Yellowstone’s penultimate Season 5 episode not only served up a couple of scenes we never thought we’d live to see, it also dropped in Beth and Kayce’s laps a way to save the ranch and threw Jamie a lifeline (regardless of whether he deserved it). Read on, and we’ll go over everything that happened in “Give the World Away.”
Early on, Rainwater and Mo looked out at the construction of the pipeline. There was nothing more that they could do, the chief said. It was up to the people now to pick up the fight. And what could they do? “It’s hard to build a pipeline,” Thomas noted, “if you don’t have any pipe.” Meanwhile, Detective Dillard raided Market Equities, and a horrified Jamie watched a newscast that exposed both his relationship with Sarah and the fact that he stood to benefit from the reinstatement of the airport project lease. He tried to spook Beth by warning that if his secrets came out, so would hers, Rip’s, everybody’s. But she was typically unfazed.
When Kayce returned to the ranch from his “meeting” with Grant, he was upfront with Monica about what he’d done. (He didn’t mention holding a gun on a little girl, but you know… other than that.) “If we walk away from this place,” he said, “I don’t want it following us.” And it sure sounded like he and his family would soon be outta there. After the Texas contingent got back to Montana, Lloyd gave a grieving Teeter Colby’s hat, and Walker took a stab at comforting her. “Maybe he’s still out there doing what he loves,” Walker said. “Now he gets to do it forever.”
Though Rip told Ryan that yeah, he should be looking for a new job — only Lloyd and Carter were being kept on — the ranch foreman added that his hand should add wagon boss to his resumé. Upon flying to Texas, Beth was at once disgusted by what a pig Travis is and impressed by the way he cast his maintenance crew as rival buyers to jack up the price of the horses that he was selling for the Yellowstone. “You are such a f—king a—hole,” she marveled, “it is almost attractive.”
That night, Beth asked Travis to bring his razzle-dazzle to the Yellowstone for its auction — for no commission. Maybe, he said, if she won a game of strip poker. Though Beth lost, Travis didn’t make her strip; he’d help out his old pal Rip, sure. Back in Montana, a desperate Jamie turned to Christina for advice. If only for the sake of their son, she told him to “steer into the crash.” Translation: launch an investigation into John and Sarah’s deaths, deny having an affair with her and hold a press conference in which he vehemently stated that “John Dutton’s murder was more than just the murder of the man, it was the murder of the citizens of Montana’s right to choose their representative… and you will avenge them.”
Once Beth got back to Montana, she had Rip explain how he could possibly be friends with Travis. Turned out, the horse trainer had bailed Rip out of a bar brawl decades ago and had even gotten his hat back for ’im. Before the auction got underway, Beth admitted to Monica that all they were doing was buying time. Walker, who was reunited with Laramie, was going to head to Texas. And Emily recalled being smitten with Jimmy at first sight. “Must’ve been the way you were holding that stallion’s penis, baby,” she cracked.
In a rare demonstration of emotional maturity, Beth invited Lynelle to attend John’s funeral the following day. (Could ya believe it?) She also took Teeter out (!) to tear some city folk new a—holes. But Colby’s grieving girlfriend didn’t have quite the gift for it that Beth did, prompting her victim to snark, “Let’s take the girl with Tourette’s to the bar. That’ll be fun.” The next day, when Carter asked what his chores were now, Beth replied, “I guess you sleep in” — and kissed him on the cheek. (Aww.)
When all was said and done, the Yellowstone auction had raised $30M. That would buy them another year, Beth told Kayce. But he had a better idea, one that might keep the ranch intact long-term. “The only way to save this place,” he suggested, is they “gotta give it away.” (Ah, so the big twist Luke Grimes couldn’t tell us about!) “You’re smarter than you look, little brother,” Beth marveled. “That ain’t saying much,” Tate cracked. At least it won’t go to Kayce’s head.