A mysterious illness, a county fair and a brewing impeachment plot bring us one week closer to the mid-season finale of Yellowstone. This week, John discovers a life-or-death threat to his cattle. Beth decides the ranch needs a more profitable business model. Jamie and Sarah continue their scheming and might finally have a way forward.
We begin with a flashback of Young Rip with rival ranch-hand Rowdy, as the two exchange words about Beth while watching a cattle herd at night. It turns nasty when Rowdy pulls a knife, and without thinking clearly Rip smashes Rowdy’s head with a rock. When Rowdy doesn’t get up, Rip realizes he’s done some real damage and scurries up to the ranch to inform John. When the ranchers return to the paddock, they find Rowdy dead. This is Rip’s first kill on the ranch that we know of, and he doesn’t seem to have his brand at this age. Perhaps this is the way he earns it, after John makes him swear to be part of the ranch until the day Rip dies. I enjoy seeing Rip’s backstory and more about his earlier years on the ranch, as it gives us further insight into his relationship with Beth in the present day.
Jamie and Sarah are once again sitting in Jamie’s house half naked, plotting how they’re going to overthrow John. It feels like they’ve been in this house for half the season at this point. Jamie spills all his thoughts, hopes and dreams to Sarah. About how he was raised to be a cowboy and how he never wanted to be a lawyer (Beth most likely wrote the essay that got him into Harvard). Sarah listens intently, filing all of this free information away for later when she can use it for blackmail, should it come to that. I really thought Jamie was smarter than this, but it seems his chronic loneliness and desperation for love has got the better of him. It’s quite sad to watch. Is he fooling her (which would be a good twist), or is he really this gullible?
As the cowboys wake before dawn, they all pop out from their tents ready for breakfast and another day of branding. Abby, Laramie and Summer surface after their boyfriends have left for the day to find Beth sipping her coffee by the campfire, with Rip having joined the others. Monica watches on as Beth greets the blondes in her usual fashion, referring to them as sluts and tramps and flashing her wedding ring when Summer tries to point out Beth is also here for the same reason. It’s nice to see Beth have scenes with the other women, even though she isn’t always the friendliest towards them.
After the blondes leave, Beth and Monica share a rare scene in which tells Monica why she doesn’t bully her the way she does the other women – Monica doesn’t need it. When Monica replies she doesn’t need to be treated differently just because she lost a child, Beth says she does. It’s rare to see Beth open up about her own loss, and this is one of my favorite scenes of this episode as she confides in Monica – not the full details, but enough for Monica to know she understands her feelings of loss and sadness. A great scene between Kelly Reilly and Kelsey Asbille.
With last week’s reservation storyline seemingly coming out of nowhere, Mo & Rainwater visit Lynelle to discuss the news of two pipelines set to go through Native American land. One is natural gas, the other captured carbon. They mention the President was there two days ago (wasn’t he supposed to have another meeting in town with Lynelle? Did we miss a scene somewhere?) and it wasn’t discussed. With all the reservation are facing right now, the last thing they need is a pipeline right through their drinking water. I’m pleased to see Lynelle pledge to declare her opposition to the project, and I hope she and Rainwater can convince John to help too.
A new problem arises on the ranch: A deadly cattle disease called Brucellosis is running through the pasture courtesy of the wild buffalo transmitting it. John stands to lose his whole herd if he can’t get them off the ranch before they catch the disease. Branding continues while John heads into the house to call his rich rancher buddies and inform Beth of the newest wrench in the ranch plans.
Teeter ropes newcomers Clara and Summer into helping with the branding, with many protests and screams of apology to the calves from Summer. Much to the amusement of the bunkhouse boys, who are not quite sure what to make of Summer. On any other ranch, Summer would’ve been shipped back to the city so fast after that performance, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
Rip and John come up with a plan: Ship the cattle and cowboys south for the winter. What ranch happens to have a mild winter? The 6666 ranch in Texas, of course. Hi, Jimmy! Rip decides to go with the herd, and chooses to take Jake, Teeter, Ryan and Walker with him, leaving Lloyd in charge on the ranch. A shame Teeter and Colby will be split up, not to mention Beth and Rip – I can’t see Beth tolerating being away from her husband longer than a week.
After John informs Beth of the costs of leasing land for the cattle (millions they don’t have) Beth comes up with her own idea to save the ranch: Sell the meat, not the cattle. It just so happens that the 6666 ranch does exactly that, so she gives them a friendly call to get the inner workings which seems.. oddly coincidental, but okay. They’ll have to take a loan for either plan to work and keep the ranch afloat. Beth tries to sell John on the benefits of her plan, but he’s hesitant to take a risk on something new.
Meanwhile, Jamie and Sarah finally leave the house to have a meeting with Ellis in Jamie’s office. The Market Equities duo inform Jamie that the Yellowstone land is now in a conservation easement – something Jamie has surely already been notified about, but he acts as though this is the first he’s hearing about it. Is he playing Sarah or not? Time will tell. Ellis asks if Jamie has the authority to override the easement and Jamie assures them he does, but I can’t see it being a simple task. Sarah convinces Jamie they might have the power to have John impeached as Governor, triggering a special election in which Jamie could get himself elected… if he lives that long after trying to pull that scheme on John, Beth and the ranch.
In a cute little scene, Rip nervously approaches Beth and John to ask Beth if she would like to go to the county fair with him. Probably expecting a “hell no” Beth is surprisingly up for the family outing as John invites himself along as a third wheel, and Rip invites Carter along too (and calls him son!). A family evening out (the bunkhouse is also headed there) could be just what the ranch needs to forget their problems for a little while. A special guest appearance by Zach Bryan provides a beautiful soundtrack for the backdrop of the fair. Beth and Rip happily stroll through the grounds arm in arm while Carter and Tate play shooting games. Teeter orders her loyal boyfriend Colby to win her a large stuffed pink bear, and he does with Abby and Ryan watching on. I love Teeter and Colby scenes, we need more of them!
All is well and calm until Beth asks Rip exactly how long he will be gone with the herd for, and when the answer is “maybe a year” she promptly decides that won’t do – she’ll fly to the nearest city, stay and a nice hotel and visit him whenever she feels like it instead of living on the 6666 or in a tent. “Where you go, I go” she tells Rip. These two will always be my favorite part of the show, as they’ve come so far throughout their lives and it’s beautiful to watch that growth.
In the final scene, Jamie rehearses his impeachment speech for a scantily-clad Sarah. It seems they have decided on their plan, and the mid-season finale will tell us whether or not they succeed. Until next week, Yellowstone fans!
