What you should pay attention to in part 2

It’s been almost two years, but Yellowstone is finally back and wrapping up its fifth season.

I can be forgiven for admitting that I don’t remember what happened in Season 5 Part 1. The final episode of the shortened season finally aired on January 1, 2023. But there’s a lot of Dutton drama – playing out on and off screen – to catch up on.

The big news offscreen is that Kevin Costner will officially not be back as John Dutton this half of the season. Since the character faced impeachment for his run as governor of Montana, which he unfortunately won earlier in the season, it will be interesting to see how that is handled. The rest of Part 1 focused primarily on the feud between Beth and Jamie, which eventually reached a point of no return as both not-so-subtly plotted the other’s death.

Here’s a quick recap of Yellowstone Season 5, Part 1, so you’ll be ready to go when Season 2 (finally) begins.

John Dutton gets political

For years, protecting the Dutton Ranch was a fairly straightforward – if sometimes bloody – task. That changed at the end of season four, forcing John to enter the race for governor of Montana to bring about change from above and ensure the survival of the ranch. Season 5 marked his first days and weeks in office and it became clear that even though John hated the job, it would make his opponents just as miserable as he made himself.

One of his first tasks is to stop airport construction in large parts of the valley. He thinks that’s settled, but Market Equities isn’t done fighting the Duttons and sends people to contact Jamie – who believes he should have been governor over his father.

John also makes sure to commute the sentence of environmental activist Summer, who was sent to prison last season. She returns to serve her house arrest with John at the ranch. She and Beth repeatedly clash throughout Part 1, unable to get along or understand each other’s point of view.

In the finale, he gives a speech that allies him with Thomas Rainwater and the local Indian reservation, as they fought all season against the US president’s hope of running two pipelines through the reservation, and we learn that Jamie is supporting his impeachment Father seeks governor. He does this claiming that closing the airport would have prevented a lot of money and new jobs from coming to the area – and out of anger after learning that John had placed the ranch under conservation protection.

Beth and Jamie go to war

In a series where Beth and Jamie are constantly at odds, Season 5 took things to a new level. The season began with Jamie confused about his father choosing him over the job of governor of Montana. Beth makes matters worse by reminding him that she caught Jamie dumping his biological father’s body and that she now essentially owns him.

Jamie doesn’t have many films until John finishes construction of the airport and Market Equities sets its sights on him to help bring down the Duttons. Enter Sarah Atwood. She begins to seduce Jamie and turn him even more against his family. While this seduction is taking place, Beth learns that “Sarah Atwood” isn’t even the woman’s real name.

When John blocks development of the airport – and Jamie learns he has listed the ranch – he convinces the state government to impeach his father as governor. He’s clearly fed up with the family’s actions against him.

Beth finds out and breaks into Jamie’s house at night, ready to deal with the fact that she suspects him of killing his biological father. Jamie – ready to burn his last bridge – isn’t worried and tells Beth to ask John about the “train station.”

Beth sets out to confront her father and eventually learns – it’s amazing how she managed to last so long without realizing it – something about the “train station”. John calls it a “trash can” for anyone who has been threatening the ranch for years. Beth can’t believe her family has a dump for bodies and John tells her to ask Rip because he’s visited the station a few times. After a pause, Beth suggests that maybe it’s time for Jamie to take a trip to the “train station.”

Back at his house, Jamie has a similar thought. He asks Sarah if she knows anyone who could make Beth’s death look like a car accident or a heart attack. From her face, it looks like she knows exactly the people who could do this.

Kayce and Monica fight

Kayce and Monica experienced loss early in Season 5. In the premiere, Monica realizes she’s going into labor and she and Colt try to rush to the hospital while Kayce is out for work. Unfortunately, they get into an accident. Monica and Colt are fine, but they lose the baby.

Understandably, this unsettles the entire family throughout the first half of the season. Monica sinks into her grief and Kayce is worried that his job is jeopardizing his relationship with his family, so he tries to tell his father he’s quitting. That doesn’t work and John lets Monica bury her son at the ranch instead and has a moment with her where he talks about the loss of his brother.

At the end of the season, as John feels the strain of impeachment and the herd moves to Texas for the winter, he asks Monica if she, Kayce and Colt will move to the ranch and take care of them. She agrees for the family.

Bring the herd south

All those (possibly bloody) family feuds and there’s ALSO some general ranch drama. It turns out that there is an outbreak of brucellosis that is threatening the ranch’s herd. The only option is to move the whole thing south for the winter. Rip takes the lead on the long journey and brings half of the ranch workers with him.

This tears apart some of the budding relationships taking place in the bunkhouse, but also separates Rip and Beth, just before Beth learns about the “station” and how her husband has become preoccupied with it over the years.