Boy, if any two Yellowstone characters hate one another as much as Beth and Jamie, it’s gotta be Kayce and Rip — at least based on Sunday’s repeat of Season 1’s “The Remembering.”
The tough guys’ chance encounter on the ranch uncorked what appeared to be years of animosity, with John’s foreman being more than a little threatened by the attention that he paid his youngest child. And, of course, Kayce being Kayce, he wasn’t about to back down from a fight (even though punching Rip had to feel like hitting the broad side of a barn).
Mind you, Monica’s better half would soon have far more dire things on which to focus. But we’ll get to that in a moment. All you have to do is keep reading, and we’ll go over not only the matter of life and death that landed in Kayce’s lap but the unexpected perk of Jamie’s campaign for attorney general and the low blow that John lobbed at Beth. If we were her, the only Father’s Day card we’d ever again send would be mailed in the hope that it would give him the rare, fatal paper cut.
Judge for yourself whether John was out of line — or how out of line he was — below.
‘You Stood Your Ground — for Once’
The hour quickly took Kayce from a bad situation (a run-in with a bear) to a worse one (the aforementioned run-in with Rip). Though John’s right-hand man saved the boss’ prodigal son from being mauled, that didn’t stop Kayce from cracking, “I ain’t used to seeing you off my dad’s leash.” Rip, in turn, opened a can of whupass and reminded Kayce, “My job is to protect this family, and you are the worst thing for it.” Then, leaving Kayce with the file on his late brother-in-law, Rip added that he was “tired of burying [his] secrets.”
Lesson Burned
Meanwhile, Monica asked John why his ranch hands got branded. It’s not all of them, he explained, “just the ones that got a second chance.” It’s a “way to prove they’re to be trusted.” Was that why he’d branded Kayce? Er, no. He “disobeyed me one too many times,” John admitted. Kayce had gotten some girl he barely knew pregnant and then refused to get her an abortion. So John branded his youngest child himself. Needless to say, Monica now could see the monster that her husband had described.
Kayce and Monica’s days didn’t get any better, either. When not dealing with John and Tate continuing to push them to move to the Yellowstone, Monica got KO’d breaking up a fight at school. That seemed to start even her wondering whether maybe she and Kayce were depriving Tate by not bringing him up in the saddle of luxury. But that might have just been the concussion talking. At the end of the episode, she collapsed, and we were left with Kayce frantically performing CPR on his wife.
A Whole ‘Lot’ of Interest
Upon learning that John had rerouted the river, aka Dan’s Paradise Valley power source, Rainwater’s eyes lit up. He wanted to buy all of those lots. To that end, he approached Dan during a meeting with his hired gun Melanie to make the offer of a lifetime. If Dan let Rainwater build his casino, the chief would bankroll the developer’s roads, power, sewage, the works. Melanie advised caution, but Dan was all in. “That,” he declared, “is the enemy of my enemy” and therefore his new best friend.
Politics Makes for Strange Bedfellows
Reading about the Livestock Association and its dedicated police force, as well as the shootout on the reservation, reporter Sarah Nguyen smelled a story, one that had John at the black heart of it. At the same time, Lynelle and Mike were laying out for Jamie and Beth a plan for the ambitious lawyer to become the next AG. The politicians also introduced Christina, Jamie’s pretty new campaign manager. Beyond amused by the obvious matchmaking, Beth asked, “Can my whore be a six-foot fireman who loves Jesus, please?”
‘Bullies Need to Be Big, and I’m Bigger Than You’
Alone with Beth, Lynelle risked life and limb by coming right out and calling her a high-functioning alcoholic and, owing to her mother’s death, a tragic case of arrested development. The governor wasn’t scared of John’s daughter and wouldn’t be intimidated by her. By God, Beth tried, though, pointing out that she ruined careers for a living. “You sleep in my mother’s bed again, and I will ruin yours.” Before the siblings left Governor Perry’s office, Lynelle tipped off Jamie off to rumblings in the Livestock Association about John’s health.
‘You Need to Man Up’
Immediately, Jamie and Beth confronted John about his cancer. Why? He didn’t have cancer, he barked. He’d had it removed. The matter settled as far as he was concerned, he had a few choice words for Beth. Having heard from Lynelle, he lit into his daughter and wondered aloud about her standards if the freakin’ governor wasn’t good enough for him. “My standard is my mother,” Beth replied. And here was yet another instance of John earning that Worst Father of the Year prize. His response was that Beth should never again mention Evelyn. Blaming Beth for her death, he added, “You forfeited that right a long time ago.” Too far, John. Way too far. Wouldn’t you agree?
