Yellowstone Shock: What Drove Jamie Dutton to Kill His Own Father?

The fifth and final season of Yellowstone is almost complete, yet the events of Season 4 still have some audience members scratching their heads. The fourth season ended with Jamie Dutton, the adopted son of the powerful Dutton family, killing his biological father, Garrett Randall. The murder baffled viewers who had seen Jamie begin to flourish under his biological father’s guidance. Why did Jamie kill his dad — the only person who truly cared about him, and what does that mean for him now?

Played by Wes Bentley, Jamie is one of the most hated characters on Yellowstone. He consistently makes decisions that hurt the Dutton family and endanger their legacy. He continually claims that he does what’s best for the family, but that’s never the case; he does what is best for him and his personal glory. In Season 4 of Yellowstone, Jamie’s biological father even tried to have the Duttons killed to make room for Jamie to shine. It seemingly made little sense for the self-serving Jamie to murder his only ally, so what prompted him to do it?

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on April 10, 2025: Yellowstone wrapped up its final episodes in late 2024. The final part of the long-running neo-Western series from acclaimed director Taylor Sheridan delivers the end for several major characters, including Jamie Dutton. This article has been updated to include the latest information on Jamie’s storyline and to adhere to CBR’s current formatting guidelines.

Jamie and His Father Had a Rough Start

Jamie Was Adopted by the Dutton Family After His Father Committed A Horrendous Crime

Before meeting the Dutton family, Jamie was born James Michael Randall to Garrett and Phyllis Randall. When Jamie was just three months old, Garrett found Jamie sucking on a crack pipe while Phyllis was having an affair. Garrett beat Phyllis to death. Garrett was arrested and convicted for the murder of his wife and spent 30 years in prison, where he shared a cell with Terrell Riggins, who later organized an attack against the Duttons.

For reasons that have never been specified, John Dutton adopted Jamie and groomed him to be a successful, educated Ivy League graduate. Given this isn’t the first time John has adopted kids with a rough past, it may just be that John has a soft spot for young children who deserve second chances in life. Another reason could be that John was friends with Phyllis before her death and felt obligated to take care of her son.

Jamie met his biological father for the first time as an adult in Season 3, Episode 9, “Meaner Than Evil,” against his family’s caution. Jamie had spent the season trying to find a solid identity without the Duttons and believed this was how to do it. But upon meeting his father, he learned that Garrett had been holding resentment against the Duttons — John Dutton (Kevin Costner) in particular. John refused to testify for Garrett in court.

Garrett fully believed he was innocent of killing his wife, thinking he was saving Jamie’s life. Years later, Garrett conspired with Riggins to send a militia to kill the Duttons. His time in the series is spent trying to turn Jamie away from the Duttons, until Jamie finally accepts that he has had enough of being manipulated.

Jamie Dutton Killed His Dad to Save Himself

Jamie Was Forced to Choose Between The Duttons and Garrett

Jamie has always been a black sheep within the Dutton family, and his sister Beth Dutton has hated him since he took her to an abortion clinic that sterilized women. His life has been one mistake after another, and he has a pattern of angry outbursts and childish behavior. His father wanted to free him from the Duttons — but John, Beth, and Kayce Dutton were all caught in the crossfire. When Jamie finally killed his dad, it was an attempt to side with the Duttons and preserve his own standing.

However, the murder turned him into a slave to Beth. When she found out about the murder, Beth got evidence of him burying the body. In Season 5, she uses that evidence to ensure that Jamie does everything he is told now that John is Governor of Montana. Jamie wanted to prove his loyalty and become a member of the family again — even at the cost of his biological family. However, the plan may have backfired on him. His allegiance was bought through blackmail, and after he kills his biological dad, at least Beth will never believe he’d freely stay loyal to anyone.

Did Jamie Help Kill John Dutton?

Jamie Was Involved in the Assassination of His Adoptive Father

In more recent episodes of Yellowstone, Jamie lost another father figure. Fans knew going into the last part of the season that Kevin Costner had left the series during production, but his character’s ending was still unknown. John Dutton’s fate is finally revealed in Yellowstone Season 5’s midseason premiere, where he is discovered dead of a gunshot wound to the head in the governor’s mansion on the night before the first day of his impeachment trial. With the circumstances as they were, no sign of struggle, and gunpowder residue on his hands, John Dutton’s death was quickly ruled as a suicide. However, the people who knew John best knew that this was an extremely unlikely explanation for his sudden demise. Thanks to the speedy intervention of Beth and Kayce, it was eventually revealed that John’s death was not a suicide at all—but rather an assassination.

John Dutton’s untimely death was orchestrated by his enemies at Market Equities, spearheaded by Sarah Atwood, who took matters into her own hands to hire a contract killer to assassinate the governor. While this was entirely Sarah’s initiative, Jamie was not entirely uninvolved in the process. Jamie had been carrying on a romantic relationship with Sarah in the weeks leading up to his father’s death and had unwittingly complied with her plans. Even after discovering what she had done, Jamie didn’t turn Sarah over to the authorities, nor did he admit to his family what had happened. Instead, Jamie chose to cover up his involvement in the assassination, which only made his family, particularly Beth, more suspicious of him.

Jamie Pays for His Crimes in the Yellowstone Finale

Things Finally Come to an End for Jamie In Yellowstone Season 5

After years of sabotaging his adopted family (and killing his biological family), Jamie Dutton finally dies in the Yellowstone series finale. Although he wasn’t privy to the plot to assassinate John, Beth refuses to forgive Jamie for the death of her father. She makes her adoptive brother a bold promise, ensuring that her face will be the last thing he ever sees. Beth makes good on her promise in the last episode, after breaking into Jamie’s home and confronting him until he finally lashes out at her. Rip, who had been chasing Beth, realizes where she is and joins the fray just in time to subdue Jamie. Beth takes the opportunity to stab Jamie in the heart, then forces him to stare at her as he dies, making her face the last thing he sees as he dies.

Despite the drama surrounding his final moments, Jamie Dutton’s storyline is somewhat disappointing. Yellowstone spent five seasons building Jamie up as a major villain. He gradually descends into villainy, going far enough to kill for his own benefit. Even his own father wasn’t safe from Jamie’s machinations. In the end, however, it isn’t Jamie who proves to be the Duttons’ worst enemy. He spends most of the last two seasons overshadowed by Sarah Atwood. By the time Sarah is killed off, there isn’t enough time left in the series to capture a satisfying ending to Jamie’s villainous arc. Ultimately, Jamie wasn’t a major player in Yellowstone‘s final episodes, but more of an afterthought.