Yellowstone S5E14: 8 Jaw-Dropping Moments You Didn’t See Coming

Yellowstone has (possibly) come to an end, and the finale, “Life Is a Promise,” brings each character’s story to a close with big moments strewn throughout the hour. The Paramount Network neo-Western drama TV show created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson chronicles the lives of the Dutton family, the owners of the largest ranch in Montana. Over the course of Yellowstone’s five seasons, the Duttons have experienced many highs and lows, and in season 5, part 2, they reeled in the wake of John Dutton’s death, struggled to save the ranch from big corporations, and dealt with inter-family drama.

 

As of the writing of this article, it’s unclear whether Yellowstone will return for a sixth season, but a spinoff starring Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton and Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler is in the works.

Based on the hour’s events, Sheridan wrote Yellowstone season 5, episode 14 with the intention that it would serve as a series ender. During the finale, Kayce figures out a way to save the ranch, the Duttons bury their patriarch, Beth seeks revenge, and everyone’s lives head in different directions as they move on from the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Perhaps some might not have liked the way things played out in the show’s final season, but Yellowstone’s last episode at least gives closure to various storylines and character arcs.

8Mo & Members Of Broken Rock Sabotage The Pipeline

Yellowstone Opens With Broken Rock Trying To Save Their Land

At the beginning of Yellowstone season 5, episode 14 on the Paramount Network, Mo and other members of the Broken Rock Reservation band together to sabotage the pipeline. As many viewers will recall, the pipeline was going to run through their land, destroying it. So, the Yellowstone season 5, part 2 characters decide to take matters into their own hands to save their home during “Life Is a Promise,” and the only way to do so is via illegal matters.

During the night, Mo and the others ride in on horses to where the pipeline was set to be constructed in Yellowstone season 5. They grab the materials that were going to be used to build the pipeline (e.g., the pipes) and dump them in the water. The Broken Rock members leave before anyone can catch them, and their plan seemingly works, since there is no more significant mention of the destructive pipeline for the rest of Yellowstone season 5, episode 14. Chief Rainwater and his tribe only continue to receive good news as the hour continues.

7Kayce Sells The Ranch To Rainwater & The Broken Rock Reservation

The Only Way To Save The Yellowstone Is To Give It Away

As teased by Beth and Kayce’s final scene at the end of Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, Kayce’s plan to save the ranch includes Chief Rainwater and the Broken Rock Reservation in episode 14. He invites Chief Rainwater and Mo to his family’s home. There, Kayce offers to sell the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to them for $1.25 per acre, which is what it cost when the Duttons first took it from the tribe more than a hundred years ago.

So, although the Dutton family loses the ranch, they leave it in the hands of the people who will care for it; the people who were there first.

The Duttons can’t afford the inheritance tax on the ranch, and neither can the people of Broken Rock. Only big corporations can. However, Kayce finds a way to bypass the tax by selling the ranch for much less than what it’s worth. The tax would be based on what someone paid for the ranch, meaning it would significantly decrease after the sale in the Yellowstone series finale.

Kayce doesn’t want the land to fall into the hands of greedy corporations who want to turn it into subdivisions, resorts, shopping centers, an airport, etc. So, although the Dutton family loses the ranch, they leave it in the hands of the people who will care for it; the people who were there first.

6The Duttons & The Cowboys Bury John

Yellowstone Finally Bids Farewell To Kevin Costner’s Character

Following John’s death in the Yellowstone season 5, part 2 premiere, Beth and Kayce worked hard to get justice for their father. Kayce stormed into the medical examiner’s office in episode 11 and demanded that she look at John’s body again because he knew his father’s cause of death wasn’t a suicide. Luke Grimes’ character was ultimately successful, meaning the family could get John’s body back. The medical examiner finally releases the Dutton family’s patriarch to Beth and Kayce in episode 14, and they decide to have a funeral for him.

Beth only wants those close to John to attend the funeral in Yellowstone season 5, episode 14. So, his family (including Beth, Rip, Kayce, Monica, and Tate), the ranch hands (Ryan, Lloyd, Teeter, Walker, etc.), Lynelle, and Chief Rainwater honor John in the Dutton family’s graveyard. Each person gets to say a proper goodbye to John — Beth promises to avenge him, Kayce forgives him, and so on. Afterward, Rip lowers his father-in-law’s casket into the ground, right next to Beth and Kayce’s mother, and buries him.

