Yellowstone is bringing the Dutton family drama to an explosive end as Season 5B premieres on Paramount+. The series has been the subject of heavy behind-the-scenes controversy as series lead Kevin Costner, who plays John Dutton III, left the show halfway through the season. The new batch of episodes kicks off with John’s murder, putting the rival factions of the Duttons on a collision course that will undoubtedly lead to even more deaths before the finale.
The Dutton family is no stranger to using violence to solve its problems and it seems that this won’t change before the end of Yellowstone. As the series hurtles toward its final episodes, fans are left to wonder which of their favorite characters will make it to the end. With John’s death already revealed, even fan-favorite characters aren’t safe.
10. Beth Dutton’s Death Would Be a Massive Surprise For Yellowstone Fans
Beth Is the De Facto Protagonist After John Dutton’s Death
After John Dutton died in the latest episode of Yellowstone, Beth has become the family’s de facto leader and the closest thing that the series has left to a protagonist. Rightfully convinced that Jamie had something to do with their father’s murder, Beth is on the warpath. She will use anything that the Duttons have left to destroy her adoptive brother, even if it means putting herself in harm’s way.
- Kelly Reilly portrays Beth Dutton in Yellowstone.
No one is expecting Beth to die in Yellowstone‘s final episodes, which would make such an event even more shocking as the series comes to a close. While it is more likely that she will emerge on top as her father’s true successor, Beth may not make it to the end of the show. If this is the case, her husband and brothers would be left to fight in her stead.
9. Jamie Dutton Likely Won’t Survive Yellowstone’s Final Season
Jamie Dutton Has Become Too Dangerous To Be Left Alive
Jamie Dutton’s storyline has been jumbled and somewhat incohesive in recent years, but one thing that fans are sure of is that he is destined to die. The character has embarked on a downward spiral for years, growing into a full-blown villain, even if he was never particularly strong enough to cause any lasting damage to his family. Now partnered with the conniving Sarah Atwood, however, Jamie has just struck a blow from which the Duttons will never recover.
- Wes Bentley portrays Jamie Dutton in Yellowstone.
Yellowstone has been building up the rivalry between Beth and Jamie for five seasons, putting the two Duttons on a collision course that will almost certainly end with one of their deaths. Beth has promised on multiple occasions to kill Jamie and now, with John’s death, nothing is holding her back. Jamie’s days are numbered and it seems more likely than not that his death will come at the hands of his adoptive sister.
8. Kayce Dutton’s Death Would Make For a Tragic Ending
Kayce Holds the Dutton Family Together
Kayce began Yellowstone as the best of the Duttons, eschewing their life of crime for a quiet existence with his wife Monica and their son Tate. However, throughout the series, he has been drawn further into his father’s web of lies and crime. Now, he and his family have been fully absorbed into the chaos of the Dutton ranch, paving a perfect path for an utter tragedy to punish them for it.
- Luke Grimes portrays Kayce Dutton in Yellowstone.
Kayce is a fan-favorite character whose death would act as the perfect bottom point for Yellowstone‘s fifth and final season. As John’s last living biological son, his death would be an utter tragedy for the Dutton family itself, but would also highlight the dangerous nature of the life that he chose. As heartbreaking as it would be to see him go, Kayce’s death makes a lot of sense for Yellowstone‘s final season.
7. Monica’s Death Would Push Kayce Farther Than Ever
Kayce Is Known For Having Anger Issues–But Monica’s Death Would Break Him
Monica Long-Dutton is Kayce’s wife who was initially set against her family having anything to do with her father-in-law. However, as things got harder for her and her family, Monica gave in to John Dutton, slowly approving of some of his morally gray decisions. Now, she does her best to shield her son from the perils of this dangerous new world, but it is only a matter of time before the violence inherent in the Dutton name catches up to them.
- Kelsey Asbille portrays Monica Long-Dutton in Yellowstone.
It seems unlikely that Yellowstone will kill off Monica, but her loss would be an interesting avenue to explore. Losing Monica would doubtlessly drive Kayce, who is known to have anger issues, to dark places from which he might never return. Kayce already killed the man who murdered his brother (who happened to be Monica’s brother). As such, there is no telling what he might do if someone took his beloved wife from him.
6. Lloyd May Not Be Much Longer For This World
The Loveable Ranch Hand Is Fond of Fighting–But May Not Survive His Next Skirmish
A fan-favorite supporting character who may be in the final stretch of his life is Yellowstone‘s Lloyd Pierce. Llyod is one of Rip Wheeler’s ranch hands who loyally serves the Dutton family. Lloyd has been complicit in many of the Duttons’ crimes over the years, occasionally taking problematic workers to the “train station,” where he murders them and dumps their bodies in a ditch. He is one of the few workers left behind to look after the ranch when Rip takes a crew to Texas at the end of Season 4, leaving him in the heat of the action in the fifth and final season.
