It has been almost two years but “Yellowstone” is finally back to wrap up Season 5.
It is forgivable to admit not remembering what happened throughout Season 5 Part 1. The truncated season aired it’s final episode on Jan. 1 2023 after all. But there’s a lot of Dutton drama – happening on and offscreen – to catch up on.
The big offscreen news is that Kevin Costner officially won’t be back for this half of the season as John Dutton. As the character was facing impeachment from the governor of Montana gig he regretfully won at the beginning of the season, it’s interesting to see how that will be addressed. The rest of Part 1 focused mostly on Beth and Jamie’s feud finally reaching a point of no return as both of them not so subtly plan the other’s death.
Here’s a brief recap of “Yellowstone” Season 5 Part 1 so you’re ready to go when Season 2 (finally) begins.
John Dutton Gets Political
For years, protecting the Dutton Ranch was a fairly straightforward – albeit sometimes bloody – job. That changed at the end of Season 4, which forced John to jump into the race for governor of Montana as a way to create the changes from the top to ensure the ranch’s survival. Season 5 saw his first days and weeks in office and it became clear that even if John hated the job, he was going to make his opponents just as miserable as him.
One of his first orders of business is to stop the airport development on much of the land in the valley. He thinks this is handled, but Market Equities isn’t done with their fight with the Duttons and sends people out to start getting to Jamie – who believes he should have been governor over his father.
John also ruffles feathers by commuting the sentence for environmental activist Summer, who went to prison last season. She returns to serve her house arrest with John at the ranch. Her and Beth continually clash throughout Part 1, unable to get along or see the other’s point of view.
In the finale, he gives a speech that allies him with Thomas Rainwater and the local Native American reservation, as they spent the season fighting the U.S. president’s hope to run two pipelines through reservation land, and we learn that Jamie is pursuing his father’s impeachment as governor. He’s doing this under the claim that blocking the airport halted a ton of money and new jobs from entering the area – and out of anger after learning John put the ranch in a conservation easement.
Beth and Jamie Go to War
In a series where Beth and Jamie are constantly at odds, Season 5 has taken it to another level. The season started with Jamie feeling jilted that his dad got the governor of Montana gig over him. Beth makes matters worse by reminding him she caught Jamie dumping his biological father’s body and now essentially owns him.
Jamie doesn’t have a lot of movies until John ends the airport construction and Market Equities targets him as a way to help take down the Duttons. Enter Sarah Atwood. She begins to seduce Jamie and turn him further against his family. While this seduction is happening, Beth learns that “Sarah Atwood” isn’t even the woman’s real name.
With John blocking the development of the airport – and Jamie learning he put the ranch into a conservation easement – he convinces the state legislation to impeach his father as governor. He’s clearly had enough of the family’s actions against him.
Beth finds out and breaks into Jamie’s house at night ready to lord over the fact she has dirt on him killing his biological dad. Jamie – ready to burn his last bridge – isn’t worried and tells Beth to ask John about the “train station.”
Beth leaves to confront her father and finally – how she went so long without figuring it out is astounding – learns about the “train station.” John calls it a “trash can” for anyone who has threatened the ranch for years and years. Beth can’t believe her family has a dumping ground for bodies and John tells her to ask Rip because he’s visited the station a few times. After a beat, Beth suggests that maybe it’s time Jamie takes a trip to the “train station.”
Back at his house, Jamie is having a similar thought. He asks Sarah if she knows somebody that could make Beth’s death look like a car accident or heart attack. Based on her face, it seems like she knows exactly the people who could do that.
Kayce and Monica Struggle
Kayce and Monica experienced loss right out of the gate in Season 5. In the premiere, Monica realizes she’s going into labor, and her and Colt try rushing to the hospital while Kayce is out on a job. Unfortunately, they get into an accident. Monica and Colt are fine but they lose the baby.
Understandably, this rattles the whole family for the entire first half of the season. Monica sinks into her grief and Kayce is worried his job is jeopardizing his relationship with his family so he tries to tell his dad he quits. That doesn’t work and John instead lets Monica bury their son on the ranch and has a moment with her where he talks about losing his brother.
At the end of the season, with John feeling the pinch from the impeachment and the herd moving to Texas for the winter, he asks Monica if her, Kayce and Colt will move to the ranch and take care of it. She agrees for the family.
Taking the Herd South
All of this (possibly bloody) family feuding and there’s ALSO some general ranch drama. It turns out there’s a brucellosis outbreak that is threatening the ranch’s herd. The only course of action is to move the whole thing south for the winter. Rip takes the lead on the long trip and brings half of the ranch hands along with him.
This pulls apart of few of the budding relationships happening in the bunk house but also separates Rip and Beth right before Beth learns about the “train station” and how involved her husband has been with it over the years.
