In short
Recap and critique of Yellowstone’s Seasons 4 and 5, plus how the series finale resolves the Dutton succession, including John Dutton’s death, Jamie’s betrayal, Beth and Rip’s endgame, and the “inheritance tax loophole” that saves the ranch.
Guests
Steph Sealand (Pilot TV “barrel racer” host; Yellowstone fan wearing Dutton/Ranch merch and discussing legal/plot details). James (Pilot TV co-host; debates timelines, subplots, and character motivations; provides production/casting and “facts” commentary).
Key claims
Season 4 centers on identifying who ordered the Dutton hit; the order traces to Jamie’s adoptive father (Will Patton). Beth’s jail “conjugal visit” with Tim Riggins is pivotal to her later revenge plan. Season 5 is split into two parts separated by a long production gap and Kevin Costner’s absence, making John’s death feel abrupt. The finale’s ranch survival hinges on selling at $125/acre to avoid inheritance tax based on valuation.
Notable examples
“Zone of Death” legal loophole discussion; Beth’s impromptu wedding after abducting a priest; protected wolves/phantom wolf subplot; Lloyd stabbing Walker; Rip/Beth funeral; Beth killing Jamie at the end; Casey and Monica living at East Camp; Ryan’s roadie ending with Lainey Wilson.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOSetting the Stage for Yellowstone
0:45 to 1:29
Hosts express excitement about discussing Yellowstone seasons 4 and 5.
“and you have your own Yellowstone beanie and a Yellowstone T-shirt on.”
Season 4 Overview and Spoilers
1:29 to 2:48
A recap of Season 4's crucial plot points and character developments.
“Because season four, of course, begins with the big, you know, the fallout from the attack on all of them.”
The Dutton Family Dynamics
2:48 to 6:39
A deep dive into the relationships and conflicts within the Dutton family.
“and when Jamie finds out that it's him and then Beth finds out that it's, basically she thinks it's Jamie, he has to kill him.”
John Dutton's Governance and Strategy
6:39 to 7:33
Discussion on John Dutton becoming governor and the implications for the ranch.
“Well, also, most of the crimes, if not all of the crimes, are committed on the ranch, which is not in the area.”
Beth and Rip's Unique Wedding
7:33 to 9:24
Exploration of Beth and Rip's unconventional wedding and its significance.
“Yeah, and he's not actually, he's not, you know, tactically, he's, Beth's the brains.”
The Quirky Subplots of Yellowstone
9:24 to 10:29
Hosts chat about the random and quirky subplots in the series, including wolves.
“Yeah, I thought the wolf was real for ages until, like, the end of it, where they say, yeah, but that wolf, don't worry about that wolf because you're not real, but everyone in the family can see this wolf.”
Character Development and Plot Twists
10:29 to 14:00
Examining character arcs, twists, and emotional moments from seasons 4 and 5.
“that you just have to ignore some of them because some of these plotlines are absolutely mad.”
Reviewing Season Four Highlights
14:00 to 18:00
Discussion of major plot points and character developments from Season Four.
“But yeah, Monica, I was very sad to know that Monica is not at all in Marshalls because her character died.”
The Shift to Season Five
18:00 to 22:00
Exploring the transition into Season Five and its unique structure.
“But here is my family wedding ring, and here is my family wedding ring, which has been on the finger of the corpse of my mother for the last 30 years.”
Character Dynamics and Conflicts
22:00 to 28:00
Analysis of character relationships and conflicts in Season Five.
“it was a complete flop he shot the second one it doesn't even have a distributor for it.”
Show all 28 chapters
Exploring East Camp
28:00 to 28:34
Discussion about the significance and charm of East Camp in Yellowstone.
“Why would you ever go, I'm just not sure about East Camp?”
Jamie and Sarah's Complicated Relationship
28:34 to 29:38
Analysis of Jamie's dynamics with Sarah and the complexities of their relationship.
“Because I was like, when he's shagging Sarah, the corporate raider, who we haven't mentioned as well, the corporate assassin.”
The Cost of a Hit
29:38 to 30:18
Discussion on the plot involving high stakes and the cost of hiring a hitman.
“But also, where's she getting$40 million from?”
Jamie’s Character Arc
30:18 to 31:06
Reflection on Jamie's character, his poor decisions, and the audience's sympathy.
“And even after that, he's got a kind of slightly kicked puppy dog energy, hasn't he?”
Beth's Emotional Turmoil
31:06 to 31:48
Exploration of Beth's emotions and reactions to Jamie's actions throughout the series.
“he is just so weaselly and just, oh, he makes his skin crawl.”
Colby's Tragic Fate
31:48 to 32:47
Discussion on the emotional impact of Colby’s death in Season 5.
“she's threatening basically the life of his baby.”
Ryan and Lainey's Love Story
32:47 to 34:00
Analysis of Ryan's character and his developing relationship with Lainey Wilson.
“So I genuinely thought they were dead then.”
Viewership and Cultural Impact
34:00 to 36:07
Discussion on Yellowstone's viewership statistics and its cultural significance.
“I've got a lot of talking points and obviously we want to get on to the final episode where we talk about how it all gets essentially rounded up.”
Paramount+ and Yellowstone's Streaming Confusion
36:07 to 36:55
Insight into Yellowstone's streaming availability and the misconceptions around it.
“at all towards the end and it was smashing everything.”
The Finale Setup
36:55 to 38:10
Setting the stage for the finale by discussing key plot points and character arcs.
“Because the whole point is, they can't inherit the ranch.”
The Funeral Scene and Its Implications
38:10 to 40:00
Analysis of the funeral scene's emotional weight and its implications for character relationships.
“Did it bring, did it make you misty-eyed?”
Confrontations and Revenge
40:00 to 41:29
Discussion on the escalating confrontations leading to revenge plots within the series.
“So her plan is to go there, start a fight with him, get the shit kicked out of her and then wait for Rip to turn up and basically stop him.”
The Conclusion of Casey and Monica's Story
41:29 to 42:00
Discussion on the resolution of Casey and Monica's arcs and their future.
“And the fact that Jamie ends up at the train station and all that stuff, it's all, that all felt quite fitting.”
Episode Discussion
42:00 to 56:01
“I feel a bit sad that their ending was undone because it felt like she'd earned that ending.”
The Joy of Yellowstone
56:01 to 57:10
Hosts discuss their excitement about the show and its impact on fans.
“Do not mess with me or I'll take you to the train station.”
Favorite Characters and Scenes
57:11 to 58:26
The hosts share their favorite characters and memorable scenes from the show.
“So, tell me now, right, one, your favourite character.”
Seasons and Character Arcs
58:27 to 1:01:05
Discussion on the strengths of different seasons and character development.
“there is a Dexter quality to Yellowstone where you know that most of the people that are getting killed, they did something bad.”
Finale Reactions and Reflections
1:01:06 to 1:02:28
Hosts reflect on the series finale and their overall feelings about the show.
“I was just, you know, I was very happy Jamie died and like I said, I'm going to say it again, and the only thing that I didn't like is the fact that Rip doesn't like dogs and Colby died.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:08Howdy and welcome to Pilot TV, the Dutton Branch, aka Home on the Range with Steph and James. The incredibly belated, overhyped and, let's be honest, much maligned Yellowstone special that we have been promising for, I mean, I'd say as far back as 1883 or possibly 1923. But you know, one of the two. And joining me in the bunkhouse today, of course, is Pilot TV's very own barrel racer. It's Steph Sealand.
0:34Steph:How are you, Steph? Protect the family. Yes, we have some Dutton merch. Now, we should say, so I'm wearing my cowboy shirt, and I'm wearing a patented Yellowstone Dutton Ranch beanie, and you have your own Yellowstone beanie and a Yellowstone T-shirt on. We are outfitted for this particular podcast. Now, Steph ordered Stetsons for us. I did. They haven't arrived. furious so we don't have our Stetsons for this podcast I know but you know what I said to James what we're going to do is whenever we talk about anything Taylor Sheridan from now on we're going to wear Stetsons we'll put our Stetsons on because it will drive Boyd and Kay insane it's worth it just for that it's totally worth it for that okay so that's that's the plan I'm pretty excited I don't know where to begin because this special is to round off our Yellowstone chat our big Yellowstone roundup and it's Seasons four and five, those are the ones we're discussing because we never got around to doing them before.
1:29So, I mean, where do we want to begin? Because season four, of course, begins with the big, you know, the fallout from the attack on all of them.
