“Did you count coup?”
“I counted coup.”
“Then he understands.”
Those were the final words uttered in Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12, aptly titled, “Counting Coup,” and though the closing scene felt self-explanatory to some fans of Taylor Sheridan’s hit Western drama, others were left wondering what exactly it means to count coup.
The exchange took place between Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) as they were driving away from the man who ordered the hit on John Dutton (Kevin Costner). In order to fully understand the scene, however, we have to back up a bit.
Curious what counting coup’s meaning is? Or wondering how Kayce and Mo’s actions fit the definition? We’ve got you covered. Here’s Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12’s episode title explained, along with a breakdown of Kayce’s out-of-character “Counting Coup” actions.
Counting Coup Meaning: Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12 Title Explained
Before we tackle Kayce counting coup in Season 5, let’s recall the haunting vision he had in Season 4. When Kayce returned from his vision quest, he told Monica (Kelsey Asbille) that he “saw the end of us,” which suggested he’d have to choose between his family and the ranch at some point. As the series progressed, however, the meaning behind the vision shifted and finally came into focus for Kayce in Episode 12.
Back in Season 5, Episode 10, we saw Kayce and Mo chatting about the uncertainty of his vision, with Mo advising Kayce: “You’re not supposed to know yet. When the time comes you’ll know, and it wont feel like a choice at all. It’ll feel like fate. You’ll see it and smile cause the choice will feel so clear.”
In Episode 12, after learning the identity of Grant Norton — the man who orchestrated the hit on his father — Kayce promised “I’m gonna shake this fucker” and later placed a phone call to Mo. “I can see it now. I know what to do…I need your help,” Kayce told him. “You have it,” Mo replied. When Kayce warned him “it comes with a risk,” Mo assured him, “all favors do.” Viewers were left to wonder what the two had planned.
Later in the episode, Kayce packed up a gun and told Monica he’d be back the following night. “I swear. I could see it now. I know what to do,” he told her. He gave her his word that he’d return, but before he did, he’d have to count coup.
When Yellowstone showed Grant living his normal non-hitman related life at his daughter’s soccer game, it was clear that Kayce was plotting some sort of revenge. When Grant and his daughter got in their car ater the game, Kayce hopped in the back seat, held his gun to the child’s head, and told Grant he knew everything. He threatened Grant, his family, and his entire way of life by rattling off all sorts of personal information, but in the end, he left without harming him or his daughter.
From what we’ve seen in Yellowstone‘s first five seasons, it’s easy to assume that Kayce would take Grant to the train station without a second thought, but instead, he counted coup. “I should kill you in front of her for what you did to my father, but I’m gonna trade my family for yours,” Kayce explained. “You don’t want this fight. You can’t win it.”
Kayce made it clear that he could kill Grant and his family whenever he wanted, but after getting Grant confirmed there was “enough separation” between Sarah and the Duttons and that Kayce’s family wouldn’t be in danger, he shocked viewers and Grant alike by sparing his life.
“Where I come from we call that counting coup — it means I took a piece of your soul, and I’m gonna keep it,” Kayce said after bashing Grant’s head with his gun. After he left the car and hopped in Mo’s vehicle, Mo asked, “How’d it go?” and Kayce replied, “I think he understands.”
“Did you count coup?” Mo questioned. “I counted coup,” Kayce confirmed. “Then he understands,” Mo concluded. And with that, the episode ended.
So what does counting coup mean? Essentially, Kayce risked his own life to threaten — but ultimately spare Grant. Grant knows he can’t harm Kayce now, so Kayce got his message across and achieved his desired outcome — security for his own family — while taking the higher, more superior road.
As Douglas Deihl, director of American Indian & Ethnographic Art at Skinner Inc., explained per PBS, “In Plains warrior societies, Sioux warriors gained their status by being brave in battle, and one way this was done was known as ‘counting coup.’ What these warriors tried to do was to get close enough to the enemy to touch them without getting injured or killed. To do so was considered the highest honor for the warriors, an act considered more honorable than going in and killing and scalping them. To touch the enemy and survive was considered the greatest honor in battle.”
Counting coup showed immense restraint and personal growth on Kayce’s part. It served not only as cathartic release from his crushing grief and a satiation of his desire for revenge, but as a deviation from his family’s typical way of dealing with enemies. That said, Kayce knows this man was simply doing a job, and that those who initiated the hit and paid him to kill John Dutton, were the true enemies. That knowledge lileky played a key role in his ability to count coup, but was it a one-time deal?
Sarah is already dead, but Jamie is still out there, and Beth (Kelly Reilly) is out for blood. While we may have seen the last of Kayce’s Yellowstone threats, we have a feeling the show still has more in store.