5Beth Kills Jamie

Beth Gets Revenge For John’s Murder

Perhaps one of the biggest (and most predictable) moments of the finale is Jamie’s death. For months, many believed Jamie was the most likely character to die in Yellowstone season 5, part 2, and they are right. During the show’s final hour, Beth is out for blood. She knows that Jamie played a part in their father’s murder, and she wants his head on a stick. Beth grabs bear spray and a knife and waits for Jamie to come home following his press conference, where he condemns John’s death. None of Jamie’s political spin matters, though, because he only has minutes to live once Beth attacks him.

 

Beth and Jamie’s Dutton family war has been building for years, and it finally comes to a head in the finale. Beth first hits Jamie in the eyes with the bear spray. However, he manages to get the upper hand and attempts to choke his sister (after she tells him they sold the ranch to Chief Rainwater, enraging Montana’s Attorney General). Thankfully, for Beth, Rip barges in and saves his wife. Rip holds Jamie still while Beth gets up, grabs the knife, and stabs Jamie in the gut, making him look into her eyes as he takes his last breath.

4Beth, Rip, & Lloyd Cover Up Jamie’s Death

Rip & Lloyd Take Jamie To The Train Station

To no one’s surprise, Beth has a plan to cover up Jamie’s death before she kills him in Yellowstone season 5, episode 14. She lets him beat her up, and after Jamie is dead, she instructs Rip to get rid of his body and car — Beth will take care of the rest. She calls 9-1-1 and tells the police that Jamie attacked her before fleeing. Beth also informs the officers that Jamie was having an affair with Sarah Atwood and that Sarah hired assassins to kill John. The paramedics take Beth to the hospital, where she recovers and basks in the glory of her win.

Rip helps Beth’s story be convincing by enlisting Lloyd’s help to take Jamie to the train station in Yellowston season 5, episode 14. They dump Jamie’s body where no one will find it. Then, Rip and Floyd drive Jamie’s car to Idaho, where they set it on fire and abandon it for the police to find. So, to everyone but the Duttons, it appears as if Jamie assaulted his sister before going on the run, never to be found again. However, Jamie is actually buried alongside others who have wronged the Dutton family.

3The Ranch Hands Move On From The Yellowstone

Everyone Goes Their Separate Ways After Kayce Sells The Ranch

After Kayce sells the ranch to Chief Rainwater and his tribe, fulfilling the prophecy from 1883, its workers are forced to move on with their lives. Rip offers Lloyd a job, but the older man declines. If Lloyd can’t work on the Yellowstone, then he doesn’t want to work at all. Meanwhile, Ryan decides to take some time off and be free for a while. He tracks down Abby at one of her concerts and convinces her to take him back, giving Ryan his happy ending.

Still dealing with Colby’s death in Yellowstone season 5, episode 12, Teeter decides to get far away from Montana. She asks Travis for a job (which she likely instantly regrets, given Travis’ rude remarks regarding her accent and harsh leadership) at Bosque Ranch in Texas. So, Teeter joins Jimmy in working for Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone role. Just like that, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch crew has been broken up.

2Kayce & His Family Keep Their Home At The East Camp

Kayce Makes A Deal With Chief Rainwater

When striking a deal with Chief Rainwater concerning ownership of the ranch, Kayce makes sure that he and his family get to keep their house and land on East Camp during the Yellowstone finale. Kayce, Monica, and Tate have finally built a home, and they don’t want to leave it. Thankfully, Chief Rainwater agrees to the condition, and Kayce is finally free.

Kayce takes Tate with him to an auction during the last Yellowstone episode, where they buy some cattle. The youngest Dutton sibling wants to make a name for himself outside his family (meaning John, Beth, etc.), which starts with Kayce building his own ranch from the ground up. It’s unclear whether Luke Grimes will appear in the Yellowstone spinoff featuring Beth and Rip or the rumored Yellowstone season 6, but Kayce’s story feels complete by the end of the season 5 finale.

1Beth & Rip Buy A Ranch In Dillon

Carter Moves Into The New Home With Beth & Rip At The End Of The Yellowstone Season 5 Finale

As for Beth and Rip, the couple also decide to start a new ranch in Yellowstone season 5, episode 14. Beth buys a property in Dillon, Montana, which is around two hours away from the Yellowstone and where the airport was going to be built. Beth and Rip want to be away from tourists, but they also want to bring Carter with them. So, they do.