Yellowstone fans have been getting one shock after another in Season 5: the death of patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) was just the beginning of the end for many members of the Dutton family. Now, Season 5, Episode 12’s “Counting Coup” — named for the Native American practice of winning prestige in battle by getting close enough to your enemy without getting injured or killed — claimed another beloved extended member of the ranch…and that was just the beginning.
Yellowstone Killed Off One of the Beloved “Bunk Boys”
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In a move considered controversial by many fans, who remarked that the show was going “all Game of Thrones on us,” Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan killed off beloved bunk boy — and original cast member — Colby (Denim Richards), who died while rescuing Carter (Finn Little) from a rambunctious horse.
While there was certainly enough pain and mourning to go around, executive producer Christina Voros addressed the impact of Colby’s death in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the Season 5, Episode 12 premiere.
The thing that I think is such a gut-punch about Colby’s death is that in a season where there are all these twists and turns and dark forces and giant narrative swings, Colby’s death is so powerful because it’s so simple. For anyone who really understands the lifestyle of cowboys and working with animals and the risks of the jobs — and Rip says it about himself — it’s a dangerous job, and this kind of thing happens and it happens in a split-second.
Particularly heartbreaking about Colby’s death was his proclamation of love to his girlfriend (and fellow ranch hand), Teeter (Jen Landon), earlier in the episode. Naturally, Teeter takes the death of her newly-crowned boyfriend as hard as you might expect, remarking that she wished his death “wasn’t quick…so I could say goodbye.”
Counting Coup
Meanwhile, the surviving members of the Dutton family are still reeling from the impact of the patriarch’s death, and Kayce (Luke Grimes) isn’t afraid to use his special training to find out who, exactly, was behind his father’s execution. He knows that his wayward adopted brother, Jamie (Wes Bentley), had his grubby hands on the proverbial wheel, and set the chain of events in motion. What he doesn’t know, yet, is how deeply Jamie is involved in his father’s death…and, more importantly, why he ordered it in the first place.
Kayce makes good on his promise to his sister, Beth (Kelly Reilly), that he will “leave Jamie to [her],” but hunts out the hitman, Grant (Matt Gerald), who was hired by Jamie’s power-crazy girlfriend, Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri). After pistol-whipping Grant while he’s driving his clearly traumatized daughter home from her soccer practice, Kayce promises to wipe out Grant’s entire family as justice (or retribution) for his father’s murder.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Kayce got a little help from his friends in the form of former armed forces buddy Cade McPherson (Jake McLaughlin) and his father-in-law, Mo (Mo Brings Plenty), the latter of whom told Kayce about the concept of “counting coup” in the first place.
It’s Mo’s ominous warning at the end of the episode that sets the tone for what appears to be the rest of the season: when Kayce asks Mo whether he thought Grant got the message, he first asks his son-in-law whether he did, indeed, count coup on his newfound enemy. When Kayce confirmed he did, Mo plainly remarked, “he got the message.”
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