Monica’s grandfather, Felix Long, is one of the most interesting characters in Yellowstone. Played by Rudy Ramos, Felix had an important role in Monica and Kayce’s lives, especially in the first season of the show, but fans wonder why Felix stopped appearing in the third season. In fact, Felix is not only sorely missed after the first two episodes of the second season, but after that, he only appears a total of three times and only has a couple of lines.
While Rudy Ramos did an excellent job portraying Monica’s grandfather, there’s a good reason for his absence in the later seasons of Yellowstone. As Monica and Kayce had to unfold their journey on their own, without the influence of Monica’s family or the Duttons, they distanced themselves from their relatives. Kayce and Monica could not follow the traditions of the Reservation nor the family path laid by John Dutton, but one that worked for the two of them. In the end, the couple built a new way of life in a small part of the Yellowstone land, living in harmony with the Reservation but separate from both of their ancestries. Likely, they will continue to have a loving relationship with Felix, but Monica’s grandfather’s role in her life, and therefore in the series, had already run its course by the second season.
Who Is Felix Long in Yellowstone?
Felix Long Is Played by Actor Rudy Ramos
Felix Long is a tribal elder who is part of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation community. He lives in a wooden house in the Rez with his wife, who has a degenerative illness. Felix is Monica Dutton’s grandfather and the only parental figure in her life. Monica’s parents never appear in the show, which likely means they are dead. Felix, however, makes sure to take care of his granddaughter, offering love, counsel, and a home. After the deaths of Monica’s brother, Robert Long, and his wife, Samantha, their children are taken to another state. This probably means that Monica and Tate are Felix’s only close relatives.
Felix is wise and loving. He is close to Monica and tries to give Kayce advice about the feud between the Duttons and Tom Rainwater. Before war ensues, Felix tells Kayce to go home before a bigger conflict starts. He begs Kayce to take care of his family and reminds him that the tribe is not his people. Of course, Kayce also kills his grandson and Monica’s brother, Robert Long.
At the beginning of Yellowstone, Felix would often visit Monica, Kayce, and Tate at their home. He would help them take care of Tate and give advice to the couple. While he wasn’t a main character, it was clear that he was close to Monica and that their relationship was important. Actor Rudy Ramos has stated that he was only supposed to appear in the first two episodes of Yellowstone. However, creator Taylor Sheridan liked Ramos’ role in the series so much that he wrote his character to appear in more episodes of the first season.
Since Monica and Kayce move to Yellowstone Ranch after the first two episodes of Yellowstone, Felix doesn’t appear again until episode 6, after Monica is hit by one of her students. In these hard times, Felix takes care of Tate and tries to imbue him with some wisdom. His presence is important because he shows a parenting style different from that of John Dutton. Felix reminds Tate that he has to be a good kid. Felix cooks for his family, creating a nurturing environment that is very different from the one John Dutton offers in his household.
In the seventh episode, after Monica’s injury proves to be more severe than doctors initially thought, Felix visits his granddaughter at the hospital. He uses a native healing method, and the doctors scold him for lighting sage in the hospital room. He accompanies the family as Monica gets some tests. In episode 8 of Season 1, Felix accompanies Monica to physical therapy, and she asks her grandfather to live with him after leaving the hospital. All throughout this time, Felix shows his unconditional love, accepting his granddaughter’s wishes.
In the Season 1 finale, Felix continues to take care of Monica as she stays with him, and Kacey goes back to the Yellowstone ranch. At the beginning of the second season, a much more recovered Monica continues to live with her grandfather, as she doesn’t want Tate to be exposed to his father’s violent nature while he’s around John Dutton. As Monica starts working at the university, she moves from her grandfather’s house to another home offered by the university. Felix reminds Monica she’s married to Kacey in the afterlife and advises her to work it out with him, which she eventually does. In the fourth season, Monica, Kacey, and Tate stay a couple of days with Felix, who proves to be a loving figure, helping his great-grandson and granddaughter heal from all the trauma from the Yellowstone ranch.
Rudy Ramos has a Native American and Mexican Heritage, so his presence added an important representation to Yellowstone. The plot revolved strongly around the conflict between Native Americans and landowners in the United States, so including actors who understood the problem firsthand was crucial. It was good that Sheridan added more episodes with Felix, as it shed light on Monica’s family life, her role in the Reservation, and her later choice of moving with Kayce and Tate to their own little ranch.