- Forrie J. Smith portrays Lloyd Pierce in Yellowstone.
Lloyd is a lovable character whose death would serve the narrative enough to add stakes to the Duttons’ final battle but whose loss wouldn’t derail the series too much. With Kevin Costner’s exit halfway through Season 5, Yellowstone may not be able to afford another major character death from its main cast. Killing off a recognizable supporting cast member like Lloyd, however, would be much more doable for the bloodthirsty Western.
5. Thomas Rainwater May Finally Reach the End of His Road
Rainwater Is Losing Allies and Resources in Yellowstone’s Final Season
Thomas Rainwater is the leader of the local Broken Rock Native American reservation who frequently clashes with the Dutton family during the events of Yellowstone. Despite his desire to take over the Duttons’ land and return it to his people, Rainwater finds himself allied with John and his family more often than not as greater threats continue to crop up from outside their community.
- Gil Birmingham portrays Thomas Rainwater in Yellowstone.
Rainwater has been steadily losing power in the last several episodes as his position is challenged by a young up-and-comer. Now, with Angela Blue Thunder turning against him, Rainwater has more enemies than friends going into Yellowstone‘s final episodes. He may finally be at the end of his road as younger voices drown out his own.
4. Sarah Atwood Has to Be Dealt With
Atwood Ordered the Assassination of John Dutton
Sarah Atwood is a shrewd and savvy businesswoman brought in by Market Equities to help buy out several Montanan ranch owners, including the Duttons so that an airport can be built on their properties. However, the company faces harsh opposition and is eventually forced to pull out of the deal. Desperate for revenge on the Duttons for orchestrating their downfall, Market Equities’ CEO unleashes Atwood, telling her that nothing is off limits in her new mission to destroy the Yellowstone.
- Dawn Olivieri portrays Sarah Atwood in Yellowstone.
Yellowstone‘s midseason premiere revealed that it was Sarah Atwood who hired the mercenary that murdered John Dutton. With this revelation, she just became the biggest threat to the Duttons. As the potential big bad of the entire series, it is unlikely that the Duttons will let Sarah live–especially after they figure out what she did to their father.
3. Jimmy’s Death Would Be Tragic For Yellowstone Fans
Fans Have Grown to Love Jimmy Over the Years
Jimmy Hurdstrom began Yellowstone as a down-and-out young man with little potential. When he joins the Yellowstone workforce, however, he gradually grows to become a self-made man. Now, he works at the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas, where he finds himself a wife and a promising career as a real-life cowboy.
- Jefferson White plays Jimmy Hurdstrom in Yellowstone.
Jimmy’s death would be heartbreaking for Yellowstone fans, who have watched him grow and mature as a character over the last five seasons. However, this would be an emotionally resonant way to end the series, killing off a fan-favorite character whose potential could have gone much farther than an early death in the Dutton family’s war. Fortunately for fans of Jimmy’s, it is much more likely that he has a potential future Yellowstone spinoff series following the Four Sixes Ranch.
2. Tate’s Death Would End the Dutton Family
Tate Is the Only One Who Can Continue the Dutton Family Line
Tate is the young son of Kayce and Monica Dutton who has struggled with his family’s various failings over the years. Now growing into a teenager, Tate is ready to become his own man, though he still lives in his father and grandfather’s shadows. Though he seems to have his whole life ahead of him, Duttons seem to have a much shorter lifespan than most, as a result of their constant fighting.
- Brecken Merrill portrays Tate Dutton in Yellowstone.
Tate is the future of the Dutton family, as he is John’s only grandchild. If Tate were to die in the final season, it would mean the end of the Duttons, leaving any survivors to slowly die out as the last of their family. This would be a tragic and emotionally resonant way to end the series, as the Duttons finally lose everything they fought so hard to protect.
1. Fans Fear That Rip Wheeler May Die In Yellowstone’s Finale
Rip’s Death Would Be the Ultimate Loss For Beth
Rip Wheeler is a fan-favorite character on Yellowstone, leaving fans worried that he might not survive the final episodes. For years, Rip served as John Dutton’s loyal right-hand man, taking care of the day-to-day necessities on the ranch. Now, he has become an official part of the family after marrying Beth. However, his closeness to the Dutton daughter might put him in Jaime’s crosshairs.
- Cole Hauser plays Rip Wheeler in Yellowstone.
Losing Rip would utterly break Beth, who views him as the only anchor keeping her from descending into a world of depression. Rip would be one of the most tragic deaths possible for Yellowstone‘s final season, making it much more likely that the showrunners will follow through on this possibility. However, there remains hope for the character’s survival given rumors that Taylor Sheridan is developing a Yellowstone spinoff following Rip and Beth after the events of the original series.
