The aftermath of episode 3 settles around our characters this week. It’s soon confirmed that John Dutton Sr. and Elizabeth’s father, Bob Strafford, did not survive the ambush. Jacob remains fighting for his life after being patched up by the doctors, which leaves one person in charge of the ranch: Cara.
As Cara begins to clean up the bloody mess in the kitchen after the doctors have completed their work and left, the emotion and stress of what the family has gone through hits breaking point and she runs out into the fields surrounding the house, drops into the dirt and releases a guttural, heartfelt scream of anguish. I felt every bit of it and what she’s experienced in the past few hours has finally hit home.
Once she’s collected herself, she returns to the house and cleans up the kitchen despite Zane arriving and offering to clean up for her. Naturally, Cara won’t hear of it and instead orders him to take her letter for Spencer to the post office. She insists on post even though a wire would be faster – she’s determined to keep what’s happened a secret, and a wire will draw too much attention. I truly admire the performance Helen Mirren is giving in this series. Cara feels like the beating heart of the show, keeping everyone and everything running as they’re meant to be.
Emma remains in the buggy, frozen with shock and grief as she gradually realizes her husband is dead. Zane and the cowboys watch on as she takes the buggy to the family graveyard and begins to dig a grave for John, but the cowboys refuse to sit by and watch as she does it alone. They all join her with their shovels, digging John’s grave next to his parents Margaret and James, and older sister Elsa – all last seen in 1883.
Jack watches over his fiancée Elizabeth in the main house. Both were injured in the attack but Jack has been patched up and is well enough to move around. Cara arrives to check Elizabeth’s wound and finds Jack clutching a rifle at Elizabeth’s bedside, keeping guard. A sleepy Elizabeth asks if her mother knows about the attack, and Cara informs her they’ve sent for her.
Meanwhile, in the continued Adventures of Spencer (and Alex!) in Africa: The newly engaged duo have found a beautiful beach far from the railroad camp, and are enjoying some downtime. The two act like they’re on their honeymoon, despite only knowing each other a short while – their timeline is hazy in this episode, so it’s hard to tell if they’ve been together days, weeks or months at this stage. The pair enjoy their beach as Spencer promises Alex their life together will never be dull, and Alex mentions they’ll have to go to London sometimes to keep her parents happy. They finally discuss Spencer’s biggest source of pain: The Great War. Alex tells him she can relate to some of his pain, as she lost her brother to the war. Spencer confesses the war “cost him his soul,” but hopes he can get it back in time.
Two sheep herders arrive at Banner’s house – the only two apart from Banner who survived the fight, it seems. Fearing retribution from the Duttons, they want to flee the state. Banner is determined to stand their ground, thinking Jacob is dead. He has a plan to rope some rich men into their fight who can fund their battle against the big ranchers. I think we all know this isn’t going to end well for him, but it’s entertaining to watch.
Banner goes to Donald Whitfield, a rich local who wants the Dutton land for mining. Donald isn’t naïve, and points out that Banner doesn’t own the ranch and cannot promise the land to him. Banner incorrectly tells him Jacob has died, and outlines his great plan that will see him take hold of Yellowstone in 6 months. When he does, he will lease the mineral rights to Donald – provided Donald provides some cash up front to help Banner with his little “there’s several cowboys who want to kill me” problem. The two men strike a deal: Donald will mine the land, Banner can run his sheep on the rest of it. With that, Banner is handed enough money to fund an army.
The next step in Banner’s grand plan? Take all the cattle in the area. He and his men sneak up on the cowboys watching over the herd in the mountains and kill them. They then steal the cattle herd, even though some of his men point out not all of the cattle belong to Yellowstone. It seems Banner is determined to piss off every cattle rancher in town.
Back at the homestead, Elizabeth’s mother Beverly arrives to see her daughter and collect her dead husband’s body. Naturally, she wants to take Elizabeth to a hospital – but Elizabeth refuses to leave Jack and the ranch. Beverly decides Jack and Elizabeth’s wedding will no longer happen, which Jack protests and Beverly slaps him. Cara promptly slaps Beverly in response, which is my favorite scene in this episode. After Beverly storms out to find her husband’s body, Cara gently tells Elizabeth that Yellowstone is her home now. If she’d like to stay and marry Jack, that is her choice. Elizabeth accepts, and Beverly leaves the ranch.
