Yellowstone fans were shocked and horrified when family patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) was killed off in what, at first, appeared to be a death by suicide, but what was quickly determined to be a horrendous murder.
Behind the scenes, of course, the killing was a necessary part of the story: with Costner and the Yellowstone Powers That Be unable to agree on a contract renewal, the veteran actor left the series in a huff and began promoting the critically and commercially panned Horizon: An American Saga.
While much ado has been made by fans about Costner’s departure — with fans on both sides of the aisle having strong opinions — here’s what we know about the patriarch’s death so far.
It Wasn’t a Suicide
Fans found out that despite the impeachment proceedings, John Dutton did not die by suicide. A gang of masked guys shut off the electricity to John’s house, strangled him in bed, and took him into the bathroom, where a narcotic injection between his toes rendered him completely unconscious. To complete the horrific task, the men left the gun in John’s hand and staged the death as a suicide by placing an Oxycodone bottle close by and shooting him in the head.
Jamie’s Girlfriend Ordered the Hit
“Three Fifty-Three” concludes with a fight between Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), who is implicated in hiring the hitmen to kill John. As a result of the brawl, she storms off and drives away. Then, almost unexpectedly, a car drew up next to her and demanded her name, shooting her in the head and leaving her for dead.
What remains unclear, at this point, is who exactly ordered the hit on Sarah. Both the Dutton family and the private equity firm have the means — and the motive — to wipe Sarah out, for different reasons. But Jamie does himself no favors in “Counting Coup” by shredding a whole batch of documents of indeterminate origin, presumably tying Sarah to the hit on his estranged adopted father, and earning himself a whole mess of trouble with detectives in the process.
Kayce is Seeking Revenge
For what are perhaps obvious reasons, Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) is seeking revenge for his father’s death.
Following an old military connection that identifies the person connected to the shadow organization that orchestrated John’s suicide, Kayce follows the murdering man to his daughter’s soccer match.
After the game, Kayce gets into the man’s car with his daughter and demands that he drive. He does this while holding the daughter at gunpoint. Saying that he knows where his family lives and works, he threatens the murderer and strikes him over the head with his revolver while threatening the girl, saying, “You should cry.”
Kayce then leaps out of their car and says he will kill them both if they turn around.
Yellowstone Fans Don’t Have Long to Get the Answers
After five seasons, Yellowstone is coming to a close with two more episodes. After the midseason finale, fans waited over two years for the Duttons to return to television. On December 15, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. ET, the Paramount Network will debut Yellowstone’s last episode.
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