Yellowstone Finale Rules Out 1 Interesting Story For Beth & Rip’s Spinoff

The finale of Yellowstone season 5, the for-now conclusion of Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western Dutton family, ruled out one promising story for Beth and Rip’s spinoff show. Just days before Yellowstone ended, it was announced that Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser would reprise their roles as Beth and Rip, respectively, in their own spinoff featuring the Yellowstone moniker in the title. It was a promising development, though not exactly a surprise, since the actors had previously been in talks to head a potential Yellowstone season 6 as the obvious choice to replace Kevin Costner and lead the series.

Yellowstone season 5 teased some big ideas for how Beth and Rip’s saga could continue while detailing the fate of John Dutton III in flashbacks surrounding the events of his death. After Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone exit ahead of season 5, part 2, the show set up its most important conclusions while filling in the timeline from part 1. Ultimately, Kayce sold the Yellowstone Ranch to the Broken Rock Tribe and resettled at East Camp with his family. In conjunction with Kayce’s decision, Beth bought a ranch in Dillon, Montana, and moved in with Rip and her adopted son, Carter.

Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 Flashbacks Tease Beth & Rip Moving To Texas

Beth And Rip Are At Home In Cattle Country

Before the Yellowstone season 5 finale, Sheridan teased a different continuation for Beth and Rip. Flashbacks throughout season 5, part 2, showed what happened before John Dutton’s death, which opened the series. They relayed what happened to the Dutton children and the cowboys between parts 1 and 2, balancing not wasting a single minute explaining what would happen to John with filling in the timeline, necessarily. Flashbacks honed in on the couple’s potential future when Beth traveled to the Lone Star State to visit her husband and previewed how their lives could continue after Yellowstone.

Following the best and brightest Dutton Ranch cowboys heading to Texas at the end of Yellowstone season 5, part 1, Beth visits Rip in Yellowstone season 5, episode 10. When kidnapping her husband from running the cattle operation and spending a few nights with him at a suite in Amarillo, Yellowstone teased the couple’s move to the state, where they were perfectly placed in cattle country amid an absence of tourists. Beth and Rip were, at the time, bound by the ranch, but it was difficult not to imagine the lovebirds flocking further south after seeing them thrive there.

Beth & Rip’s New Ranch Rules Out Their Texas Future

Beth, Rip, And Carter Will Stay In Montana

The couple was still bound by the ranch when we saw Beth and Rip’s flashback in Yellowstone season 5, episode 10. In the past, when the flashback occurred, Beth and Rip’s loyalties were to John Dutton and protecting his legacy. In present-day Yellowstone season 5, after John’s death, the couple is all the more obligated to the ranch before Kayce decides to sell it. Therefore, Beth and Rip never formally discussed moving to Texas. When Kayce chose to sell the ranch to the Broken Rock Tribe, Beth and Rip could live freely. Still, Beth chose something other than Texas.

Despite Texas leaving a massive impression on Beth, she buys a ranch in Montana. Beth and Rip’s ranch in Dillon will anchor the couple to their home state, which is fitting, even though the decision ignores Beth’s desire to leave the state with her husband. Yellowstone shows Beth, Rip, and Carter settling into their new ranch, which comprises seven thousand acres of land, a little house, and a big barn as the flagship wraps up. The finale shows Beth’s new reality, with her husband satisfyingly planting the seeds of her vision to ranch around 600 pairs of cattle.

Why Beth & Rip’s Yellowstone Spinoff Can’t Be Set In Texas

Yellowstone Is A Montana-Based Franchise

While it was neat to see Beth and Rip in Texas, their spinoff couldn’t occur there. Taylor Sheridan has already teased a different spinoff of the Yellowstone flagship called 6666, which will appear at the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas, following Jimmy’s decision to work for Travis permanently. With another Texas-themed Yellowstone spinoff pending, Beth and Rip’s story couldn’t go there. Having two Yellowstone spinoffs in Texas would completely shift the franchise’s tone, making its fascination with Texas more of a staple than a novelty, which convoluted the show’s association with the National Park it borders and Montana in general.

Still, Beth and Rip’s Texas story paved the way for what came next. What Beth Dutton loved most about Texas was its isolation from tourist crowds, which she achieved when she bought land 40 minutes west of Dillon in an isolated part of Big Sky Country. While Beth’s real estate decision ruled out an interesting story for the couple, it also built on the Dutton-Wheeler Texas love story, the first time the couple hashed out a future beyond the ranch. Fortunately, how they handle their future and what comes next will play out in the Beth and Rip Yellowstone spinoff.