“Cowboys don’t say goodbye. They say, ‘See ya later,’” promised stoic ranch manager Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) in the fourth-season finale of Yellowstone. The contemporary Western saga about the rich Dutton cattle-ranching family — of which Rip was an honorary member even before he married his longtime love, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) — ends its amazingly popular run with the second half of Season 5, premiering Sunday, November 10 on Paramount and CBS. “This year is about picking up the pieces and putting them back together and trying to move on,” Hauser tells TV Guide Magazine. “My storyline is totally different. Kelly’s as well.”
The most glaring change is the absence of Beth’s dad, who is also Rip’s boss and mentor. Oscar winner Kevin Costner, who played stern ranch patriarch John Dutton, is not returning for the final six episodes.
John’s violent defense of the Montana ranch from developers and the local tribe has been the show’s driving force. Beyond that John has put pressure on his children to continue the Dutton legacy: loyal rainmaker Beth, lawyer Jamie (Wes Bentley), who has turned against his kin, and former Navy SEAL Kayce (Luke Grimes). Without John, Hauser reveals, “you’re going to see a side of Rip you haven’t seen. He’s running the ranch, being supportive of Beth, helping Kayce, doing all the things that John would want. He takes the responsibility very seriously, and I love that about this year for him.”
The last time we saw them, in January 2023, the newlyweds said farewell as Rip and other hands headed to Texas with the herd. Beth stayed behind as chief of staff for her dad, who was reluctantly serving as the governor of Montana. In a brutal backstab, attorney general Jamie had moved to impeach John, and Beth and Jamie, who have decades of bad blood, separately vowed to kill each other.
Before their deadly battle begins, expect some sweetness. Rip and Beth “are two souls that have a hard time being away from each other,” Hauser says. “Beth doesn’t like the idea of me being down in Texas. She pulls a pretty cool trick and finds me down in the middle of nowhere.”
But Beth will soon get down to business. Reilly has said that John’s absence makes it even more important for her character to keep the ranch — and she’ll go to war against Jamie. Rip will surely back her by any means necessary. “Rip supports Beth through thick and thin,” says Hauser. “Part of the reason there’s such a great love for each other is that their support is unwavering.”
Beth’s army will include Kayce’s wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), a member of the Broken Rock tribe, which has clashed with the Duttons under Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham). “Monica is Team Beth,” Asbille says. “It’s one of my favorite relationships on the show. They share a deep love and respect for each other.”
Grimes has said that Kayce and Beth will spend more time together than usual, and it sounds like a powerful union. Asbille shares that the second part of Season 5 will put a focus on “Kayce’s journey. Luke has always been a great partner in crime, and I’m excited to see him shine.”
There’s a chance that this couple, one descended from the Indigenous people and the other from white settlers, can help heal the conflict between their communities — a clash longer-lasting than the Dutton siblings’ civil war.
Hauser promises that all the battle-scarred characters’ journeys will end in some kind of unity. “[Producer] Taylor [Sheridan has] done a great job again this year of bringing those people back together,” Hauser says. “It ends the right way, where everybody has a moment that he has given them to appreciate what has happened.”