Beth & Rip’s Spinoff Announcement Cheapened The Yellowstone Season Finale

While Yellowstone season 5 has a monumental finale to top off Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western series, the announcement that Beth and Rip’s stories would continue ruined one of Yellowstone‘s most significant conclusions. Beth and Rip’s Yellowstone spinoff was announced just days before the season 5 finale, further muddling the ongoing conversation about how Yellowstone‘s story would evolve. While it was good news to hear Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser’s characters weren’t done yet, it spoiled a significant outcome of Yellowstone season 5’s ending.

Spoilers aside, Yellowstone‘s cathartic finale wrapped up all its best stories. After the death of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III, Kayce followed through with his plan to sell the ranch back to the Broken Rock Tribe, returning the land to Montana’s Indigenous people. After negotiating the terms of Kayce’s freedom from the Yellowstone, he settled at East Camp with his family while Beth and Rip bought a ranch in Dillon, Montana. Unfortunately, Beth and Rip’s happy ending was majorly spoiled, with their spinoff announcement cheapening the payoff of Beth surviving the finale’s Dutton sibling war.

The Spinoff Report Confirmed Beth’s Survival In The Yellowstone Ending

Beth & Rip’s Spinoff Announcement Spoiled The Yellowstone Season 5 Finale

Beth and Jamie’s sibling war was one of the richest storylines heading into the Yellowstone season 5 finale. Beth and Jamie Dutton have been at odds of Shakespearean proportions since Yellowstone season 1, with Beth having it out for her brother since her first days back at the ranch, and vice versa. The conclusion of their war had high stakes, with existing conflicts and their lack of trust in one another at the core of their struggle. Heading into the finale, Beth vowed to kill Jamie. While her prevailing was likely, the spinoff announcement prematurely confirmed Beth’s triumph.

During Beth and Jamie’s final scene in the finale, Yellowstone confirmed that Beth made it out of the sibling rivalry alive. After her father’s funeral, Beth drove straight to her brother’s house in her Bentley with her signature road rage. When inside, Beth violently attacked Jamie, intending to kill him. While her brother fought back, Rip showed up at the perfect time. Beth ultimately killed Wes Bentley’s Jamie, following through on her promise that she would bring justice to John’s suffering. Beth’s last words to her father were, “I will avenge you.”

Why Sheridan Couldn’t Stop Beth & Rip’s Spinoff News From Coming Out

The Announcement Was A Product Of Contract Negotiations

The Deadline report confirming a new Yellowstone spinoff starring Beth and Rip spoiled Beth making it out of Yellowstone season 5 without a doubt. While her bloody battle with her brother was ultimately predictable, the report left no room to interpret whether Beth would survive the fight. While the screenwriter did his best to keep Yellowstone‘s ending under wraps, Sheridan couldn’t keep the news about Beth and Rip’s spinoff a secret forever, since contract negotiations were underway. Still, while the spinoff announcement spoiled the flagship’s ending, it made Beth and Rip’s ending all the more significant.

The announcement suggested that Beth and Rip’s story would share the most DNA with Sheridan’s flagship, including the Yellowstone moniker in the title and characters from the original series, filling out the story with familiar faces. One good thing about the report was that fans, knowing Beth and Rip would live to see another day, could interpret the couple’s ending at Beth and Rip’s Dillon, Montana, ranch as a new beginning, teasing where their Yellowstone story would pick up in the distant future.