In true Sheridan show fashion, the body count on Dutton Ranch continues to rise as Episode 5, “Peaceful Find Peace,” sees the heartbreaking, unexpected death of a beloved character. Spoilers for Dutton Ranch Episode 5 ahead.
Following Episode 4’s mass cattle casualties, Dutton Ranch‘s fifth episode saw Rip (Cole Hauser) take a job as Beulah’s (Annette Bening) ranch foreman to support his family, while Beth (Kelly Reilly) did the unthinkable and offered the Jackson matriarch a business deal that would require the two to team up in hopes of making Beulah’s ranch more successful. Meanwhile, Carter (Finn Little) invited his own “warrior princess” Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind) to meet his new friend Dwight White (Ray McKinnon) and feed his African leopard, Xena. In the moment, the coming together of two essential people in Carter’s life feels like a dream. In hindsight, it’s the beginning of a tragic end that plays out later in the episode. So who died in Dutton Ranch Episode 5? Read on for answers.
Who Dies In Dutton Ranch Episode 5?
Early on in the episode, Carter invited Oreana to Dwight’s ranch to see Xena and spend some time together. As she fed the leopard in its cage, bonded with Dwight, and reconnected with her crush, she was at peace and impressed. The same couldn’t be said for her chaperone Miguel (Berto Colon), who swiftly ushered her back in the car as if she were “the fucking president’s daughter.” When she left, Dwight assured Carter, “That woman is gonna break your heart into a thousand pieces, and it’s gonna be the best damn feeling you’ve ever had.”
Later that episode, Carter’s heart did indeed shatter, but Oreana wasn’t to blame — at least not directly. Still avoiding Beth and school, Carter spent the day drinking beer, chatting with Dwight, and longing to return to Montana. He stayed with his pal until nightfall again, but after the sun went down, Carter clocked flashing police lights in the distance and Dwight realized he was done for. ” Fucking skunks at our lawn party!” he screamed before making a run for it. A cop car tailed him, Carter heard a gunshot, and by the time he caught up to them Dwight was face down in the dirt lying dead in front of Xena’s cage. Sheriff Wade (Josh Stewart) shot him in the back, and pointed his rifle at Carter, ready to take him down, too.
Does Carter Die In Dutton Ranch?
Before Wade had a chance to act, another office tackled Carter to the ground beside Dwight’s body, forcing him to stare straight at his friend’s bloody face. Wade claimed that he shot Dwight because “he had a knife, damn near cut me.” But Carter saw Dwight’s blade safely stored in its holder and undoubtedly understood the gross reality of the situation.
As a tearful Carter grieved his friend, Wade took him to the station again and attempted to assure him that “Dwight White was no good.” The sheriff rattled off a list of prior offenses — from theft to insurance fraud —and even called him a “drunkard.” To that slander, Carter simply replied, “He was my friend,” then stood on business, reminding Wade, “You killed him.” In response to the harsh truth, the corrupt sheriff threatened Carter, saying, “This is your second time in my jail, repeat offender like my buddy Dwight. I’d think real hard about what happened to him… Smart people don’t ask dangerous questions. How smart are you, son?”
Though Carter wanted to go nuclear and have justice genuinely be served, he assessed the situation carefully and said, “I don’t want my folks to know.” A relieved Wade honored the terms of their dirty deal and said, “Then you weren’t at Dwight White’s tonight. Never saw a thing. You’ll never say a word.”
In the end, Carter took the safe way out and lived. But he lost a part of his innocence he can never regain and he will forever view the world and the authorities through a different, more dangerous lens. Whether he lets himself realize the cops’ convenient timing of the incident — just hours after Miguel drove Oreana away — is another story. Before the episode ends, Carter walked up to Miguel’s truck and rather than confront him, he cried into Oreana’s arms. Miguel killed the lights to give them their privacy in the literal least he could do. In the closing words of Beth, “peace will have to wait” on Dutton Ranch.