1:37Steph:Yeah. Beth's been blown up. John's been shot. Casey's been attacked. Beth walks out of the building. Yeah. She has, obviously... She's on fire. She's on fire. She's literally steaming. She's on fire, has a cigarette. So we find out they've all survived. Okay, the main Duttons have survived, right? And now the question is, who the fuck wanted the Duttons dead? Who has ordered this? Okay, so season four is really all about who has ordered this hit on the Duttons, right? And my God, Beth is going to find out. Yeah? Okay, so things I absolutely loved about season four is you meet Jamie's... When did we meet Jamie's father?
2:22I think we meet him just before. So it's a season... Do you know what? It's been so many weeks since we've done this, I don't remember. But obviously, Will Patton, his dad, he tracks him down. They have a chance. He's found out he's adopted. It's all very soapy. And from the get-go, you're like, he's a wrong one.
2:38Steph:He is a wrong one. And we can say, because this is a massive spoiler show, it turns out that he is the one who has ordered the hit on the Duttons. He has done it via his prison connections and when Jamie finds out that it's him and then Beth finds out that it's, basically she thinks it's Jamie, he has to kill him. So bear in mind that his cellmate is T. Riggins, which feels to me like a reference to Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights, but that could just be coincidence. I think it's coincidence. You think? Yeah, I think so. I don't mean, I can't. But when she makes, so she gives in that ultimatum and she goes into his office and she's like, basically, your options are you can either go to prison because your dad's going to throw you under the bus or Rip can basically rip you a new one.
3:24Yeah. Or you can kill your dad. Yeah. And he does that.
3:28Steph:And then the brilliant thing is after he does that, she's like, yeah, you kind of, yeah. Okay, I have questions. Go for it. Because when he goes to dump his dad's body at the train station, she's there. Oh, she's there. With her camera. And yet, crucially, as we find out later on, she doesn't know what the train station is. So how is she there? Right, okay. now as you have often said when you've been disparaging about our beloved Jell-O Stone you have said that this is very soapy yeah it is lots and lots of our lovely Instagram followers have said that this show is bonkers yes and it is like Dallas with less oil and more cows and I think we have to allow some artistic license to right because I was just going to say I think she follows him okay I know it appears that she's there before him but I think she somehow tracks him because as we find out she's very at one with the, you know, the tracking devices is our Beth.
4:21Steph:She puts an air track on Rick later on. Although I don't think a tracker has been invented that will get you there before the person gets there. I know, I know, but we have to just let, we just have to just let that happen. Because the other problem with her not knowing about the train station is then Jamie tells her all about the train station and says, oh, you don't know anything about this. Do you know how many bodies are buried here? And she confronts John about it. Do you know what the other weird thing about that is? She seemed kind of upset about it. She did. And I was like, why are you upset, Beth?
4:49Steph:You are a massively brilliant bitch. Like, why do you care? You would... I think she's just annoyed because she could have buried loads of bodies there. That's it. I've been burying bodies all... Are you telling me there was a place they could have taken them? Can I tell you some information about the train station? Oh, yes. I wonder if I know it. Well, that it's a real thing. Yes, it is a real thing. It is a real thing. So for anyone listening, it's called the Zone of Death. Yeah. The Zone of Death. And there's a 50 square mile area in the Idaho section of Yellowstone National Park, which as a result of the vicinage, vicinage clause, whatever it is, in the Constitution of the United States, a person may be able to theoretically avoid conviction for any major crime, including murder.
5:24So essentially, the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming is currently the only US District Court to have jurisdiction over parts of multiple states by reason of its jurisdiction, including all of Yellowstone National Park, which extends slightly beyond Wyoming's boundaries into Idaho and Montana. I'm reading this out, obviously, from Wikipedia. in this regard the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over the park so crimes committed in the park cannot be prosecuted under any of the state's laws however trials in the district court are normally held at the federal courthouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming however the 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution decrees that and I quote the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district where the crime shall have been committed So this is the loophole.
6:14Because of this, charges for a crime alleged to have been committed in the area of the park in Idaho would have to be tried before a jury consisting entirely of residents of that area. And since the Idaho portion of the park is completely uninhabited, a jury of residents of both the state and district simply could not be empanelled. It is an incredibly specific legal loophole, but it basically means you cannot be tried for a crime committed. Now, obviously... Don't kill anyone. Well, also, most of the crimes, if not all of the crimes, are committed on the ranch, which is not in the area. So they couldn't be convicted for dumping the body there, but since they committed the crime elsewhere, I think actually, you know, as their lawyer, I would say, you're fucked.
6:54Steph:But they've brought everyone off, so it doesn't matter. I mean, that's true. Also, they're the Duttons. So, crucially, in season four, John becomes governor. He does, yes. So John Dutton becomes governor. So who he likes. Jamie thinks he's going to get it. There's an amazing scene where he's going to... Jamie literally heads down the stairs and says to Beth and his dad, thank you for coming. And they're like, no, no, no, no. No problem. No, no, no, no. And, you know, John doesn't want to do it. He's doing it to save the ranch because he'll do anything to save the land. Except every decision he makes seems to fuck the ranch.
7:25So he's not actually the master tactician he thinks he is.
7:28Steph:But that's the thing about this is he's actually not as rich as you think he is. No, he's not. Land rich, not cash rich. Yeah, and he's not actually, he's not, you know, tactically, he's, Beth's the brains. There's that great, great, great line that he says, he's got about his children. He says, yeah, I has one child I pity, one child I envy, and one child I... What's the other one? One child I pity, one child I envy, and one child I regret. Yeah, it's one child I pity, one child I regret, and she's the only one I envy, which is Beth. Of course it's Beth, because he talks about how she can be so free.
8:04Steph:So the other thing is, it's this episode, this season, where the reason we know how and who ordered the hit is because Beth gets all doled up and goes for a pretend conjugal visit into the jail. That's right, with Tim Riggins. Oh, which is amazing. And then after that, she gets married. She does her impromptu wedding. When she abducts the priest. Also amazing. Although I'd love to have seen their proper wedding. she's done the wedding the only way that Rip and Beth could I think don't you I don't think they could have done it any other way they just had to do it like that although later on we do see that nice meadow and everything that she did want to get in that is true that was the plan okay it's so hard because there's so much and we've only got a limited amount of time I know we have I want to talk about wolves let's talk about wolves there's a whole thing about them shooting wolves these are protected wolves I love Yellowstone because it has these fucking maverick subplots that just have no real bearing on anything and are incredibly random although it's slightly unfair to kind of to tag things no pun intended that because I think season 5 was very much an improvisational like the structure well I mean we'll get on season 5 so I feel like the wolves may have played a bigger part but they didn't but not specifically those wolves I'm thinking more the wolf that Casey sees which is his sort of spirit animal what the fuck was that subplot where he goes on his vision quest and he's having he's seeing spirits and stuff and predictions and this wolf is running around that was deranged it's super kind of indigenous peoples you know he goes he goes out to the woods doesn't he and he has the whole he's like on a cliff top isn't it he sits in a little playpen and doesn't eat or drink for like three days no and Lee comes back as a vision at that point as well which I enjoyed because I love that actor but yeah it's it's kind of and clear until you get to the final episode where you actually do sort of find out what that wolf is.
10:04Kind of.
10:05Steph:I sort of thought the wolf was real. The spirit wolf. Yeah, I thought the wolf was real for ages until, like, the end of it, where they say, yeah, but that wolf, don't worry about that wolf because you're not real, but everyone in the family can see this wolf. Yeah, the phantom wolf. Yeah, it is a kind of strange, I suppose it's strange, but yeah, I know what you mean. It is a bit, there are lots of things like that in this, though, aren't there? We have to let them go. There are so many random plates that you just have to ignore some of them because some of these plotlines are absolutely mad.
10:32You know, I enjoyed through season four the kind of flashbacks that we got where we saw young John and we saw young Rip and all of that. And part of me was thinking, this is the Yellowstone spinoff I want to see. I want to see the young John Dutton spinoff. Like, that's what I want.
10:45Steph:Fun fact, did you know that when the young Floyd, do you know that that is his son who plays young Floyd? No! I did not know that. Okay, that's good. Because he's a proper rodeo guy. Is he? So basically, Floyd's character, loads of, the bunkhouse, they designed that bunkhouse and he assisted in it because he'd worked and lived on ranches like that and lived in those kinds of bunkhouse so when they wanted to get like the aesthetic of the proper bunkhouse they said tell us how tell us how to do it and he did it but yeah it's interesting because I when before I knew that I thought god this is a great like casting for his younger self and it is his son okay that is good yeah that's good but I like seeing the young rip and when he murders the other oh I say murder he accidentally kills him manslaughter at best but he kills him for Beth He does, yeah.
11:30Beth's a shit, isn't she? Like, when she's a teenager. Like, she is awful to Rip.
