Yellowstone continued airing its second season on CBS on Sunday evening (Nov. 19), and the two new episodes added to the narrative tension of the show before landing the most jaw-dropping scene so far.
Episode 5 of Season 2, “Touching Your Enemy,” opens in flashback, showing the cowboys in the bunkhouse teasing Young Rip (Kyle Red Silverstein) mercilessly until he finally snaps and beats a full-grown man into submission. Young Beth (Kylie Rogers) also teases him, but they begin to develop a deeper understanding of one another and share their first kiss together.
Elsewhere in the episode:
- Beth (Kelly Reilly) questions John (Kevin Costner) as to why Rip (Cole Hauser) is in the bunkhouse now.
- Jimmy (Jefferson White) tries to learn horsemanship to earn some extra money, but Rip and Travis (Taylor Sheridan) team him a hard lesson.
- Sarah (Michaela Conlin) hounds Jamie (Wes Bentley), who no longer wants to go forward with the interview that he gave.
- Kayce (Luke Grimes) confronts Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston) at his home and realizes he was not behind the attacks on the Duttons’ cattle.
- Kayce shares a horrifying war story that helps John understand his dark view of the world.
- Sheriff Donnie Haskell (Hugh Dillon) gets a disturbing delivery that makes him change his story on the shooting investigation.
- Jamie asks Beth for advice, and she forces him to tell John the truth about his betrayal.
Season 2, Episode 6 is titled “Blood the Boy,” and it opens with another flashback that shows more insight into the difficult relationship between John and Jamie. It turns out John pressured Jamie to go to Harvard and become a lawyer against his will so he could become an asset to the family and the ranch.
More highlights include:
- John tells Jamie he wants him to shut down Sarah’s story.
- The Beck Brothers go to see Chairman Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), leaning on him to set aside his partnership with Dan Jenkins and partner with them on his casino and issuing vague threats.
- John visits Dan Jenkins after realizing the Beck Brothers killed his cattle to set the two against one another, as he now realizes they’re his secret enemies.
- Jimmy enters a bucking horse competition to earn some extra money and wins, revealing a surprising talent for the competition.
- Jamie arranges a clandestine meeting with Sarah, and when she refuses to relent on her article, he murders her with his bare hands and covers up the crime with help from Rip.
- Rip frames Walker (Ryan Bingham) for the murder and sets off to take him to the train station, but Kayce intervenes and volunteers to do it, then lets Walker go with a warning to never talk about what he’s seen at the Yellowstone.
- Monica nearly becomes intimate with her therapist, but can’t go through with it because of her lingering feelings for Kayce.
- Tate (Brecken Merrill) goes on his first hunting trip and shoots his first buck, allowing Kayce and John to teach him a major life lesson.
As the episode comes to a close, John is disappointed with Jamie instead of happy that he’s taken care of their problem, telling him there’s always a choice — and driving yet another wedge in their already strained relationship.