The premiere of Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 explores the aftermath of a death, showing how it shakes up the Dutton family and their inner circle.
The episode is titled Desire Is All You Need, and it starts with that moment fans have been both dreading and expecting: the heartbreaking loss of John Dutton. Instead of diving straight into the intense fallout, the episode cuts between the present and flashbacks from six weeks earlier, which ends up diluting the emotional punch of his death somewhat.
We watch in shock as Beth and Kayce arrive at the governor's mansion, greeted by flashing lights and a crowd of emergency responders. It appears, at least on the surface, that John took his own life on the morning his impeachment trial was set to begin. Those who know John well know he would never do this, most of all Beth. It's clear Jamie Dutton and Sarah Atwood facilitated his death, and secrets like this don't stay hidden long.
As Jamie watched a news report detailing the tragedy of the governor's absence from his impeachment hearing, he looked completely shattered. When a call confirmed that John's death was a suicide, his face drained of color. Summoned by Lynelle, Jamie couldn’t bring himself to speak the truth out loud, but he quietly whispered it in her ear. "Don't tell them that," she urged, just before he was called to face a crowd of reporters.
As the press conference plays on the radio in Kayce’s truck, Beth makes him pull over. She can't listen to this any more. She's certain that Jamie was responsible for John’s suicide, and she's correct. Kayce isn't so sure. Beth then calls her husband, Rip, and gives him the news. Rip will be coming home from Texas, and if Jamie has any common sense left in him he would start running now.
In a flashback to six weeks ago, Rip and the Texas crew are moving cattle. Beth manages to annoy her community service officer so much that the officer decides to let her off early. Meanwhile, Kayce, Monica, and Tate check out the house John had offered them on the outskirts of the ranch. Kayce's wolf continues to lurk ominously in the distance. Still, the family decide it has potential and could work as their fresh start.
Sarah meets with a guy who may or may not be named Grant (let's be real, a hitman organizer is not going to use his real name), who pulls out a video of her with Jamie. He told her that if they didn’t make a deal, he wouldn’t let her or Jamie blame his group for John's death. Sarah gave the green light for Grant to go ahead with the plan to take out John.
While Beth and Kayce go over the trust paperwork, she mentions the idea that someone must've helped Jamie—he isn't smart enough have pulled it off alone. When Kayce called the state police, they found out the transponder near the mansion went down at 3:50am and didn’t come back online until 5:18am. Because of the power outage, there was no security footage from the time surrounding John’s death. "Well, isn’t that convenient?" Beth says with a sarcastic laugh. This just confirms it for her: John did not commit suicide.
At that moment, Rip returns from Texas. Beth rushes to him, and as he held her while she cried, they both sank to their knees in the yard. Her pained wails close out the episode, as John's death sinks in for not only these characters, but us at home too.
The trailer for these final episodes is electric. It all comes down to this: Control of the ranch, and which characters will live or die. I'm so excited to see how this all ends, as it's bound to be a rollercoaster ride.