11:35Steph:Yeah, she is awful. But she's like her redemption arc, to use those words. Does she have a redemption arc? Yes, because she loves him and then she says sorry to him several times and she acknowledges how awful. He's the only person in her life that she would ever apologise to. True. But she's still an awful person at the end. I'm not sure she has what I would call a classic redemption arc. Do you think she's awful? Yes. but in a way that you love her regardless because she's fighting for her family you're talking motivation her methodology I would say is somewhat flawed because she's borderline sociopathic throughout a lot of this so take the whole summer thing first of all the summer that was the most odd decision to have Piper Parabo come in as like an environmentalist who's fucking Kevin Costner I tell you the weirdest thing about that is have you watched Coyote Ugly?
12:23Steph:which is her film obviously I was like why is Coyote Ugly coming into this? This is very confusing to me. But it turns out it's because she's married to... I'm all with the facts today. Okay, bring me all the facts. So it turns out that her husband has directed loads of The Yellowstones and that's why she was casting. Right, okay. Well, it wasn't so much her, it's the idea. Because I would say it's the first time this show has tried to show the, shall we say, more liberal narrative. But they're kind of like, oh, we're showing the other side of it. But you're not because she's just a figure of fun.
12:53Like when she's at dinner and talking about her veganism and being like quite obnoxious, frankly. because if you're having dinner at someone's house, don't stop laying into their food. And then Ben takes her outside and eats the shit out of her.
13:02Steph:That is one of my favourite scenes. When Rip comes out and says, stop it. And if you're going to do it, do it as a fair fight and stand in front of me. And then they just keep punching each other. They trade punches. That is so great. But it's also unfair because the whole of Summer's advantage is that she's got nine years of jiu-jitsu under her belt, which she cannot use if she's just trading punches on the lawn. And Ben goes, enough of that jiu-jitsu shit. That is so good. But also, it's so brilliant when they get back into the dining room and they have that conversation. And she's just like, so how long have you been a vegetarian?
13:36Steph:Beth said to her, it's fantastic. They're absolutely fine after they've like absolutely... And she spits a tooth out. And she said, it needed to happen. And it's just like, that needed to happen. They needed to get it out of their system. Oh my God, it's just the most ridiculous thing ever even thought of. But yeah, so sad things that happened in that season. I think that's the season is it the season that Monica loses the baby in that season and they find out they name the baby John and that's the beginning of season five beginning of season five she does lose the baby again that's deeply stupid as well because like she's at home she doesn't want to have a home birth because she thinks it's dangerous it probably is but is it maybe less dangerous than while having contractions driving down the motorway with your child just yeah and then crashing honestly that was I know ill conceived I love I love Monica and I love the whole thing about she cuts her hair afterwards and all of that stuff.
14:25Steph:I really enjoy all of that. But yeah, Monica, I was very sad to know that Monica is not at all in Marshalls because her character died. So this is something that we will get onto, I think, a little bit later on. So I've not pressed on and watched all of Dutton Ranch or anything like that, as I'm sure you thought I would have done. But I did re-watch the pilots for both Marshalls and Dutton Ranch with new eyes, having now seen Yellowstone. And two things. One, I now understand, because obviously Dutton Ranch, they end the show, you know, they buy this place, this new ranch, which burns down in the first episode of Dutton Ranch so they can transport themselves to Texas.
15:00But, you know, I felt much more like I knew these characters. Rip, of course, still unknowable. But I, you know, right. But I felt like I knew them more. I watched the first episode of Marshalls again. Marshalls, which I thought was just like, meh. And I hated it. No! Hated it.
15:15Steph:James! Absolutely. This can't end. Hated it. Because, first of all, they kill Monica off, off screen, just to give Casey some reason to become a marshal. And I was like, that is shit. That is dirty bull right there. See, I can't remember it. And also, it is just, it is so... It just doesn't feel like Yellowstone. Like, Casey, I like Casey. I mean, it is, to be fair, it is a network procedural. It's a different part of a show. Yeah, we did talk about it. But I just, and he's arguing with his son and everything. Yeah, I wasn't having it. And it feels like Rainwater and Moher in it, but they're in, like, really shitty versions of their previous roles.
15:45Steph:Yeah, because there's a protest, isn't there? It feels really small and low budget. Yeah, and just like, I found the whole thing just really not good. I was not a Marshalls fan. God, maybe this is the end. Well, look, we've still got... But Dutton Ranch, I am going to go back to. So I'm going to watch Dutton Ranch because, you know, Rip and Beth. But anyway, anyway, anyway, back to Yellowstone. So other things from season four before we move on. Right. Rourke, okay, Josh Holloway from Lost, who we think is still going to be the big bad, and Rip just comes up and throws a rattlesnake in his face.
16:10Steph:Such a great way to die. Would it have killed him within 10 seconds? 100%. Really? 100%. Because people get bitten by rattlesnakes and they live. No, no. But they have the anti-venom, whatever it's called. Do you die in less than a minute? I'm not sure you do. I think you definitely do die. Do you? I'm going to number cross that. If there are any rattlesnake experts listening to this, please let us know. Would you have died in the time it took Rourke to die? Yeah. On Dutton Ranch, they have rattlesnake handlers. They have like six on set at any time, and they're just, Kelly Riley, my beloved friend, said they just literally are just taking...
16:40Take them up and chucking them out.
16:41Steph:Yeah, chucking them out. That's what they have to do. Rattler handlers. Because they are in Texas and it's just absolutely full of rattlesnakes, which is like my biggest... Well, I can't... Yeah, I don't really want to see rattlesnakes. But also, we see episodes in season four with Jimmy at the 4.6's ranch. I really enjoyed that thing for Jimmy. And it upsets me that the 4.6's spin-off is not either not happening. It's definitely not happening. It's not that it's not happening. It's just kind of on hold indefinitely. Like, Taylor Sheridan's doing other things. Maybe they'll do it, maybe they won't.
17:08But it seems to be on hold. You'd think he'd want to do it given that he literally owns the 4.6's ranch.
17:12Steph:but Jimmy is I think one of those characters that at the beginning I was like oh no oh he's great I love Jimmy he's god the evolution of that character is fantastic and I just really enjoyed the fact that when he when he goes to the four sixes he's sent there as a punishment and he you know we're going to send you there to make you a cowboy and that's exactly what happens to him he thrives yeah he really does he's a hand yeah and he meets the woman and it's just yeah it's great and also the other thing I like about that and I can't now remember season four please don't let it be the fact that he wanks off a horse because I don't think anyone really needed that that's how he needs the love of his life that is true as far as meet-cutes go that's quite original it's very but then obviously when he comes back for in season five with his wife that's explosive but we'll get on to season five yeah okay is there anything else in season four that we need to talk one thing I want to talk about in season four like Rip we all love Rip right unknowable Rip we love Rip and Rip you know but I'm just going to say as far as romantic gestures go, I would say there is something fundamentally flawed.
18:14But here is my family wedding ring, and here is my family wedding ring, which has been on the finger of the corpse of my mother for the last 30 years. But no, no, it's fine, because I dug her up and removed the ring from her rotting finger and bestowed it upon my beloved. Ill thought through, I'm saying. Wrong-headed.
18:35Steph:Well, saying that, do you remember when he tells Beth, Beth's like, where's all your money? You know, they have that scene, it's like, you must have some money. And he spent it on headstones. And he spent it on headstones and he spent it on getting his dad's body dug up and then he paid somebody to like, you know, like distribute his body parts all over the, you know, the country or whatever. So, yeah, it's funny the conversation he has before that with the guy who's like, what condition do you think she's going to be in? And they're like, well, if you had this guy and they'll be okay, if you had that guy, then it won't be okay.
19:04Steph:And actually the body condition is just fine. Yeah, reasonably well embalmed. And he has a little chat with his mum and he says he met this girl and he really likes her. And that's very soapy. But I didn't mind it. There's only one problem with Rip. I love absolutely everything about Rip. But there's one absolutely huge character flaw about Rip. Can you guess what it is? No. He does not like dogs. And he says it several times. Okay, I wouldn't have got that. Now, he is not... Or children, or people, but that's neither here nor there. That is so against his character. You think he'd like dogs? He would like dogs.
19:44Steph:He would have a trusty dog. I mean, as we know, he's unknowable rip. So maybe he doesn't trust any. In many ways, Carter is his trusty dog. Well, Carter is his trusty dog. Yeah, oh my God. When you come back to Carter and Carter's like shot up. Right, he's like 48. That's wild. But then, Kevin Costner, John Dutton makes that great joke. He was like, do me a favor, stop growing. Yeah. Yeah. But it's as if he hasn't seen... that's also kind of crazy because it's like, it's as if he hasn't seen him because he's been living at the ranch. Yeah, he has been living on the ranch, but obviously he doesn't pay attention, does he?
