Unveiling the Dark Side: The 10 Most Controversial Actions of the Duttons on Yellowstone
The Duttons are capable of some truly horrific acts, and Yellowstone fans never really know what this family will do next.
When it comes to making an audience root for morally grey/not-so-good characters, Yellowstone is on the same level as Game of Thrones. Even the most well-intentioned characters do violent and underhand things to protect their own. The Duttons are especially famous for it.
However, there are some cases where even the Duttons cross a line. Sometimes, they treat their enemies to a special sort of death in revenge for past wrongs. Other times, though, their most egregious crimes are against each other. The Dutton patriarch is notorious for turning on his family and treating them badly. Beth is constantly abusing everyone around her, particularly her adopted brother, and her adopted brother is falling off the edge. The Duttons are a tight-knit clan that will tear apart anyone who messes with them, but even that won’t stop them from hurting each other.
10, John Didn’t Tell Jamie He Was Adopted
For several seasons, Jamie and the audience believed he was a true-born Dutton. Then, the bomb dropped in Season Three. Jamie wasn’t born into the Dutton family. He was adopted and John never told him.
It’s widely agreed that keeping an adopted child’s origins a secret is never a good idea under the best of circumstances. Jamie was the scapegoat of the family for a long time and discovered his origins in one of the worst ways possible. It’s no surprise that Jamie began to slip away from the Duttons after this. They gave him plenty of reasons to leave and this was the final straw.
9, Beth Rejects Carter
Carter is one of the few people Beth shows her softer side to. Although her brand of parenting is often harsh, it is also full of tenderness and caring that audiences don’t typically see from her. Because of this, it comes as a shock when Beth rejects Carter’s attempt to call Beth “mama.”
It’s a knee-jerk reaction that leaves Carter in tears. Beth gave this lost, troubled boy a safe haven when he most needed it. Then, she shattered everything and probably messed him up even worse. She might’ve had her reasons for doing so, but it’s a cruel thing to do to a young boy just when he thought he had a family and a home.
8, John Kicked Kayce Out For Marrying His Baby Momma
John Dutton is big on family loyalty, but he can have a narrow vision of family when it suits him. Such was the case when his youngest son, Kayce, got his girlfriend pregnant and decided to marry her.
In John’s defense, it’s nerve-wracking to have a child take on so much responsibility so suddenly when they’re still young. Even so, most parents at least try to be supportive and excited about getting a grandkid. John, on the other hand, was furious and ordered Kayce to force Monica to have an abortion. However, Kayce refuses and goes to live with his new wife. John eventually comes to his senses, but it was still a horrible thing to do to his son.
7, Kayce Kills Teal Beck In The Bathroom
It says something about a person when the worst thing they do is kill the man who kidnapped their son. Out of all the Duttons, Kayce is the one with the strongest moral compass. However, it all goes south when the Beck family kidnaps Kayce’s son. While his family takes care of the other Becks, Kayce finds the Beck patriarch using the bathroom and torments him before killing him off.
For most audiences, this was a difficult scene to sit through. Even if Teal had it coming, witnessing him be humiliated so thoroughly is gut-churning. Kayce might be the kindest Dutton in the family, but he is still a Dutton.
6,The Hands Take Back The Brand
After the brutal attack on Teeter, a lot of fans were clamoring for the bad guys to get their due. Wade Morrow got his in that very same episode in a highly gruesome fashion. Wade was once a Yellowstone hand, and it’s custom for the most loyal hands to be branded with the Yellowstone mark. However, as punishment for his treachery, Wade has his mark cut out before the hands hung him.
The scene is not the goriest display on television. Game of Thrones has had worse. However, audiences are treated to Wade’s screams, which are horrible to listen to. Because of this, the scene was voted the hardest scene to watch in the entire show.
5, Jamie Had Beth Sterilized Without Her Knowledge
Beth and Jamie’s relationship has been full of hate and vitriol since the beginning. However, the reason for it wasn’t revealed until well into Yellowstone’s run. In a flashback, Beth turns to Jamie for help after she gets pregnant, and he takes her to a clinic outside of town. However, the price for getting an abortion there is for the doctor to make it so that Beth can’t have children again. Instead of telling her, Jamie keeps this a secret from Beth until after the procedure.
Jamie was a kid put in an impossible position, but what he did was a heartbreaking betrayal. There are times when Beth goes too far, but she can’t be blamed for losing her trust in her brother.
4,John Competed With Jamie To Prevent Him From Winning
The Duttons have a long history of making bad choices and have proven that none of them are above abusing their power to get what they want. But, for some reason, Jamie gets the most flack for it.
When Jamie decides to run for governor of Montana, John steps in and races against him under the guise of supporting him. This is not only a huge slap in the face for Jamie but shows great hypocrisy on John’s part. John has made plenty of mistakes and done many bad things. He has no business holding such a high position of political power, but he does it anyway just to keep Jamie from getting it.
3, Jamie Murders A Reporter To Stop Her From Publishing Damaging Information
After unintentionally revealing secret information to a reporter, Jamie tries to fix his mistake by killing her. Although his guilt preys on him, he decides to bury it down instead of coming forward for his crime.
Out of all the people the Duttons murdered, the reporter was the most innocent. Despite her gloating, the reporter was just doing her job. It might’ve done some good for the Duttons to be brought down a peg. They might show kindness once in a while, but they’ve also done some terrible things and used their power in the community to cover them up. However, family always comes first for the Duttons, including Jamie.
2, The Duttons Tell Jamie To Do The Unthinkable
Despite how contentious Jamie’s relationship with the other Duttons has been, one would think there were still some things they could never do to each other. Apparently, that isn’t the case, at least for Beth and John. At one point or another, both of them have told Jamie to end his own life.
John might’ve still cared enough to save Jamie when he tried to go through with it. However, saying such a thing to someone is an indescribably cruel thing to do. Saying it to a family member is doubly bad. A person would have to commit some truly evil crimes to deserve such a death, and though Jamie had committed many crimes, he was no more awful than the rest of the Duttons.
1, Beth Forces Jamie To Murder His Bio-Father
There is a strong possibility that Jamie is better off without his biological father. Despite being a bad father, John still took responsibility for Jamie and raised him. Garret Randall simply appeared to want to use Jamie in his war with the Duttons. There’s even speculation that Jamie would have killed Randall without Beth’s prompting.
Nonetheless, forcing the decision on Jamie and using it to blackmail him is a step too far. Beth’s anger is understandable, but she was also a major reason Randall could get Jamie on his side in the first place. She wasn’t trying to free Jamie from Randall’s control. She was forcing Jamie to go back to his old masters. It’s a wonder Jamie hasn’t snapped yet, but most fans believe it’s only a matter of time after this.