Cara’s day continues to get worse as Zane arrives to inform her of the stolen cattle. The remaining cowboys want to go after them and attempt to retrieve them before they’re put on a train and shipped off. Cara demands a moment to think and goes to Jacob’s bedside to pray, asking what he would do. Jacob, hearing her prayers, awakens and tells her “You be the leader.” Jacob confirms Cara’s instincts that they should hold off on any more fighting until Spencer arrives – the cattle aren’t worth the cost of more lives. The cowboys protest this decision, and Cara sends Zane in to speak to Jacob. Jacob then tells Zane to sell the mothers, but keep the calves. To keep up appearances, they’ll send Cara to the livestock conference in Jacob’s place while he heals. If anyone asks (and they will) Jacob is in Wyoming hunting down the cattle thieves. Solid plan.
The weekly war at the boarding school continues between Teonna Rainwater and Sister Mary. As two again come to blows over a simple task such as fruit picking, Teonna regains consciousness after she’s been tied to a chair. Sister Mary informs her she’s a savage, and is only trying to save Teonna from herself. Teonna tells Sister Mary she does not want to be saved, and another nun decides Teonna has the devil in her. They force Teonna into a bath and scrub her back with steel wool, forcing her to bleed. It’s hard to watch. I understand creator Taylor Sheridan is trying to show how Native Americans were treated in these times, but seeing this poor girl beaten and mistreated every week is unnecessary.
Teonna takes her final revenge on Sister Mary. She packs up in the dead of night, takes a friends bible and sneaks into Sister Mary’s room. Teonna beats the nun with the bible before finishing the job by suffocating her. In her native tongue, she chants “I am the land and I am killing you.” Honestly, good for her.
In a show of authority, Cara comes to town driving a wagon accompanied by the Yellowstone cowboys on horseback. She takes Jacob’s seat at the meeting, informing the town that Jacob is away hunting cattle thieves that have stolen the Yellowstone herd. She also announces the deaths of Bob Strafford and uses it to demand a lawful response to the thieving and violence going on. Cara asks that the Livestock Commission be given the power to make arrests, and that they vote to create a police force. The room goes silent, refusing to listen to the suggestions of a woman.
Banner, lurking in the audience, tells everyone Cara has no authority to request a vote. In response, Cara holds up a letter she claims was written and signed by Jacob and the Sheriff backs her up. With this knowledge, the ranchers vote to create a police force – much to the disappointment of the sheep herders, but they are outnumbered.
After the meeting, Cara quietly admits to Zane that she thought of the police force, not Jacob. She also forged his signature on the letter. Go Cara! Her joy is short lived when Banner confronts her outside the town hall and calls her a liar. Banner, still thinking Jacob is dead or near death, points out the bank will not allow a woman to run a ranch on her own. Her charade can only last so long. Cara promptly spits in his face and tells him when her charade is over, so is Banner. His fight is with her now, she tells him. Something tells me Banner has made a formidable enemy here – more than he knows. Banner thinks he has the fight already won, but Cara informs him she has another nephew he didn’t know about – and Spencer is coming home.
Back in Africa, Alex finally gets Spencer to read letters from home. He’s avoided doing so and feels guilty for not opening 2 years worth of letters, but better late than never. Alex reads to him as they catch up on many months worth of news from home. It’s great way for Alex to learn more about the Dutton family she will soon meet. Once Spencer has fallen asleep, Alex finally gets to the last letter – the one Cara wrote 3 months ago, asking Spencer to come home. It got there surprisingly faster than Zane and Cara expected, but still – this makes the timelines hazy as how long has Jacob been recovering? How long has Cara been running things? How did the letter even find Spencer in the wilds of Africa?
Hopefully these questions will all be answered… when 1923 returns a month from now.