20:13Steph:No, it's like he hasn't seen him that whole time. But yeah. But also, I like that whole sequence when he comes to the house and she's a bit like, and she's like, yeah, he might be our kid, honey. And Rip is having fucking none of it. And she's like, sorry kid, we tried. I like that whole Rip finally kind of giving in because it's weird because he's basically Rip Jr., isn't he? He is who Rip wants. And she says to him, it's you. Yeah, this is you. I know. I mean, I don't know where in their mind if they were thinking at that point this is going to be a great setup for a spin-off. I have no idea.
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20:44Steph:But it absolutely is. And as we know, now I want to talk about season five. Let's do it. One of the things I want to talk about with season five is it's been into two parts, right? Yes. The first eight episodes, the last part of, or the last episode in part one aired on the 1st of January, New Year's Day, 2023. Okay. Right? The first episode of the second half of season five was November the 10th, 2024. Aren't you so glad we didn't have to do that? Right. There is a two-year gap between parts one and parts two of season five, which, to the best of my knowledge, is the longest anyone has ever waited for the second half of one season.
21:23Now, to be fair, it wasn't designed that way. There was a strike in the middle of it where they had to just stop production. And then there was the whole Kevin Costner-iness of the whole thing. so Kevin Costner who was in the first half of season 5 and is crucially not in the second half of season 5 now the idea was always for John Dutton to die it's a kind of succession story that was always going to happen but they had a big falling out and he obviously didn't come back
21:46Steph:what was that falling out do you know I can't remember there were a number of things so on the one hand there was much talk of the fact that because he was making Horizon which was his passion project his multi-part western that he was self-funding it was a disaster the first one made I think it's like something like 37 million dollars it was a complete flop he shot the second one it doesn't even have a distributor for it. I don't know if he's ever going to see the light of day. So there was such talk that he was doing that. He says that had nothing to do with it. He said that wasn't it. But then equally, they were saying he wanted a$10 million bonus and he wanted final say on the scripts for each episode.
22:15I believe this was the sticking point. He wanted final approval of the scripts. Taylor Sheridan writes the scripts. He was having absolutely none of it. I think that was a lot of the discussion. And it went right down to the wire. Is he going to come back? Is he not? And ultimately, he didn't come back. So they literally kill him off screen.
22:30Steph:Do you know that he made$1.2 million per episode? I mean, that's what we get per podcast, surely. That's true. Kelly Riley, all the others were like$200 ,000. Slumming it on 200 grand an episode. But that is a huge disparity. Yes, it is. That is huge pay disparity. It is, though, to be fair, when it started, like, his was the name that got people watching. I mean, of course, he's Kevin Costner. Exactly. So that's interesting because I, I know I'm jumping ahead with the season five thing. I thought to myself, when you find out how he was killed, I thought, I wonder if that is actually Kevin Costner.
23:06Steph:No, you never see his face. It's definitely not him. No, it's not him. He participated not at all in that second half. He is not in it at all. Has he publicly fallen out with Taylor Sheridan? No, apparently Taylor Sheridan said there's no bad blood. I think they're actually okay. But obviously, they could not make it work. They couldn't come to agreement, so they just moved on without him. And Taylor Sheridan said, look, he was always going to die, but we just had to move that up a bit and do it in a different way. but from a viewing experience, it sucks because it's really jarring to go from, hey, he's just, you know, he's going to be governed, he's going to be, and then suddenly hard cut to Beth turning up at his house having had some kind of fucking vision.
23:41Like, she feels a tremor in the force. It's like millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
23:47Steph:Be kind to Beth because she's driving back. It's a long drive. She's gone to see Rip. So what's happened is, oh, they've got, what have they got? buccosal, buccosal, I can't remember, like, buccalosis, the buffalo disease, yeah, brucellosis, brucellosis, well done, they've got brucellosis, so they've sent all the cows to Texas, they send me to Texas, and Rip has gone to Texas, and a load of the ranch hands have gone to Texas, Tita, Ryan have gone, and they've taken Gator, who, another fact for you, so Gator, who is a real life chef, right, and he was a head of catering, on the whole of Yellowstone, So when he wasn't actually in those scenes, he's head of craft services.
24:29Yeah.
24:30Steph:So anyway, right. So yeah, she's come back from that long drive where she's kidnapped Rip for a little hotel whistle. Can I, can I, here's the thing. You know, we talked about this in the regular podcast or people listening to this don't have heard the regular podcast yet, but we do talk about it. And I have my bugbear is non-signposted chronological tomfoolery. Right. It bothers me. So you have two timelines in this fifth season. You have the post-John's death timeline and then the pre-John's death stuff. It is not clear when anything is happening. I got quite confused. That is true. That is a good point.
25:03Steph:That is a very good point. Yeah, because that does get really, really confusing. Because I was just like, your dad's dead. Why are you shagging? Oh, this happened before. Yeah, you know what? You're on the money with that. That does happen. But she is on her way back and she gets a pain in her tummy and then she calls Rip straight away to say, are you okay? But I do think you genuinely feel she has an otherworldly connection with her father that that might happen. You know, sometimes you get these kind of sick senses about things and it just feels like that did happen. But I do love it when, oh my God, when Rip comes back and she runs out screaming, that is an amazing, that is so Dallas but so brilliant.
25:47Steph:It is, yes. But it is good. I like that. So, Yes. Season five. Season five. Right. Where do we dive in? Well, first of all, I think this is season five. It could even be season four. I don't remember. But do you remember the thing where Lloyd stabs Walker in the chest? Because they had this whole love triangle with Laramie. And he's getting increasingly annoyed that they're kind of rubbing his nose in it. And he just goes up and just throws a knife at him. It goes like that. Yeah. It's a fun fact moment. Laramie and Walker are married in real life. Are they? They got married in real life. Wow.
26:20Steph:they fell in love on set they're a good looking couple and they got married in real life and he is a really amazing he's a proper cowboy and he's a singer but yeah they got married in real life oh that's quite sweet I like that one that's a good fact but yeah I love Walker's character really grew on me I thought once they took him to the train station and then he went I'm really glad they brought him back he must have proved really popular I think so yeah he's wonderful he's good so I enjoyed that I liked that fight the other fight I enjoyed was when that poor woman from I think it was California decides to hit on Rip and then goes up to try and be sassy with Beth and gets bottled in the head for it.
26:54Steph:The Beth bar scene fight where she just walks towards and bottles her and this woman goes, don't worry, I'm going to sort it out. And then Jamie has to get her out of jail. That is an amazing scene because she calls Jamie because she knows he can get her out and he's obviously an incredible lawyer. Yeah, she's got him on a short leash at that point. Yeah, and when they bring the woman in and they're like, this is actually what's going to happen and then you're really not going to win this and she's like, okay. And then they say what this woman said or supposedly said to Beth, which is, oh, you're going home, I'm going home with your husband tonight, you can be part of it or not.
27:25Steph:And of course Beth's going to bottle her. Yeah, I mean, that was very unwise of her. You can't mess with Beth. Just don't mess with Beth. No one ever wins against Beth. Nobody. Ever. She's always like 10 steps ahead. But yeah, just to go back to that thing that she's really annoyed about the train station. I don't understand that at all. It is weird, isn't it, when she confronts her father about that. She feels out of the loop, I think. Do you think that's what it is? And I think that's the issue. Okay. And also, like, what's Rip done for you? How many people has Rip killed for you? All of this.
27:55It's like, you should know your husband by now. Like, he doesn't really hide it. But yeah, I don't fully understand why she was as upset as she was.
28:02Steph:No. Casey moves into East Camp. He does. Which is just a delightful property. Oh, isn't it nice? Yeah. Why would you ever go, I'm just not sure about East Camp? And also, how much land have you got? You've just got these random houses everywhere. And you've got a whole place that you can call East Camp that everyone goes to. And it's just a big old fucking house in the field. And it's lovely. And it's their forever home, of course. Yeah, that's very cool. Can we talk about Jamie, though? Because, obviously, the whole Jamie-ness of it, because you have Jamie calling the vote of no confidence in his dad, which is the first backstab kind of driven by his dad.
28:31He's getting him impeached. And Christine, who just randomly turns up again with a child, and then, crucially, disappears again. Yes. Because I was like, when he's shagging Sarah, the corporate raider, who we haven't mentioned as well, the corporate assassin. We need to get into her. But on a crucial point here, I couldn't work out what was happening there because she's using sex to try and get Jamie on side. But then it feels like she actually...
