Dutton Ranch Episodes 1 & 2 Ending Explained: Why Rip Did THAT After The Murder In Texas
Meanwhile, Beth and Carter have their own run-ins with 10-Petals’ owner, Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening), and her family, which set the stage for conflicts to come for Dutton Ranch’s characters following the Yellowstone spinoff’s two premiere episodes.
Why Rip Got Rid Of Wes’ Corpse Without Beth Knowing
At the end of Dutton Ranch‘s series premiere, Rip finds Wes’ corpse being devoured by wild hogs on his land. The final moments of Dutton Ranch episode 2 reveal that Rip hid Wes’ body in a freezer, and then decided to dump it down a mine shaft.
In Yellowstone, Rip would have driven Wes to the Wyoming border and sent him to the Train Station, but that’s now hundreds of miles from South Texas.
Rip doesn’t realize that by personally disposing of Wes’ corpse, he put himself in the middle of the 10-Petals’ crisis and cover-up. Rip didn’t know who the body he found was, nor did he care to ask questions or tell anyone, not even Beth. Rip simply kept it to himself for a day and made the problem go away. Not telling Beth he found a corpse on their ranch is a compassionate move by Rip, even if it’s bound to come back to haunt him. Rip is sensitive to Beth’s problems adjusting to South Texas, especially the oppressive heat and the odd people they meet, and he knows Beth just wants “peace.” Understandably, Rip wanted to preserve his wife’s peace. Of course, Beth knew Rip vanished from their bed late at night. He has a habit of doing that, but Rip disappearing from their ranch house altogether automatically worries Beth and makes her suspicious. Rip will surely have to answer for his whereabouts in Dutton Ranch episode 3.
Beulah Jackson’s Ranch & Family Have Dark Secrets
The 10-Petals Ranch has been around for 190 years, before the fall of the Alamo, and it’s been controlled by one family, the Jacksons, who are Rio Paloma’s counterparts to the Duttons of Montana. Beth instantly disliked the 10-Petals’ matriarch, Beulah Jackson, calling her a “gator in Gucci.” Like the Duttons, the Jacksons and their ranch have dark secrets, and Beulah holds it all together with an iron will similar to the late Governor John Dutton (Kevin Costner) on Yellowstone. The Jacksons have their share of sibling rivalries and family embarrassments, which revolve around Beulah’s son, Rob-Will. A violent and sociopathic alcoholic, Rob-Will has a history of violence that 10-Petals had to bury. However, Rob-Will finally went too far when he impulsively murdered Wes and left his body on the Dutton Ranch’s land.
Beulah ordered her other son and fixer, Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba), to clean up Rob-Will’s mess. Joaquin sent his brother to rehab, but Wes’ disappearance creates mistrust and cowboys brawling in the 10-Petals’ bunkhouse. Chet (Hart Denton), who witnessed Rob-Will kill Wes, is in over his head, replacing Rob-Will as foreman. Worsening matters, Wes’ wife, Whitney (Olivia Rose Keegan), doesn’t believe Joaquin’s cover story that her husband just “ran off” and left their young son behind. Whitney refused to be paid off for her silence and went to the sheriff. Rob-Will and Rip had a confrontation in Dutton Ranch‘s series premiere, and with Rip disappearing Wes’ body, the various threads of the 10-Petal cover-up will start to intersect with Beth and Rip as Dutton Ranch continues.
Dutton Ranch Introduces Its Own Walker
Rip only had one ranch hand, Azul Ramos (J.R. Villarreal), who worked for the previous owners when the Dutton Ranch was still the Edwards Ranch. In need of more help, Rip takes Azul’s recommendation to hire someone he knows is “good with horses.” Echoing how Rip hired Walker (Ryan Bingham) in Yellowstone, Wheeler brings aboard Zachariah (Marc Menchaca), a cowboy fresh from a stint in prison. Zachariah worked at the Edwards Ranch before whatever happened that incarcerated him.
Dutton Ranch episode 2’s flashback to just after the fire in Montana revealed that it was Walker who gave Rip and Beth the tip about the Edwards Ranch in Rio Paloma being for sale.
Rip chose to spend the hundreds of miles driving from prison to the Dutton Ranch in silence rather than learn Zachariah’s story. Dutton Ranch will eventually reveal more about Zachariah. Besides the fact that Zach speaks Spanish, a skill Rip is starting to rue not having. Time will also tell if Rip will end up hating Zachariah and want to kill him, like he did Walker for most of Yellowstone. However, Rip does not brand the Dutton Ranch’s cowboys, which shows he’s doing things differently than John Dutton did in Yellowstone.
Oreana & Carter Are Like Dutton Ranch’s Romeo & Juliet
Carter does not enjoy going to high school in Rio Paloma. This is partly because Carter is now 19, but his lack of formal education places him in classes with sophomores. The cruel Texas girls trick Carter into buying them beer at a rodeo before he meets Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind).
Dutton Ranch‘s first two episodes have already shown Carter more emphasis than Marshals season 1 has given Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill).
Carter’s good turn saving Oreana by beating the snot out of her abusive boyfriend, Hoyt (Kyle Dondlinger), was reciprocated by Oreana bailing him out of jail. Unsurprisingly, Oreana Lynn is a Jackson; she is Beulah’s rebellious granddaughter, and Rob-Will is her father. Oreana seems to like Carter, even if she drove him away by claiming Hoyt is still her boyfriend. Carter is clearly hung up on Oreana. He even has a man-to-man talk about girls with a relieved Rip, who shared John Dutton’s wisdom about the opposite sex. Given that the rivalry between the Dutton Ranch and the 10-Petals is bound to escalate, Carter and Oreana will find themselves in the middle of two warring families. Oreana and Carter will likely become the Romeo and Juliet of Rio Paloma if they become a couple, hopefully without a tragic ending.
Beth’s Beef Business Is What John Dutton Refused In Yellowstone
While Rip handles the physical ranching side of the Dutton Ranch’s small family operation, Beth handles the business part of making money. The Dutton Ranch owns a herd of prized black angus cattle, and Beth wants to create a curated beef wholesale business. Beth’s business plan is exactly what she proposed to her father in Yellowstone, but John Dutton refused to do so despite their ranch’s crippling debt. In Dutton Ranch, however, Beth quickly found that the 10-Petals Ranch had cornered the slaughterhouse business in Rio Paloma.
Fortunately, Beth met Everett McKinney (Ed Harris), a kindly veterinarian with lifelong ties to Rio Paloma. Everett brought Beth to an independent slaughterhouse for their beef. Now Dutton needs to find buyers for her certified black angus ribeyes, porterhouses, and T-bone steaks. Perhaps the most profound change to Beth in Dutton Ranch is her love of horses. Beth used to hate horses in Yellowstone, but rather than let Everett euthanize a badly wounded horse, she paid the vet “a well full of money” to save the animal. Beth also saved their horses from the Montana fire in Dutton Ranch‘s premiere. Thus far, Beth has circumvented the obstacles in her path in Dutton Ranch, but the secrets Rip and the 10-Petals are keeping are bound to upend the peace the Dutton-Wheelers are desperate for.
