Yellowstone’s Lowest-Rated Episodes Confirm The Harshest Reality About Taylor Sheridan’s Show Without Kevin Costner

There’s a harsh reality about Yellowstone‘s lowest-rated episodes, proving Kevin Costner’s prowess in Taylor Sheridan’s modern Western TV show. Due to several factors, Costner didn’t return as John Dutton III in the final chapter of Sheridan’s neo-Western, leaving many fans disappointed that Costner and Sheridan couldn’t resolve their disputes to close the show. Rather than include Costner’s return, Yellowstone season 5, episode 9, “Desire Is All You Need,” chronicles John Dutton’s fate, explaining how the state’s leader died in the Montana governor’s mansion.

After John Dutton dies in Yellowstone season 5, episode 9, the back half of the season focuses on John’s children. While Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce (Luke Grimes) had complete endings, season 5 faltered without John Dutton, and its ratings reflect this. While there are hints in plain sight that John Dutton was always supposed to die in Yellowstone, Costner’s exit forced John’s death to happen in the premiere. This then clouded the series with divisive flashbacks necessary to bridge the gap between part 2 and the previously aired part 1, while lacking a powerhouse performance.

Yellowstone’s Lowest-Rated Episodes On IMDb ALL Came In Season 5, Part 2

Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 Was An Unpopular Chapter

Of all five seasons, Yellowstone season 5, part 2, contains three of the lowest-rated episodes of the entire show, according to IMDb. Based on the website’s ranking system, season 5, episodes 9, 10, and 13 are the least-liked Yellowstone installments, proving that Costner’s exit significantly impacted the series. The numbers suggest fans agree that Yellowstone season 5, episode 9, is one of the worst episodes of the flagship series. Costner’s character dies in episode 9, and the ratings imply that viewers disliked how Sheridan handled the departure.

Yellowstone viewers didn’t care for Yellowstone season 5, episode 10, “The Apocalypse of Change,” either. It features a lengthy flashback to Texas that confuses the timeline in the first half of the episode. The segment perfectly shows how Yellowstone‘s final season struggles with pacing, spending too much time on trivial moments and too little on the central plot. Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, “Give the World Away,” the penultimate episode, left the worst impression — when Beth liquidated the ranch’s assets, the episode practically confirmed season 5’s ending.

Yellowstone Wasn’t The Same Without Kevin Costner’s John Dutton

Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III Anchored Yellowstone

Yellowstone wasn’t the same without the cornerstone of Costner playing John, and the ratings from season 5 don’t say otherwise. There are clues that Costner’s exit only slightly changed Yellowstone‘s ending, which suggests the patriarch would have died regardless. Still, few would deny that Costner’s time was cut short. Costner returning for Yellowstone season 5 would have allowed the final chapters to play out chronologically, like every other season of the series. This creative choice could have satisfyingly led to John Dutton’s death unfolding nearer to the show’s end.

Costner not returning to the series meant that season 5 had to deal with the Montana governor’s death immediately in part 2. Additionally, John was the main character and the season was without its central cog. Ultimately, the story would have benefited from his presence a while longer: When the main characters are primarily John’s children and their families, he is the element that ties them all to the fraught Dutton family legacy. While his character wasn’t everyone’s favorite, Costner’s John Dutton was the soul of the neo-Western, and his exit affected more than just his family’s outcome.

Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 Was Still Pretty Good

Beth & Kayce Manifest Satifying Conclusions

Despite all the understandable disappointment due to Costner’s exit, Yellowstone season 5, part 2, still works. Beth and Kayce have some of the best stories in season 5, part 2, which was important since the characters rose to prominence after their father’s death. While Kelly Reilly and Luke Grimes were always central cast members, they typically took a backseat to Costner. In the final chapter, Beth and Kayce’s stories are the most vital part, with storylines like Kayce’s freedom from the ranch filling out Yellowstone‘s ending cathartically.

The best part of the final segment is what happens to the ranch in Yellowstone season 5, episode 14, which likely would have played out the same no matter when John died. Kayce sells the land to the Broken Rock Tribe following his father’s death, which allows his family to move on from the burden of protecting the ranch while restoring it to the Indigenous stewards. The end of Yellowstone season 5 was predetermined on a different Sheridan show, so luckily, John’s death still factored into the conclusion, making for a full-circle ending.