28:51Steph:She actually liked him. I couldn't work out what was going on there. It was so weird, that, because I was like... I thought I was waiting for that moment where she turned around to him and was like... Oh, honey, I'm just using him. Yeah, exactly. Oh, you know, fuck you, kind of thing. But that never happened and she was just... It seemed like she sort of did, which kind of seems impossible because he's such a loser. It's like she fell in love with him, but maybe it was just fear that kept them together. I genuinely don't know. But also, like, there's a bit where the assassinate, because she's obviously the one who kills, as we find out, she's the one who kills John.
29:21Yeah. And she goes...
29:22Steph:She orders the kill. She goes ridiculously like, you know, it's the fucking deliveroo of hitmen she goes and hires. But the fact is, they were saying at one point, they were saying, this is a$40 million hit. Is it? I mean, look, I don't hire a lot of hitmen. I don't know what the going rate. $40 million? Well, James, think about how much that land is worth. That's why they can't keep the land. That's a lot of money. Well, he's a governor. He's incredibly influential. He's Kevin Costner. He's got security. Yeah, it's a 40 million. But also, where's she getting$40 million from? Because there would have been a distinct paper trail from market equities to her.
29:55Did they sign this off? Was this an expense? Did she file an expense claim for Hitman services rendered? How did that work?
30:00Steph:I don't know about the paperwork, but what I can tell you is I feel like she had... You know she does that great line. Discretionary funds. Yeah, I feel like she had one of those little cash boxes that she could just use. Took it from petty cash. I think the point is made where, you know when she goes in and she sees the boss lady the market equities like CEO and she says oh I love it when she's angry it means I'm going to make a lot of money which is a great line and so she just it just feels like she's going to do whatever I mean my god the woman is amazing she's got an incredible body of course she's going to seduce Jamie and Jamie's so thick he just falls for absolutely everything he really is an imbecile question was there any point in this whole series that you felt a bit sorry for Jamie yes many times many times when Beth was laying into him especially if he went before you knew what he'd done.
30:45You felt really bad for Jamie. And even after that, he's got a kind of slightly kicked puppy dog energy, hasn't he?
30:49Steph:There's certain points where I thought, oh God, but then he just kept making such stupid decisions. It's just like, and he's just so weaselly. You can, I mean, you've got to give credit to that actor because he's unbelievable. Wes Bentley. Wes Bentley, sorry. You've got to give credit to Wes Bentley because my God, he is just so weaselly and just, oh, he makes his skin crawl. He's the worst. It's just awful. But yeah, I mean, it is unforgivable, of course, what he did to Beth. That scene where she finds out he's got a child, which is after he breaks her out. So he gets her out of jail. She gets out of the car and just walks.
31:24Steph:And she just walks. And she turns around and she sees that baby seat and she says, you've got a child. You took my womb from me and they got a son. They gave you a son. And she just can't. And that is one of the only moments that I think you see Beth completely defeated. Oh, but you're also furious in a way you've never seen her before. Oh, you've never. She's incandescent. But the thing that was interesting, she's threatening basically the life of his baby. And at that point, you are 100%. I will take him for you. Well, you are 100 % Team Jamie at that point. Because you're a bit like, okay, you're being a sociopath.
31:57What is going on?
31:58Steph:Yeah. And you do have sympathy for him there. Because he's like, oh my God, you're going to come and kill my child. What's going on? Yeah, yeah. Or take my child or do something. Like, you know. Can I tell you the thing that really made me cry in season five? Go on. And I don't know why they did it. Colby. Why did they kill him? Poor Colby. But what? Kicked to death in a stall. Save. Do you know what I mean? I know. Like saving Carter. I didn't see that. Right. So the only time I thought something's going to happen to him is when he has the... Tita as a character. Oh, God, love her. Love her. Yeah.
32:34Steph:she is an amazing amazing amazing character right so I I just thought oh god when he says that's why I love you and they're on the phone because he's stayed behind and she's gone to Texas I thought oh no something's going to happen and then you just know you just know from when he goes into the bar and you're like oh god this horse this crazy horse because they keep saying we should have got rid of this horse we should have got rid of this horse and then he kicks him to death well so I thought I thought Tita and Colby were both dead when they got trampled when they were having the skinny dipping thing.
33:06Yeah. So I genuinely thought they were dead then. I was pleased they weren't.
33:10Steph:No, not dead. Can we also talk about the Ryan? I think he is an amazing character. I love him. And he has this amazing kind of love story with Lainey Wilson, who is a country and western singer and has absolutely blown up ever since Yellowstone. I'm not surprised. And famously, Kelly Riley and Lainey Wilson have become really, really close friends. Really? Yeah, she said to her when she started, she was like, I thought you were going to, I was hoping you'd be my first friend on the show. Not saying that she hadn't made other friends, but I think she meant like my first real, real true friend and they've become really close.
33:44Steph:And she said that when they were filming the COVID season, Lainey would just in the barn put on shows for them all. Isn't that nice? That's great. I love the Ryan thing. And obviously the end of Ryan's story is that he ends up going with Lainey and becomes... Becomes a roadie. Becomes a roadie, which is absolutely brilliant. other things I need to talk about. Right, let me think. I've got a lot of talking points and obviously we want to get on to the final episode where we talk about how it all gets essentially rounded up. Okay. Also, can I hit you with some facts? Because I've got a list of facts.
34:15Steph:Hit me with some facts, Steph. Okay, so Taylor Sheridan, I think we've said this on the main pod, so Taylor Sheridan supplied all the horses that feature in Yellowstone because as you said on pilot, he bought the 4.6's ranch. And so all of those horses are champion horses and they're all his. Are these just the ones you see in Texas, though? Or are they ones you see in Wyoming as well? I think they're all of his. Okay, all of them are his horses. Yeah, they're all of his. And is this why he always shows off on a horse? Yeah. Because he's like a mad rider. Yeah, he's so good. As Travis. Travis the horse trainer.
34:47Steph:I know. Oh, my God. That's the scene where Beth goes to his house. Oh, got the strip poker scene. The strip poker scene is so great. Yeah, that's funny. Yeah, it's so great. And do you remember when you see Rip later on, he's talking about stuff, and they have that line, where I think Travis is recounting a time when him... Yeah, they're such good friends. Rip says, son, you'll think there were 10 of me. What's really funny is that's a line from Hell or High Water, Taylor Sheridan's Hell or High Water. And I remembered that line when he said it. I was like, yes, he's cribbing his own work. Oh, my God.
35:20Steph:Okay. Right, I've got a really good Tita fact, which is going to blow your mind. Okay. Right, okay. Tita's dad in real life is Michael Landon, Landon who played Charles Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie. That is wild. Literally wild. I can't believe that that's her real father. That's so good. She's brilliant. She's a great character. She is such a good character. Did you know that it was the most watched TV show of 2021 to 2022? Yeah. So there are a few good facts in terms of actual statistics. Let me sort of bring those up. So the season five premiere of Yellowstone had 16 million viewers and was the most watched show across all of TV in 2022.
36:00Yes. The most watched cable premiere since The Walking Dead in 2017. At this point, bearing in mind that no one was talking about Yellowstone at all towards the end and it was smashing everything. The season four finale was the most watched entertainment episode of 2022, which got 13.1 million viewers. So it's one of these things where the critics didn't like it. It didn't form part of the cultural conversation, but it had tapped into this kind of very rural, conservative viewer base and it showed that these people will watch an awful lot of television if you give them something to watch. But it's not the traditional television-watching audience, which is genuinely fascinating.
36:35Also, this is a show that's become synonymous with Paramount +, which is ironic because, first of all, the first four seasons are on Netflix. And second of all, it airs exclusively on Peacock in the United States because of a pre-existing streaming deal. But everyone thinks, oh, Paramount +, Yellowstone made Paramount+.
36:51Steph:Yeah, I mean, even I think that. Yeah, exactly. It's absolutely mad. Oh, God. Okay, should we get into the finale? We should get into the finale. So, a lot happens here. A lot happens here. Because the whole point is, they can't inherit the ranch. They can't pay the inheritance tax. They genuinely just can't have it. So, it's this idea. Now, you haven't seen 1883, have you? No. So, I have watched 1883. And that is the best reviewed of all the Yellowstones. Really? Critically reviewed? Yeah, by some margin. Okay. And it's a really good Western. So, this is Harrison Ford? No, that's 1923. Oh, God.
37:23That's the really miserable one.
37:24Steph:1883. It's the frontier. where basically they found the ranch. And it's basically these front... It's like wagon train. They're just journeying across the Old West, fighting off Native American attacks and whatnot. And ultimately, they found the Dutton Ranch at the end of it. And the point is that he buys the Dutton Ranch, I believe, for$125 an acre. That's the point, right. And of course, the point is, Casey then sells the ranch back to the Broken Rock tribe for$125 an acre. And he said, was it Rainbow? He said, congratulations, this is not the worst real estate deal since we sold you Manhattan or something like that.
