Sunday evening, part two of Season 5 finally returns to viewers’ TV screens as fans of the hit Taylor Sheridan show are thrilled to see what is expected as the series finale plays out. Since there was such a lull between the first portion of Season 5 and the remainder, fans have been theorizing how the plot might shake out, especially with the departure of Kevin Costner from the cast.
Given that John Dutton is such an integral part of the show, fans are curious about how Sheridan and the writers will tie up his plot’s loose ends while gracefully exiting his character from the show. While some fans focus on that, others are invested in theorizing what will happen to the Dutton Ranch as multiple parties fight over the valuable land.
Some viewers have started to wonder if snippets from the prequels 1923 and 1883 might be tipping off fans about how the whole series will end.
One scene in particular from 1883 sparks a theory among fans that the Dutton Ranch will end up in the hands of Thomas Rainwater and his tribe. In 1883, there is a scene at the end of the show where Spotted Eagle, the chief of the Crow Tribe in Montana, speaks to James Dutton, Tim McGraw’s character, about the future of the land that Dutton is claiming. Spotted Eagle tells Dutton he has the perfect piece of land for him but warns him it will not be his forever.
“I know a place for you. You go through that pass, and you follow the river south, and a man who plans can thrive. But you know this: in seven generations, my people will rise up and take it back from you.”
Dutton responds to Spotted Eagle:
“In seven generations, you can have it.”
Could this have been Sheridan planting a seed?
“If you have watched ‘Yellowstone,’ there are times that you’d forget they connect. And there will be little moments that remind you.”
Sheridan once said in an interview.
If so, that’s masterful. However, given Sheridan’s writing style, which typically features many twists and turns, I can’t imagine he would have laid this out in plain sight for viewers. However, it could be a subtle clue that Thomas Rainwater goes after the Duttons during the second half of this season. Or perhaps it’s not swinging… it’s more of a rescue? After all, Tate, who is the 7th generation of Dutton, is half native American… maybe the ranch is given Tate, and then in partnership with Rainwater and the Broken Rock Tribe, the land is federally protected as Native American land.
One thing is for certain: Beth Dutton, Rip, and other branded members of the ranch’s staff will go down swinging, laying their lives on the line before they see the land fall into the hands of someone else.
We are days away from the return, and while Sheridan’s writing style is often a slow burn, I feel that this first episode back will be explosive. Only time will tell if this theory is true, but it shows fans’ attentiveness and ability to connect all the webs of the Taylor Sheridan universe.