Table of ContentsTable of ContentsThe fate of the Yellowstone ranchThe funeral of John DuttonBeth vs. Jamie: The final battleJustice for John Dutton?How does the Yellowstone season 5, part 2 finale set up the spinoff shows?Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the Yellowstone season 5, part 2 finale.Since 2018, and across five seasons of the flagship Yellowstone series and multiple prequel shows, fans have embraced the Dutton family saga created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. But as much as viewers love the Duttons, theyre not all good people. This family has been willing to kill to protect their secrets and their land, as well as brutally pursuing vengeance outside of the law. Thats how it went down again in the Yellowstone series finale. Before the final credits rolled, the show revealed what happened to most of the major characters, and what might come next.Recommended VideosParamount NetworkAs teased in the penultimate episode, Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) had a plan to save the Yellowstone ranch. It just wouldnt be possible for the Duttons to save it themselves. The family didnt have the money to pay the inheritance tax on the land, and rather than selling some of the land to cover those expenses, Kayce decided to essentially give the land to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock for pennies on the dollar. Rainwater and the tribes couldnt afford to pay market rates, and the only ones who could would have redeveloped the land and turned it into something unrecognizable.RelatedKayces conditions for the sale included a carve out for the 5,000 acre home that he built for himself and his family on the land, as well as guarantees to never sell or develop the land. He also requested that Rainwater look after the generations of Duttons who were buried on the land, which was almost immediately betrayed by the young children of the tribes who started pushing down the Dutton familys grave markers. Rainwaters right-hand man, Mo (Moses Brings Plenty), caught the children in the act and chided them before shouting a reminder that the Duttons protected the land and died for it. And the first gravestone Mo put back upright belonged to Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), the tragic heroine from the prequel series 1883.May made a vocal guest appearance as Elsa narrated the end of this chapter and noted that the fate of the Yellowstone ranch was foreshadowed in 1883 when the tribes said they would reclaim the land in seven generations. Almost like clockwork, thats exactly what happened.Paramount NetworkKevin Costner didnt appear in the second half of Yellowstone season 5 over a very public falling out with Sheridan and Paramount Network. His character, John Dutton, was killed off in the midseason premiere, and he was finally laid to rest in the finale. The decision was made to bury John next to his late wife in the graveyard on the Yellowstone property. It was an emotional gathering, especially for the Duttons and their extended family of ranch hands. Kayce took the opportunity to tell his late father that he forgave him, while his former enemy, Rainwater, vowed to protect the land.Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) took it upon himself to bury Johns coffin and his last words at Johns grave was a vow to keep loving his wife and Johns daughter Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly). Beth had a different promise for John, as she vowed to avenge his death and then took off right after the funeral to do just that.Paramount NetworkJamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), the black sheep of the Duttons, wasnt kept in the loop about Johns funeral in part because everyone else in the family knew he had a role in Johns death. To keep the press and the public off of his trail, Jamie practiced and delivered a speech where he denied that he was sleeping with Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) and vowed to pursue his fathers murderers from his office as the Attorney General of Montana. Jamie probably even thought that the speech might land him in the governors mansion someday.First, Jamie had to endure a vicious assault from his sister, Beth, as well as a face full of bear mace that briefly left him blinded. Regardless, Jamie turned the tables on Beth and nearly beat her to death until he realized that he could use her attack to frame her for Johns murder. He was only stopped in his tracks when Beth revealed that the family had already sold the ranch to the tribes, and Jamies dreams of earning riches from the redevelopment of Yellowstone died a hard death. Before Beth could follow those dreams into the afterlife, Rip arrived and got in a few shots at Jamie before Beth took the killing blow for herself.Beths plan seemed to hinge upon Rips later arrival, although she nearly got herself murdered in the process. While Rip disposed of Jamies body and car, Beth called the police and told the arriving officers that Jamie had beaten her after she accused him of being involved with killing their father. She also provided enough details for the police to begin investigating Jamie as a fugitive rather than the victim of murder himself. By the end of the episode, a warrant is out for Jamies arrest, but his body may never be found.Paramount NetworkJamies death closes the book on Beths quest for revenge, but the men who attacked her father and staged his death as a suicide seemingly escape capture and justice. The show doesnt even seem to be all that interested in determining who the assassins were, as it spends a good deal of time with the characters saying goodbye to the ranch and to the Duttons. Of course, this finale wouldnt be complete without one more appearance by Sheridans character, Travis Wheatley, which plays like an out-of-control ego trip. Travis really comes off like a real jerk when one of Yellowstones ranch hands, Teeter (Jennifer Landon), approaches him for work and he berates her command of the English language as hillbilly before ordering her to listen to a book on tape about how to speak English.Nevertheless, most of the characters get their happy endings as Kayce and his family put together their own brand of cattle, while Rip and Beth put down roots in a much smaller ranch.Paramount NetworkIt kind of doesnt. Theres nothing in this episode that points to The Madison, which will star Michelle Pfeiffer, Kurt Russell, Patrick J. Adams, and Beau Garrett. None of those actors appear in this episode. The only direct link to the next spinoff series is through Rip and Beth, since both Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly recently signed onfor an entirely different Yellowstone sequel series.The irony of any potential spinoff for Beth and Rip is that they seem happy in their new home, and there doesnt appear to be much drama in their relationship or the town near their ranch. So theres no obvious hook for the next series, unless Sheridan is going to spring some fresh problems on the couple when the new show inevitably premieres some time in the future.Peacock will eventually stream Yellowstone season 5, part 2, but hasnt currently set a date for when the episodes will be available.Editors Recommendations