37:55that's a lovely a lovely plot term
37:57Steph:but I also really enjoy the fact that at the end of it it is Casey who has the idea you know he has that great he gets that great scene with Beth where he says to Beth can I can I ask you a question like a financial question and she's like yeah sure and he says the whole thing about the car and then she runs after he's like why didn't I think of that why didn't I think of that and that's beautiful that scene I love the whole thing because the inherent tax is payable on what you sell it for not what it's valued at so that was the loophole. Let's talk about the funeral though. What did you think about the funeral?
38:30Steph:Did it bring, did it make you misty-eyed? I love, I just, I thought the best part of it was the rip stays behind to bury him. Yeah. To fill in the land with a shovel on his own because of course he does. Of course he does. Yeah, it was really like emotional. To say his last words to him. You know, they have the whole thing, everybody says the thing that they want to say to him but I just, I think they did it so, so well, that funeral. you know even the way like sometimes I think and I know we keep saying like banding around soapy but the way that Beth talks to the coffin afterwards and she's like we won daddy and all that I was fully in for it I mean I just loved how they'd they'd done it felt so true to the show so like genuinely how it absolutely would have played out um and also unbeknownst to us but then we obviously we find out later it was part of her plan to do it that way because the whole time from the moment that her father was killed she was thinking about how to kill jamie because if you remember crucially the last conversation she had with her father was does he give her permission to kill jamie and she he does he gives her permission to get rid of jamie and she says and she there's several times where she's you know alluded to that that she wants to get rid of him and then he says, oh, I love him, he's my son.
39:48Steph:But you know that he has given Beth blessing to get rid of Jamie who is absolutely, you know, turns into a complete monster by the end of it. Yeah. Oh, he really does. But her plan is wild. So her plan is to go there, start a fight with him, get the shit kicked out of her and then wait for Rip to turn up and basically stop him. But she knows he's going to because that's the genius because she knows when they had that conversation in the car and she's like, yeah I've got a plan and you're a big part of it and you're an hour behind and you better get going yeah let's hurry up I mean to be fair there's no way he could have been an hour behind at that point there's all those little things that there's just absolutely no way that that could have been the case there's no way that he's an hour behind her because then he just goes I know where she's going and like of course you know where she's going she's going to kill Jamie there's nowhere else she was going to go but after that funeral where she literally whips off her outfit and gets on her cowgirl boots and she's just like right I'm going he's dead yeah but and the final you know when she's promised him my face is going to be the last thing you see and she just stabs him in the chest and she stabs him in the chest as she should and that's it as she absolutely should I do just to go back to the bit where Sarah gets when she gets killed by the hitmen when she gets killed by the couple in their car yeah and they're like are you Sarah and she's like how could you know oh my god that's so good and then when Casey so I think this is quite part of the problem of when things were out of order when Casey then goes to, finds the hitman, because obviously he's got all these Navy SEAL connections.
41:18Steph:And threatens his daughter in the back of the car. And threatens his daughter and says to her, you should cry. Which is kind of cool, not what you would say, really. He's like, yeah, why don't you ask your daddy what he does for a living? Yeah, it's absolutely brilliant. It's so good. I did enjoy that. And the fact that Jamie ends up at the train station and all that stuff, it's all, that all felt quite fitting. As he should. As he should, indeed. Casey and Monica live on East Camp. Yeah. With the wee one. And that's the only thing that they want. He said, I just want the east end for my family.
41:44Steph:Yeah, with Tate. They've done that house up really nicely. And then obviously we know what happens to Beth and Rip. Well, this is the thing, because actually Beth and Rip have a lovely ending. They've got their own ranch. They're going to ranch together. You know, they've got Carter there. And actually, while I'm going to enjoy watching Dutton Ranch, I feel a bit sad that their ending was undone because it felt like she'd earned that ending. A bit of peace. Yeah, a little bit of peace. To live happily ever after with Rip. I think, you know, that would have been nice. I know, but then you just, the thirst for more of them is just well yeah there is definitely that question so lots of people are saying this is bonkers do you think the show is bonkers yes it's mad it's basically it's absolutely deranged I mean it is super soapy and as people say to me oh is Yellowstone good and I'm a bit like I always pause I'm like um it's very addictive okay so why do you think so we started this not as kind of a joke I can't even remember why we started doing why we decided we were going to watch Yellowstone because we watched Dutton Ranch we reviewed Dutton Ranch and we were like oh maybe we should go and watch Yellowstone.
42:42Steph:And then we both, we both, like we have a lot of similar tastes, but also a lot of very different tastes. So we have both devoured this. So what is it about this show that has made you and I both absolutely devour it? Is it just the addictive nature? I think it's that. It's the characters. The propulsive storylines. But also it's beautiful, the landscapes, the stunning sort of like landscape. I mean, it's extraordinary. I, yeah, I love the look of it. And there's something also, it's like, it's an old Western, it's cowboy stuff. There's something he's quite romantic about all that and it's just got brilliant characters and it has a soapy melodrama to the whole thing do you think that because the storylines are quite simple to follow as well in a way I mean it helps yeah it does help doesn't it they're simple to follow to a point but also he does he does this thing where there'll be no progress and then suddenly it will shoot off and there'll be random subplots and they won't get tied up and we'll just move on and it's just it's slightly chaotic I think it's a shame that and I know why they did it that Lee wasn't part of that oh and the one son I missed that was the other one it was one son I miss one son I yeah it was I missed him you missed out Lee I think it's a shame because I think he would have been a great character in Yellowstone and he can't they obviously bring him back for when Casey like has his as part of the spirit quest yeah as part of the spirit quest but yeah I think he would have been great in this that's the one shame Colby I didn't think they needed to kill Colby that really upset me but I also really did enjoy and I thought it was a real kind of celebration when they did the big sale at the end I thought that was really nicely done it was but like it made me really sad when they're like pulling apart the ranch are taking the big Y down like they're so it's like the ranch is literally not going to be there but I like the fact that Mo stops them from vandalising the gravestones that's a great scene where he says no no no they will rest because they've made a promise they made a promise to Casey that they like their fat people are buried there and his people are buried there and that's really important that he runs over and says no because obviously you know they've been their land has been stolen from them and they've been brought up to believe that this land is stolen from them and it's their land and so of course they would do that because they would have no respect for those people but yeah that's really that's really nice that scene it's really nice we have some questions okay so let's address some of our listener questions so let's do it first one here this comes from becky i know it's probably not everyone's thing but i am loving the yellowstone chats i was obsessed with it from the first episode when it was on channel four then i bought the dvd box set back when it when it went to paramount then i used my free trial to watch season five was always a bit sad you guys didn't Oh, Becky, you're so dedicated.
45:11Kelly Riley's Beth is definitely one of the best portrayed characters of all time. If you have any spare time in your busy lives, I would recommend the podcast hosted by the actor who plays Jimmy.
45:19Steph:Oh, no. And he said, at the very least, listen to the pod episode where Kelly and Cole are on there, on the official Yellowstone podcast. Oh, definitely going to do that. So, there you go. This one's from Adam. And Adam says, the real reason James is watching Yellowstone. Oh, I love it. And he said, it's because of Taylor Swift, who has been out quoting Yellowstone at an awards speech. This is absolutely true. so she quoted Yellowstone during her induction speech at the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York this was earlier this year and basically she said speaking at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Manhattan Swift offered advice to young artists before turning to the western drama for a quote she said it's hard to harden yourself to certain brutal elements of this world but allow me to now make a hard pivot and pull out a quote I love from the show Yellowstone when a father says to his son it's the one constant in life son you build something worth having somebody's going to try and take it oh my god This is why I knew there was a reason.
46:11It all comes back to Taylor Swift. Yeah, everything in your life comes back to Taylor Swift. Of course it does. So that was, yes, that's actually true. This comes from David. Love the part, Worth Every Penny. I assume you already know this, but I thought it was a great bit of trivia. Cole Hauser's great-grandfather was Harry Warner of Warner Brothers. Yes. There you go.
46:28Steph:He's a Warner Brothers heir. He is indeed. Yeah. That is a good fact. That is a good fact. He's got some cash. And crucially, you know that Cole Hauser didn't, basically he went because Taylor Sheridan originally wanted to play Rip himself I think I've said this before of course he did so he was like I'm playing Rip and Cole Hauser had been in a load of auditions before with Taylor Sheridan and he had triumphed over Taylor Sheridan and Cole said to him no no no I'm Rip and Taylor just couldn't say anything he just couldn't because I could see in some world Taylor Sheridan playing Rip because he's kind of beefy but I mean you know Cole Hauser is the best but the thing that Cole Hauser there's a lunk-like quality to Rip but he's also an absolute force of nature that I don't think Sheridan quite would have captured.
