’s the one to rain all over his parade and revel in it.
Beth and Jamie have a relationship that is, at this point, almost unfixable — but the truth is, some wounds prove too painful to forgive and forget. There might be a day that Beth chooses to give Jamie grace once more, but that day certainly isn’t today — and tomorrow’s not looking too good for him either.
The great Dutton family story unfolds in the first four seasons of Yellowstone streaming on Peacock, with the fifth on the way later this year.