Happy Saturday, Yellowstone fans; we’re just one day away from the two-hour season five premiere of everyone’s favorite cowboy drama, and we’ve never been more excited to get back to the ranch. The Dutton family is up against their most formidable enemy yet. While each character is fighting their own evil, it’s the overarching devastation that looms over the family and the ranch that is most pressing. Ahead of the season debut tomorrow, showrunner Taylor Sheridan is talking about the series as a whole and the importance of its storytelling, while Kevin Costner is sharing insight into the heart and soul of John Dutton. As always, we’re giving you the final recap of season four, summing up the last two episodes before we tiptoe into the fifth season and all of its joy and excitement. You know the drill from here, grab your Yellowstone-loving bestie and your drink of choice because we’re riding in.
Taylor Sheridan gives fans a different take on Yellowstone
Showrunner Taylor Sheridan is opening up about comments regarding the type of series Yellowstone is and who its target audience may be. Ahead of the season five premiere, he notes that he’s heard the chatter about the genre of the show he’s producing and the depths he ensures the characters dive into as they’re telling the story. Talking to The Atlantic, Sheridan says the following:
“They refer to it as ‘the conservative show’ or ‘the Republican show’ or ‘the red-state Game of Thrones, and I just sit back laughing. I’m like, ‘Really?’ The show’s talking about the displacement of Native Americans and the way Native American women were treated and about corporate greed and the gentrification of the West and land-grabbing. That’s a red-state show?”
Sheridan’s stories are layered, telling the tale from multiple points of view. Still, he’s not fighting anyone on their opinion but rather giving them a different idea of what he’s trying to introduce into the genre.
Kevin Costner on becoming John Dutton
Kevin Costner is also talking about Yellowstone ahead of the season five premiere, and he’s giving more insight into the nature of his character and the inspiration behind the series — allowing us a deeper look at the patriarch of the ranch we know and love.
Talking to the Associated Press, Costner explained how he sees John Dutton as a man, a reluctant politician, and someone who knows the value of having the upper hand.
“He’s not naive. He’s no politician in the sense that he wants to collaborate. I think he’s capable of hearing the best idea, but he’s not looking for middle ground. It’s not how he’s conducted his life. What’s maybe good for his ranch might be good for all the rest of the ranches in Montana as well — the preservation of a way of life, less expansion. His ranch is highlighted, he says it out loud. But I think he sees this working for other ranchers.”
In addition to describing John Dutton, he also shared his thoughts about the relevance of Sheridan’s vision when the series when it was first presented to him.
“I thought it had a chance to be relevant, in that this work is still going on in America and most people kind of take it for granted how stuff ends up at their dinner table. We intuitively know, and we don’t really know. The show is able to highlight at times the beauty of ranching, and it certainly talks about how difficult it is. We’re set in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I think the idea of mountains and rivers captured people’s imagination. But it’s a working ranch. It’s how it’s still done. I think it spoke well of that, with its kind of heightened sense of drama.”
Costner isn’t the only one who recognizes the importance of telling the story of the American landowner, rancher, and provider. Everyone associated with the series can see the value in opening up about the difficulties and the beautiful moments that those who work from sunup to sundown experience. It’s not easy work, but it’s “one hell of a life,” as John Dutton tells us on more than one occasion.
Approaching the same type of conversation as Sheridan, Costner also talked about the Native American stories and characters in the series. He spoke about how everything they had has been stripped away and how the behavior of those who took it is brutal to watch, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t still happening.
“I think they show it’s all complicated. For them, everything has been stripped away, and they’ve had this little niche called gambling and even that’s being nibbled at, being pawed over. Anytime there’s money, there’s going to be disputes no matter what culture you’re dealing with. So you see power plays inside the Native American community. You see ambition, you see selfishness. It’s really normal behavior. We might flinch at it, we might be embarrassed by it, but it exists on all levels. The political machinations of what happens on the rez (reservation) are equal to what happens on our national stage. There’s bitterness, there’s resentment. There’s good ideas, there’s bad ideas. So who gets left in the lurch? Generally speaking, it’s the people.”
Costner notes that everything we’re seeing on the series is happening all around us, if we’re willing to open our eyes and see it for what it is.
Yellowstone recap: season four episodes 9 and 10
Yellowstone’s fourth season ended with a bang, but it wasn’t the kind of heart-stopping exit we were given when the third season drew to a close. Lives weren’t hanging in the balance this time, but things were changing. Jamie made a life-altering decision to stay in the good graces of the Dutton family, and as we see him take the life of his biological father, we know that there are two ways for the story to unfold from here.
Beth takes a photo of Jamie as he takes him to the train station, and the look on Jamie’s face is one we haven’t seen before. Beth has held things over his head before, but nothing like this. These episodes also show the results of Kayce’s emotional vision quest and that infamous six-word phrase that has left us on pins and needles. We’re not sure what heartbreaking end he saw, but we know it’ll be a tear-inducing turn of events once it begins to unfold.
Jimmy continues to flourish with his new love interest and learned skills at the 6666 Ranch, but his story is the only one looking up. Okay, so maybe he’s not the only one.
The big moment in these two episodes comes from the wedding of Rip and Beth; yes, our favorite couple gets married in the finale of season four, and while it’s a bit of a shotgun wedding, it doesn’t change the love and admiration they have for one another, nor does it stop us from loving it.
Beth has dreamed of a simple wedding, but as John walks her down the aisle to her soon-to-be husband, he makes Beth promise that he can do this all again for her one day, the “right” way. She says he can, but she wants to be married. This is, of course, because she loves Rip, but also because a lot is unfolding, and even more on the horizon — them being a united front is more important now than ever.
With one death fans were thrilled about (who liked Garret Randall anyway?), a wedding, a happy Jimmy, and a heartfelt moment between Rip, Lloyd, Carter, John, Beth, and Rip — we couldn’t have asked for more. Well, we could have asked for Market Equities to retreat, but what kind of fun would that be for the next season?
Season five kicks off tomorrow, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for the Duttons as it all unfolds. Don’t forget to cancel all your plans because the two-hour season premiere begins at 8 p.m. on Paramount.