47:09Steph:Do you know, Cole Hauser has to put on, to play Rip, right, he basically puts on 20 pounds. Yeah, but I can believe it because he's actually quite a svelte actor normally. Yeah, he's 20 pounds and he said that the problem they had filming Dutton Ranch, because it's so hot, that keeping that extra 20 pounds on was near impossible. Really? Yeah. So is he wearing like a fat suit in Dutton Ranch? No, he's not. He's just slimmer. He's really hard. Yeah, he's just really hard to maintain it. Okay, fair enough. Okay, good. Right, what have we got here? this is from Amar you remember Amar who didn't like us doing this Amar sorry we're really sorry is he doing a reverse ferret Amar says as a soon to be ex-Pilot Plus subscriber brilliant just kidding oh okay great my favourite Rip moment is a quite subtle one it's in season one episode eight the unravelling part one see Amar's on board with this Rip and the fish and game officer are riding out when she says I've heard a lot of rumours about you Mr.
48:00Wheeler all of them bad and he just replies hmm well most are probably true
48:05Steph:That is a great scene because do you remember she gets like, she's on a tree. What is the word? You know, like the tree. Oh, she gets impaled. Impaled, that's right. She gets impaled. And then he saves her and then everything's fine. There we go. Right. He also says, also, I don't believe any of the emails you read out about people enjoying this Yellowstone rewatch reckon it was a miscalculation. Oh, Amar with the comedy. Like the pun. Thank you, Amar. Right, okay. Message from Graham. My discovery and addiction issue with Yellowstone started about two months before yours, so I can appreciate and empathize with all your symptoms and side effects.
48:40I tried the first episode about three years ago and switched off after about 30 seconds of Kevin Costner talking to a horse. But after discovering a loving Landman, I decided to try it again, and that's when Rip and Beth got their hooks into me. It took a while to accept the extreme sudden violence and soap opera combination, but once you do, you are off and galloping. My question is more of a plea that the Dutton branch doesn't have to end with a spoiler special. I would argue that Dutton Ranch is actually a bit better than Yellowstone Steady as it's more focused and less of a soap opera and it centres on the two best Yellowstone characters anyway.
49:11So on behalf of the Dutton devotees, let there be regular reconvening at the bunkhouse of Dutton Branch to talk about Dutton Ranch.
49:17Steph:We've got the Stetsons now. They're going to come in. We do. Do you know what I really love is a bit of symmetry? So you know at the beginning of Yellowstone, John Dutton has to shoot a horse, right? Yes. So he has to shoot a horse. Which... And do you remember... At the beginning of Dutton Ranch. Because you've just done a rewatch at the beginning of Dutton Ranch. I love that symmetry. And she doesn't let them, she makes Anne Harris save the horse. He does shoot the horse, but she doesn't. No. And there's something beautiful about wrapping that all up. Yes, that's very true. And speaking of Beth, we have a message here from Becky and Becky says, my favourite Beth scene, season one, episode seven, Beth v.
49:51Governor Linnell, where she says, men don't think like us, too simple to weigh the significance of every act. My father just wants to forget, but not you. You want to piss in every corner and make those corners yours. affairs happen in hotels not homes you need to look closer when you look at me lanelle i ruin careers for a living you sleep in my mother's bed again and i'll ruin yours ruin it got it and tell
50:12Steph:your son to grow up he sounds like a real pussy i mean yes that is a great scene but also isn't it really amazing what happens because it takes five seasons but by the time it gets to john dutton's funeral lanelle is the only other woman only other person that beth invites yeah and there is a level of acceptance there that Beth has found with Lynelle because she's there's nothing for her she gains nothing by Lynelle being there it's just that she knows her father had feelings for her but there's a bit where Lynelle says you know when me and John were teenagers and I'm like I'm fairly certain you wouldn't have been teenagers at the same time I think you mentioned before that they referred to him as a 60 year old man yeah I'm 60 it's like the man is 70 as if he's a day but like you know it's just absolutely wild but they seem to be under this delusion that Kevin Costner is like in his mid-50s or something.
51:00He's not. No, he's not. Anyway, so another one here, this comes from David and David says, I would agree with the letter writer about Yellowstone. Sadly, most people I know associate Yellowstone with MAGA here. So there's a disdain for it among non-racist bigots here in the States. Sad, but true.
51:18Steph:Oh, that is a shame. Well, don't you remember it? Like people used to talk about it as if it's like, it's succession for Republicans. That's what they used to. Because its audience was, as I said, it is conservative rural voters from those big open wide states. And the whole plot of this is like, it's like a seventh generation rancher just trying to keep what's his to stop those liberal commie socialists from taking his land away. Even though, obviously, at the end, it kind of, you know, they give it back to the people. And that's quite a liberal finale, right? But, and then, of course, the fights against the bank and the business interests.
51:48Like, it is, I mean, it is 100 % like a Republican fable.
51:53Steph:Oh, God. It is so enjoyable, though. It is. And, I mean, it does, it redeems itself at the end. I think so. Everything sorts itself. Even if the whole summer storyline. Although, bear in mind, when John dies and then they just have to pack Piper Parabo off because she's just lying on the sofa and Beth has to learn about, yeah, you were never supposed to be here in the first place. There's no such thing. House arrest, go away. Beth literally comes down and is thinking what everyone who's watching is thinking. Are you still here? Are you still here? And we're all like, yeah. We're all thinking it.
52:21We're all thinking it. All right, so this is a letter here from John. And John says, rip the manliest of juxtapositions. I wrote in last week to say that my friend, Carly, only listens to the pod for the Yellowstone discussion. So this will be her first ever entire episode. No pressure. Hi, Carly. Welcome. Please subscribe to Pilot Plus.
52:41Steph:Carly. We need your money. We need you. Imagine us as being like the Duttons. We need you to hang on to the ranch, which is this Dutton branch. Is Carly the one who literally only started listening because of... I think she, to be fair, I think she may or may not have listened to the regular podcast before, but she does not subscribe to Pilot Plus, but subscribed for this. She subscribed only for this. But probably like on a trial, right? So we need to convince her to, you know, carry on subscribing. Well, do you know what? I can see a world where James and I carry on the dark lunch. So can I, but we will try and keep them as separate episodes.
53:10Anyway, anyway, anyway, he continues. I think the reason we love Rip
53:13Steph:is because he is a brilliant juxtaposition of aggression and soulfulness. Yes, he is the manliest of men, as Steph says, but when he's not branding people, throwing snakes in their faces or dropping them down a ravine, he is loyal, tender and sincere. When Rip says to Beth, you are the only thing I've ever been right about, it lands perfectly with the audience because it's true to everything we know about him. It's like God made Rip entirely devoid of emotional empathy, except when it comes to Beth, whom he understands on a level that defies normal male capabilities. Perhaps the best example of this can be found in episode five of season five.
53:47Rip is getting ready for the two-day cattle drive and Beth is growing increasingly angry because she wants to go with him, but she can't bring herself to admit it. So Rip delivers a line so perfect, so ninja in its understanding of what is really being asked of him, that the rest of mankind will feel forever inadequate. Beth, love of my life, God knows that you hate horses and cattle and being dirty and cold, and especially being told what to do, all of which is going to happen tomorrow. But would you consider coming and sparing me the misery of being without you?
54:16Steph:It's so great, that scene where she comes down, because he's outfitting everyone, isn't he? And he says, Beth, can we just put the crazy away for today? because he knows her he knows her very well I think it's yeah it's extremely romantic and it is so nice that actually that whole episode where they go on what is called The Gathering is beautiful and that's the thing where they find the meadow which is she because they get to an incredible vista and then John Dutton says to Beth isn't this the most beautiful thing and she says no give me a meadow give me a little and then Rick finds the meadow which was the place that he had originally found because she says to him I want you to find a place for us to get married.
54:54Steph:And that's the place he had already gone to find before she kind of hijacked the whole thing. Yeah, exactly. With the dead corpse embalmment ring. Right, okay. Last question here. And this comes from Hannah Griffiths. And Hannah says, Hi there, cowboys. I'm writing ahead of your Yellowstone special just to let you know what effect you have had on this listener. I didn't have any interest in Yellowstone. My husband watched it and the prequels. I wasn't bothered. Didn't give it a thought until you guys started banging on about it week after week in preparation for a long train journey last weekend, I downloaded the first couple of episodes to see what all the fuss was about.
