Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 13 Review: Taylor Sheridan’s Self-Indulgence Derails Painfully Uneventful Penultimate Finale

I thought the penultimate episode of Yellowstone would be full of exciting, game-changing moments that set up a thrilling series finale, but I was wrong. The end is closer than ever for Taylor Sheridan’s TV show, and the writer continues wasting time the show just doesn’t have. Instead of progressing Yellowstone season 5, part 2’s most intriguing conflicts and stories, “Give the World Away” is full of unnecessary fluff that, at the end of the day, is forgettable. No one is going to look back on Yellowstone‘s penultimate hour and remember exactly what happened during the episode.

Yellowstone season 5’s episode 13 mostly revolves around the auction (which should be much more interesting than it is). Beth’s desperate for money, and her solution is to sell everything they have. By the hour’s end, the Duttons have raised a little over $30 million. It’s enough to hold them over for a year, but after that, the future is unknown. Thankfully, Kayce has a plan to save the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch sooner rather than later. That mysterious reveal is being held for the Yellowstone series finale, which makes sense because episode 13 contains little to no excitement.

Episode 13 Doesn’t Make Any Progress On Yellowstone Season 5’s Most Interesting Story

Yellowstone Has Failed Beth & Jamie’s Highly Anticipated War

Prior to its premiere, one of Yellowstone season 5, part 2’s most talked-about storylines was the brewing war between Beth and Jamie. However, the two characters barely shared any screen time in the first five episodes. Jamie does call Beth in episode 13 and yells at her that he knows her secrets (along with John’s and Kayce’s). However, he is just repeating his threats from before. Nothing progresses in their feud here, leaving it up to the finale to somehow dig deeper into the Dutton family war and end it at the same time.

The first five episodes of Yellowstone season 5, part 2 set up Beth and Jamie’s war for failure, which is impressive given the siblings’ history. Beth and Jamie’s feud has been building for years, leading to what was supposed to be a satisfying payoff. However, now that their war has finally arrived, the series has slowed down the story for no reason.

Given that Beth knows Jamie is somehow associated with their father’s death, one would think she would be doing more to seek revenge. Instead, she has just been focused on saving the ranch, which is understandable, but much more boring to watch than the battle between her and Jamie. Meanwhile, Jamie is busy with Sarah’s death in Yellowstone season 5. Episode 13 does nothing to correct these mistakes, putting more pressure on the finale.

Yellowstone Is Neglecting Important Characters (& Focusing Too Much On 1 Insignificant Person)

There Is No Reason Why Travis Should Have So Much Screen Time

Rip is arguably one of the most important characters in Yellowstone. However, he has almost no intriguing or complex storylines in season 5, and episode 13 continues neglecting him. It seems as though everything is happening around Rip instead of to him, and the episodes don’t give him much room to react or advance his character arc. Meanwhile, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone character, Travis, is getting more screen time than ever.

“Give the World Away” wastes so much time on Beth’s trip to Texas. Ultimately, there is no real reason for Beth to check up on Travis and it feels as if Sheridan just wants his time in the spotlight. The Travis part of the episode does nothing for the plot other than to prove Travis is good at selling horses, which isn’t necessary for us to know. Travis’ story is boring and cringeworthy and it just contributes to the hour’s lack of development.

Yellowstone Has Too Much Story To Wrap Up In 1 Episode

Only The Finale Remains

Big moments are hard to find in season 5’s penultimate episode. The auction is one of them. Kayce teasing his plan is probably the hour’s highlight, but even that scene is underwhelming. Since not much happens, the finale has a lot of work to do. The last episode must wrap up various storylines (Yellowstone’s fate, Beth and Jamie’s war, Kayce and Monica’s future, etc.) and give all its characters satisfying endings. Perhaps the Yellowstone series finale successfully checks all these boxes and is a thrilling hour of TV, but based on episode 13, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.