The wait for the fourth season of Yellowstone posed a ton of questions for fans who awaited the reveal of which members of the Dutton clan survived the assassination attempts on their lives. We quickly learned that everyone made it when season four premiered this past November but that doesn’t mean that everyone is free and clear. This past weekend saw the fourth season finale pose a lot of questions that you are likely wondering yourselves as we have another year to wait before Yellowstone season 5. With that in mind, here are the biggest things to expect from the fifth season of Taylor Sheridan’s contemporary western drama.
Goodbye Jimmy, hello crossovers
Jefferson White has turned supporting character Jimmy into a fan favorite over the years. After surviving beatdowns, belittling, and an almost crippling rodeo accident, Jimmy has left the Dutton ranch and headed down to Texas to the famed 6666 ranch. We know that 6666 is the title of an already announced spin-off series and moving an established character is a great way to build in some fan support (not that 1883 needed one to become a huge hit on Paramount+). This also opens the door for the two series to feature crossovers both in terms of characters as well as plotlines, similar to shows like The Walking Dead, NBC’s Fire series, and The CW’s Arrowverse shows.
Governor Dutton?
The fourth season centered on Jamie’s run for the biggest office in Montana, but the season ended with his adoptive father John (Kevin Costner) accepting the endorsement for the job from Governor Perry (Wendy Moniz). Was this just a tactic to block Jamie from taking the seat of power or will the patriarch of the Dutton family shift into legitimate politics and let one of his kids take over his ranch? I would be willing to bet that in Yellowstone season 5, John stays out of the political arena but I can’t say I wouldn’t love to see Kevin Costner play cowboy in a much different realm than we have seen him in before.
Beth and Jamie’s relationship will get worse
The tumultuous relationship between Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley) was a mystery for the first three seasons of the show until we found out about the root cause last season: Jamie had Beth sterilized during an abortion procedure when they were young. The divide worsened this season leading to Beth all but forcing Jamie to kill his birth father Garrett (Will Patton). The aftermath for both of these characters is unclear. Beth is now married to Rip (Cole Hauser) while Jamie’s life is in tatters. Can they reconcile? Will Jamie be welcomed back to the Duttons with so much blood on his hands? I would imagine that Jamie and Beth’s rivalry will worsen in the next season rather than improve and that means some meaty acting for both of these talented performers.
The End of Kayce
Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) has had no easy path over the first four seasons, especially when it comes to the divide between his family and his wife and son. It has seemed many times that Kayce and Monica (Kelsey Asbille) were headed for divorce but never as much as with the budding relationship between Kayce and Avery (Tanaya Beatty) this season. The finale found Kayce having a vision of two paths which led to his telling Monica that he saw “the end of us”. What exactly he means is unclear but it certainly looks like Kayce is going to lose his wife or his part in the Dutton clan in Yellowstone season 5.
Who can stop the Duttons? Thomas Rainwater
Over the four seasons of Yellowstone, the Dutton family have fought off developers, investors, criminals, and more, but they have all come and gone. The only character who has come close to going toe to toe with the family has been Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham). Sometimes ally and sometimes enemy, Rainwater wants nothing more than the very land under the Dutton ranch to be returned to his people. Birmingham felt very underused this season but it also feels like Taylor Sheridan has been biding his time for the chief to get his machinations ready to finally reclaim the birthright of his people.
Whatever comes next, the odds are that we will have at least a year before the premiere of the fifth season of Yellowstone. In the meantime, Mayor of Kingstown and 1883 are available to stream along with the first four seasons of Yellowstone. Feel free to share your theories on what is coming next in the comments below and let us know what you want to see next for the Dutton clan.