Yellowstone is ready to unleash its final episodes, and the critical question is what will happen with patriarch John Dutton. Amid word the series is ending because of Kevin Costner, what John’s ultimate fate will be is going to drive the series’ final episodes.
Season 5 of Yellowstone opened with John Dutton reaching the top, becoming governor of Montana. However, John learned the hard way that his strident methods didn’t always work in the world of politics. He killed the planned airport project by Market Equities, earning a massive series of lawsuits and bad press.
John’s sharp temper could hurt him, such as being so upset some consultants were having a meeting without him that he fired them all on the spot. He then commuted the sentence of lover Summer (Piper Perabo) as they continued their relationship, which led to a literal fight between Summer and Beth.
Things got worse when John discovered a virus among bison, which, if it was revealed, could lead to them losing their entire head of cattle. Combined with the lawsuits, it could bankrupt the family. Beth had to openly tell her dad he was stuck in the past and John’s belief that cattling was still a big deal was going to cost them everything until she went behind his back with a deal.
However, the first half of the season ended with Jamie pushing for John to be impeached for his various moves and Beth pushing for John to take care of Jamie permanently. That sets up a big clash for the second half of the season, which is going to be wilder than it was planned.
Will John come to a nasty end on Yellowstone?
The show was already hitting delays thanks to the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes in Hollywood. The WGA strike looks to be coming to an end, so they can start crafting scripts, but there’s still the actors to deal with.
However, the writers now have to recraft the final six episodes for a series finale. That’s due to the ongoing conflict between Costner and series creator Taylor Sheridan that’s filled tabloids with issues ranging from pay to creative control.
This is leading to the decision to end Yellowstone for a new spin-off to star Matthew McConaughey. Thus, the question is if John comes to a nasty end to send his character off.
It would make sense for John to fall victim to Jamie’s plans to take him out before John does the same. It’s also possible John decides to go out on his own terms or even leave Montana altogether. The conflicts will be John trying to keep his governorship and perhaps finally accepting his ways no longer work in the 21st century. It depends on what the writers craft and how open Costner is to seeing the character off properly.
Either way, fans are more than eager to see how Yellowstone gets on without John Dutton, and his fate is likely the key to the latter half of season 5.