55:28Oh my word, I basically haven't done anything else since. My whole week, nay, please actually nay here, not nay. My whole life has become all about the ranch to the extent that during the heatwave this week, when the community WhatsApp group started complaining about an inconsiderate neighbor burning stuff in their garden, I grabbed my Stetson and my rifle, disclosure, I do not fully own these things, and marched over to demand they put it out. I am not a confrontational person at all. This is what Yellowstone has done to me. She's channeling Beth, it's true.
55:54Steph:Oh my God, it's her inner Beth. I was fully, fully channeling an enraged Dutton fighting against the casino being built next to my ranch. They put the fire out straight away. Do not mess with me or I'll take you to the train station. Oh, I am so happy about this. Hoping to have had the chance to finish by the time this podcast goes out. You guarantee you will have done because it's been delayed so many times so that I could join in with all the rambling. Thanks both for bringing this into my life. My kids, do not thank you. They are hungry. oh my god I'm so do you know what that makes me so happy like for all the people who are like stop it the haters just stop talking about it the Jamie's there are some people that have just like us because we really have discovered this show in terms of like for us and we genuinely have loved it so much and yes I know we've said this before this is absolutely a WhatsApp group between James and I that we should have like it could have just stayed like that but people have found the show who weren't considering it and like some people have mentioned on Instagram to me that they're not going to watch it, they're not going to run it, just try because it's so entertaining.
56:53Steph:It is very entertaining. And you know, it is, and you will, it is such, it's so bingeable and it's just brilliant and it's a great thing to talk about. So that makes me so happy. I know not everybody has enjoyed this, but we have enjoyed it. We have enjoyed it and really that's the important thing. Yeah, that's the important thing. Call it self-indulgent if you will, but here we are. And it is, yeah. So, tell me now, right, one, your favourite character. I mean, my favourite, oh, see, it's Rip or Beth, obviously, but is it Rip or Beth? That's the question. It's Beth. Do you know what? It's Rip.
57:23It's Rip.
57:24Steph:Okay, fine. It's Rip. Okay. There's something unknowable about Rip and I appreciate that. What is your favourite fight scene? Oh, my favourite fight. Do you know what? It's any time Rip just fucking wades in and it's like there's one rule in this place, no fighting. You want to fight? You can fight me all day. I love that stuff. It's got to be Beth and Summer for me because it's just so funny. That is genius. That genuinely is genius. What was the... I'm just coming off the top of my head. Is there one part of it that made you cry? Is there one scene that made you cry? Oh, there were definitely a couple of scenes where I just thought, you know, where you get quite like, because you get so invested in this stuff.
58:00But of course, I can't remember them now off the top of my head, which is not very helpful. Why? What was yours?
58:05Steph:The scene, I really got upset when Colby died. Yeah, that was really sad. I think it was because it was an unnecessary death. And poor Tita. Yeah, and the thing is, when she comes back, and Floyd has saved the steps of for her. I know. He saved the hat. And I think there's something about Yellowstone that, and I've said this before, there is a Dexter quality to Yellowstone where you know that most of the people that are getting killed, they did something bad. They had it coming. Yeah, they had it coming. And Colby was just one of those deaths that didn't need to happen. And it made me really sad.
58:43Colby was one of the pure characters. Him and Jimmy, They just feel like inherently great people. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
58:49Steph:And Ryan, I love Ryan as well. And Ryan as well, yes, true. But yeah, okay, all right. So what is your, like, overriding best scene of five seasons? Oh, God. I know that's really hard. I think the best season was probably three. You think so? Yeah, I think three is the strongest season because it had really found its rhythm, its groove, it had hit its stride. And it's just, like, four was good but not as good and then five has good moments. but for many reasons it's all over the fucking shop because bearing in mind so this ran for five seasons five was split into two parts really that's five and six broadly speaking they're two seasons let's be honest originally Taylor Sharon had said this was a seven season run and when he was negotiating when he was negotiating when he was negotiating with Kevin Costner there was a discussion that we'll do instead of doing seven seasons we'll do five split into two and then we'll do a season six so it got truncated quite heavily when Kevin Costner split then it was like okay now we have to we have to now wrap up this entire show in the second half of season five.
59:48So it was heavily adapted. And they made it work. They did make it work. But I can't help feeling that I would love to have A, seen it end on its own terms in the amount of time that he wanted it to end. And B, I would like to have seen it end with John Dutton going out with Kevin Costner playing him exactly as it was intended. Because I couldn't help feeling a bit cheated by that. That bothered me.
1:00:11Steph:We know he left the series prematurely, right? do you think that the original plan for John Dotton was to die in the finale? I don't know if it would have been the finale because I feel like like the success, you would have needed time for them to work out what to do with the ranch. But I feel if I had to guess, I'd have been like he would have died maybe halfway through the final season, whether that be six or seven, and that would have given them then a few episodes to wrap things up. But obviously this was rushed because you got the impression like that Hitman stuff. In the first half of season five, it was very much Jamie driving the Hitman and it wasn't to kill John, it was to kill Beth.
1:00:46Steph:Yeah. And yet they retcon it that she goes ahead with it and she's, oh yeah, you said you wanted to do it. It's like, well no, no, watch the episode. He was talking about Beth. At no point did he mention his dad. Like, what the fuck are you doing? Yeah. So all of that stuff felt a little bit hasty but again, it was necessary. Were you happy with the finale? I was really happy with the finale. Yeah, I was happy with the finale. It was, everything was wrapped up in the way that I wanted it to be. I was just, you know, I was very happy Jamie died and like I said, I'm going to say it again, and the only thing that I didn't like is the fact that Rip doesn't like dogs and Colby died.
1:01:16And that made me really sad. Those are the things that made you furious. Yeah.
1:01:19Steph:But I haven't watched any more of Dutton Ranch, which I'm definitely going to. No, I'm going to too. Yes. And we will talk about it. So I'm hoping, I'm really hoping, because I think Floyd's in it, and I think Tita's in it. I think. Okay. So I'm hoping. When you say Floyd, do you mean Lloyd? Do I keep calling him Floyd? You keep calling him Floyd. Is his name for Lloyd? I'm pretty sure you mean Lloyd. Oh my God. Because when you were saying, the one who plays young Floyd, and I was like, I'm pretty sure she means Lloyd. I think I've said Floyd. I'm really sorry if I've said Floyd throughout this whole thing.
1:01:46Steph:I'm pretty sure you have. Is his name, is it because his name in real life is Floyd? It could be. Okay, hold on a minute, I've got to look this up. The character is called Lloyd. Yeah. Character, on air, on air. This is the definition of podcast gold. Name, yellow, stone. It's going to be something completely different, isn't it? Do you know what his name, should I tell you what I've done, right? Yeah. Yeah. So his name is Forrey J. Smith. And you've conflated that with Lloyd. Yeah. I have put the F in front of it. I'm so sorry, Forrey J. Smith. Please come on the podcast. Yeah. His name isn't Floyd.
1:02:19Steph:Why would I start calling him Floyd? I'm so sorry to everyone who's been irritated and shouting the whole time through this podcast. It's not Floyd. Yeah. I'm just going to say the words Lloyd so you can replace Lloyd every time I say Lloyd, Lloyd. Yeah. I mean Lloyd. I think he's in it. Not Floyd. I think we're done today. no I think we're finished I can't bear it the Yellowstone journey have we talked about everything has come to an end I can't bear it until we talk about Dutton Ranch in which case we can resurrect it all again but yeah this is good so you know for Amar and his ilk who did not enjoy this episode all I can do is apologise but he also did he did write in so I feel like Amar I feel we might have turned him it's a bit of a reverse for it you know I think that's really his way of apologising for being wrong yeah I think so too well we hope you have enjoyed this Yellowstone special aka Pilot TV the Dutton Ranch aka Home on the Range with Steph and James.
1:03:08We may be back possibly with Steph and James. Possibly with our Yellowstone beanies. It's hard to say. We'll be back. To talk about Dutton Ranch. But in the meantime I think we're done. Yeehaw.
1:03:18Steph:Yeehaw. Do you know what? I so enjoyed this bonding experience that we've had. It's been special. It has, isn't it? It has been special. Okay. That's it. Dutton out.
1:03:35Thank you.
From the publisher
The Pilot TV Dutton Branch is here! You’ve had to wait far too long for this (much like people did for the final part of Season 5) but our bumper Yellowstone Round-up is finally here! Now, there will be some of you who despair at the idea of Steph and James banging on about all things Dutton for over an hour, but then you don’t have to listen to it. The intrepid pair of would-be cowboys talk though all the major beats of the final two seasons, swap their favourite moments and even take some questions submitted by Pilot TV’s own Yellowstoner contingent.