Why Felix Long Didn’t Appear in Season 3 of Yellowstone?
Felix Long Appears in 11 Episodes of Yellowstone
Felix Long is a common recurrent character in the first season and one of the best characters in Yellowstone, at which point he was a big part of Monica’s life. In the second season, fans see much less of Felix, who only appears in the first two episodes. This makes sense because the show starts to branch out its storylines. While Ramos appears in an episode from the fourth season, one episode in the first half of the fifth season, and in the fifth season’s finale, he was sorely missed in the third season.
In Season 1 of Yellowstone, Monica and Kacey live in the River Brock Reservation alongside Monica’s family, which includes her grandfather, Felix Long. After Monica and Kacey take a break at the end of the season, Monica continues to live on the reservation with her grandfather at the beginning of the second season. However, they soon reconcile, and Monica goes to live with Kacey on the Yellowstone ranch. Felix doesn’t appear again in the second season and will be completely absent in the next season of Yellowstone.
It is unknown if Rudy Ramos stopped appearing in Yellowstone around that time because of his own decision or if it was a writing choice. Nothing suggests Ramos was scheduled for another project since his recurrent character in the series is one of the few roles he has pursued in recent years. However, if there was a personal issue keeping him from Yellowstone, the actor hasn’t commented anything about it. Ramos, on the other hand, has confirmed that working in Yellowstone has been a great joy for him,
It’s very possible that the absence of Felix Long in the third season of Yellowstone has nothing to do with Ruby Ramos and everything to do with the plot at the time. The second season of Yellowstone ends after the Duttons rescue Tate from being kidnapped by the Beck brothers. It is a dark time for Monica, Tate, and Kacey. Tate’s recovery is slow, Kacey becomes Livestock Commissioner and spends more time trying to save the ranch than with his family, and Monica’s impotence makes her act in a dangerous way. One example of this is that she becomes bait to attract a serial killer so the people of the Reservation can kill him. It’s clear that Monica is away from her family, especially from the loving and wise figure of Felix Long, and his figure at this bad moment in her life would not make a lot of sense.
It is not until Season 4 of Yellowstone that Felix Long appears again. Monica and Kayce decide to go back to the reservoir because living on the Yellowstone ranch is ruining their lives. In this sense, Felix is obviously a positive figure in Monica’s life. As they have breakfast at Felix’s house, and Tate excitedly eats the meal prepared by his grandfather, it becomes obvious that Felix is the complete opposite of John Dutton. This explains his absence in Season 3, when Monica was completely embedded in the Dutton family dynamic.
What Happened to Monica’s Grandfather in Yellowstone?
Felix Long Barely Appears in Yellowstone After the Second Season of the Show
As Monica and Kayce tried to balance their family life, roots, and future, they understood they needed to build a path for themselves. By the fourth season, the couple had lived on the Reservation with Monica’s brother and on their own, on the Yellowstone ranch with John Dutton, and in Felix’s house. They escaped the Yellowstone ranch, feeling emotionally exhausted, but living on the Reservation stopped being an option after Monica and Kayce lost their baby. Healing from all the trauma that had come their way in recent times, they found, however, their haven in a distanced terrain from the Yellowstone land that wasn’t ever used. Tate, Kayce, and Monica renovated the house with their own hands and made the space their own.
In a way, it meant that Monica and Kayce didn’t belong to either the Indian Reservation or the Yellowstone Ranch. As a product of both worlds, they had to create their own little bubble to truly find happiness. This, in the end, means that Monica and Felix’s relationship becomes less close, as Monica’s and Felix’s houses are a bit apart. Felix, however, proves to always be a supporting figure when he attends the funeral of Monica’s baby in Season 5 Episode 4 of Yellowstone, “Horses in Heaven.”
Felix Long is last seen in the series finale helping his community cleanse the Yellowstone ranch after Kayce and Beth give it back to the tribe. This could mean that Felix will now live or work in this area, which would make Monica and Felix closer. However, Monica is fully focused on her family life and building their little ranch, while Felix will probably be busy restoring and taking care of the new land of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation.