The 10 Most Controversial Moments from ‘Yellowstone,’ Ranked

After five seasons and fifty-three episodes, Yellowstone concluded in a bombastic (though slightly predictable) finale. With the spin-off about Beth and Rip announced and already in the works, fans of the Duttons will have another show to indulge in very soon. With Yellowstone‘s impact still being very fresh, discussed, and analyzed, some fans can’t help but wonder if the show was too brutal, or if it was more like a soap opera with all the family drama.

Regardless of current opinions, Yellowstone was always teetering on the edge of controversy (sometimes even off-screen, especially with Kevin Costner). Some of the show’s moments helped define some relationships or reveal the history of others; other moments helped audiences cheer for their favorite characters or decide which ones deserve judgment and which redemption. Among so many episodes, plenty happened that was a bit too much, even for the hardened characters of Yellowstone.

10. John Dutton Killing His Horse

Season 1, Episode 1, “Daybreak”

The very first moments of the show display John Dutton (Kevin Costner) hugging a severely injured horse, saying “I know you deserve better. The best I can offer you is peace.” This is followed by him putting the poor horse out of its misery, since he and the animal were involved in a horrific road accident. This may not deserve to be among the most controversial moments in a show about cattle and horse ranchers, but killing an animal in the very first minutes of the first episode of a big show could be an exception.

While it’s known that horses are sometimes mercy-killed if their condition is bad enough, modern ranchers should have the means to take care of them medically. Still, in situations in which the animal’s fate is obvious, like the one in the opening moments of Yellowstone, medical attention doesn’t provide any improvements, especially for horses, which depend on their legs. People sensitive to animals dying and being severely injured will more than likely find this moment overkill for a show’s opening, but it foreshadows the troubles John Dutton and his family go through in later episodes.

9. The Cause of John Dutton’s Death

Season 5, Episode 11, “Three Fifty-Three”

Just as the show entered its fifth season, Kevin Costner was announced to be leaving after supposedly being unhappy with the production. This led many people to guess what his departure from the show might look like; though many found John Dutton’s death shocking, others predicted it, believing it was a necessary way to end the series, or at least a big period in the Duttons’ lives. Nevertheless, it was controversial, despite him often being the villain to his own family and friends.

The second part of season 5 aired after nearly two years, and it starts with John Dutton’s death officially proclaimed. It’s presented as a suicide, which no one closest to him believes to be true. From there until episode 11, the event is mostly depicted in flashbacks, which reveal that hired killers murdered John and set it up to look like a suicide. While Beth (Kelly Reilly) suspects the killer is Jamie (Wes Bentley), Jamie actually had nothing to do with it, but his closest ally, Sarah (Dawn Olivieri), certainly did. Sarah was already a highly disliked character, while with Jamie, it was always back and forth for the fans.

8. Monica Being Suspected of Theft

Season 2, Episode 9, “Enemies by Monday”

Yellowstone heavily includes Native American characters in its narrative; Mo Brings Plenty and Gil Birmingham are just some of the bigger actors in the show that have made an impact on film and TV as Native American actors. One of the lead characters is also a Native American woman, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and the wife of the youngest Dutton member, Kayce (Luke Grimes). It’s safe to say that she’s a Dutton through and through, but a specific scene with her and Beth seemingly solidified just how much the family is there for her.

In season 2, episode 9, Monica goes shopping and gets accused of stealing; the store owner calls the police, who make Monica do an uncomfortable strip search in the changing area. Beth arrives just in time to stop things from going further, saving Monica from the embarrassment and the obvious racial profiling happening. When Beth says goodbye to the police, she locks the boutique and trashes it, though Monica says “Doing it to her doesn’t undo what she did to me.” Instances like this are always controversial and anger-inducing, since the shop owner admits she judged Monica for her skin. Though this scene simply depicts the reality for many people living in the US, it’s still difficult to watch.

7. Jamie Killing the Reporter

Season 2, Episode 6, “Blood the Boy”

While Jamie kills people by association only in Yellowstone, his most brutal moments are the two in which he himself is the “judge, jury, and executioner.” Both the murders he committed were motivated by survival, which makes him a character that would protect himself and what is his at all costs, like a true Dutton, if anything. One of the most controversial moments in Yellowstone is Jamie’s first murder, when he brutally killed the journalist Sarah Nguyen (Michaela Conlin).

In season 2, episode 6, Jamie and Sarah meet in a quiet, secluded area, to discuss Jamie’s involvement in her piece on the Duttons. While she and Jamie had conversations in private, they were incriminating, and Jamie got scared Sarah would use his words against the family. Out of fear of getting exposed and going against John, he resorts to desperate measures and brutally kills Sarah by strangling her. The scene is difficult to watch as is, but Jamie’s demeanor intensifies it; while he chokes Sarah, Jamie regretfully repeats the words “I’m sorry,” giving the situation even more weight and darkness.

6. Jamie Killing His Biological Father

Season 4, Episode 10, “Grass on the Streets and Weeds on the Rooftops”

Jamie’s second murder was one he was coerced into doing, since Beth found out Jamie’s biological father, Garrett, was plotting against the Yellowstone ranch and the Duttons. Beth goes to Jamie with this news, with both of them now aware that Jamie knew about Garrett’s plan; she blackmails Jamie into killing Garrett, telling him it’ll either be him or his father. Jamie, of course, decides that Garrett will be the one to go, so he and Beth drive to his house. Jamie shoots Garrett point-blank. This is another form of self-preservation for Jamie.

When Jamie finds out he was adopted by John, a lot of things start to make sense, including John’s often unfair treatment of Jamie. But, even when Jamie met his biological father, things weren’t different. The scene in which Jamie kills Garrett in cold blood is shocking, and it’s even more shocking later, when he and Beth go to the “Train Station” and Beth films Jamie dumping the body, holding the blackmail over his head for life. This intense finale made the gap between Beth and Jamie even wider.

5. Monica Getting Attacked

Season 3, Episode 8, “I Killed a Man Today”

Season 3 delves deeper into the relationships of the Duttons, with a focus on Monica and Kayce. Besides that, another surprising development happened, showing Monica as a brave and fearless woman. In one scene, Monica is shown driving, but her car stops in the middle of nowhere, without cell service; a truck comes by, offering her a ride, which she accepts. Moments later, the truck pulls over, telling Monica she can find cell reception if she gets out of the truck, and a fight ensues.

This scene is shocking, because the man doesn’t just attack Monica; he chases her out of the truck and off the road, ultimately catching up with her and choking her. Fortunately, Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) shoots the man, and Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) shows up, and the audience realizes they’ve actually teamed up to catch the man. As it turns out, she wouldn’t be the first dead woman in the area had the man succeeded to kill her. This moment was intense and could have seen Monica gone from the show, but more importantly, it highlighted the fact that justice for indigenous women can be hard to get.

4. Tate Getting Kidnapped

Season 2, Episode 10, “Sins of the Father”

The final episodes of season 2 get nasty because of the conflict between the Duttons and the Beck brothers, culminating with an operation to eliminate the Becks for good. At the end of episode 9, John and Tate are having dinner, and Tate goes out of the house to lock up the stables. But, when he doesn’t come back inside, John gets everyone on the ranch to search for him. When Kayce finds only a boot, the Duttons and the police begin a race against time to find the rest of Tate.

In the season finale, episode 10, the family learns that Malcolm and Teal Beck hired a white supremacist group to kidnap Tate. The episode is full of (satisfying) character deaths, most notably Teal Beck’s, who Kayce kills while he’s on the toilet. However, the most gut-wrenching moment comes when Kayce finds Tate in the bathroom with a clean-shaven head. Tate throws a fit, unaware it’s his father reaching for him, and his screams get more intense. Getting a child involved in a terrifying situation was a bit too far for Yellowstone, but getting involved with merciless people can sometimes result in such scenarios.

3. Wade Getting His Due for Betraying the Ranch

Season 3, Episode 9, “Meaner Than Evil”

One of the prominent things about Yellowstone is the way John Dutton treats his employees. While branding people may not sound like the best idea to initiate someone into a family, it’s just how things are done in the show. People who wear the brand are dedicated to the ranch for life, meaning any possible transgressions won’t be tolerated. When one of the ranchers, Wade Morrow (Boots Southerland), teams up with a real estate company geared up to steal Yellowstone, John and the other ranch hands see that as the ultimate betrayal.

Teaming up with the enemy is betrayal, for sure, but the way Rip, John, and the other employees handle Wade is exceptionally difficult to watch. Since Wade also has the brand on his skin, Rip (Cole Hauser) instructs Walker (Ryan Bingham) to cut off Wade’s skin where the brand is, saying he’s “returning it to John.” Later, Rip decides to lynch Wade in front of everyone, which is awful to read about, let alone watch in an episode. Sure, revenge and punishment for betrayal are due, but lynching a man seems too controversial to put next to family bonding moments.

2. Jamie Taking Beth to a Clinic

Season 3, Episode 5, “Cowboys and Dreamers”

Finding out why Beth hates Jamie so much wasn’t easy for anyone after watching season 3, episode 5. This episode starts with a flashback to teenage Jamie and Beth, whose relationship was much different then. Beth approaches Jamie for help, saying she got pregnant and needs an abortion. They choose to go to an Indian Clinic, where Jamie is told all patients are also required to be sterilized. To avoid being spotted at a place like Planned Parenthood, Jamie does what he thinks is best and gives them the go-ahead. He hid the truth from Beth. Later, Jamie (and the viewers) learns that the father of Beth’s baby was Rip.

The moment when Jamie doesn’t pull Beth from the clinic but allows them to do the procedure is jaw-dropping and painful. It’s a very controversial decision to make at such a young age, but it also shows they were scared to talk to John even as kids, or go to a place where they suspected they’d be seen and outed to their dad. Jamie possibly did what he thought was best, but it was a moment that got permanently stuck in people’s minds.

1. Beth Getting Cornered by Malcolm Beck’s Men

Season 2, Episode 7, “Resurrection Day”

Violence is a massive part of Yellowstone, but it’s usually men on men and women on women. Possibly the most controversial and difficult episode to watch was episode 7 of season 2, amid the war with the Becks. Malcolm Beck visits Beth in her office with empty threats, apparently not knowing he’s talking to a fearless woman. She brushes him off, but he sends goons to her office in the evening, who attack her and her assistant, tying them up and beating them unconscious.

The men are strong, but Beth comes out stronger in will and mannerism, continuously refusing to yield and beg for her life. The men beat her and threaten to assault her sexually, and the scene is very harrowing to watch. It’s one of the more intense depictions of intense rivalry between the Duttons and any one of their enemies, with Beth carrying the consequences of the attack on her face for the rest of the season. Her injury becomes a reminder that rivalries can get serious quickly and intensely.