There’s a lot that can be said about the way Yellowstone ended. John Dutton’s death was bizarre, to say the least, and Kayce and Beth’s math to sell the ranch at basically nothing to avoid tax issues made no sense. But it was the aftermath of Jamie Dutton’s death that had people scratching their heads.
Following the series finale of Yellowstone, two other spinoffs were released: Marshals and Dutton Ranch. On those two shows, it was Jamie’s death that everyone still asks about. Does Kayce know what really happened to his brother? Will the law finally catch up to Beth and Rip? Why is no one investigating the sudden disappearance of an influential political figure in Montana?
Beth’s Ghost Comes Back to Haunt Her on Dutton Ranch
Moving to Rio Paloma, Texas, has proven to be an even more difficult feat for Beth and Rip than expected. In the darkest Dutton Ranch episode yet, they’ve lost all their cattle to foot-and-mouth disease, courtesy of a sick bull sold to them by a shady crook, and they got off on the wrong foot with the most powerful family in town, the Jacksons.
In Episodes 5 and 6, Beth and Rip have no choice but to push their pride to the side and work for the Jacksons to put bread on their table, and hopefully earn enough money to start their ranch up again.
While Beth thinks she’s got the upper hand on Beulah by airing out her dirty secrets she found on the Internet, Beulah’s got some of Beth’s skeletons as well. Although they got off nicely in “A Cowboy Saint,” Beulah cleverly maneuvers what she knows about Jamie’s “disappearance” in a conversation with Beth at the end of the episode.
Just as everyone else is thinking, Beulah believes it’s awfully convenient that Jamie disappeared after attacking Beth and right around the time John was murdered, especially given his tumultuous relationship with them. It probably didn’t help that Beth claimed she “doesn’t think about Jamie” when asked about him. The last thing a murder suspect wants to do is respond coldly to the victim’s death. But it’s not as if Beulah is one to judge, or likely even will. This is pure blackmail on Beulah’s part, just as Beth did to her. Beulah has hidden enough bodies in her time to know when to pass judgment and when not to.
How Dutton Ranch’s New Revelation Can Change Yellowstone’s Legacy
What went down between Beth and Jamie at the end of Yellowstone is cemented in history and has largely been denounced by fans and critics. The consensus is that the resolution of their conflict was wrapped up in a neat and tidy bow, portraying Jamie as the ultimate bad guy and Beth as the hero. While it’s true that they have held those roles at one point, the matter is much grayer than that. Jamie and Beth’s relationship was far more nuanced than the Yellowstone finale illustrated it to be. Jamie was a complicated human being raised by lies and impossible expectations, and he underwent tremendous trauma later in his life. Beth herself had significant trauma she never unpacked, much of it being caused by Jamie. But they’ve also been on the opposite ends of the morality spectrum, committing acts that deserve no sympathy from each other or viewers.
That’s all to say that the end of Jamie and Beth’s conflict could’ve worked — Beth killing Jamie after years of build-up — had she not gotten away from it so easily. Both of them, in some capacity, didn’t deserve a happy ending: Jamie got his, but Beth got to ride off into the sunset with her husband and son, while Jamie’s own son would grow up without a father. That’s not to say Dutton Ranch will punish Beth, but it seems that it will at least make her confront her past and get some closure, rather than polluting the air the longer it stays hidden.
New episodes of Dutton Ranch premiere every Friday on Paramount+.
