Yellowstone concluded its Season 2 on CBS on Sunday night (Dec. 3), airing episodes 9 and 10 and delivering some of the most actioned-packed and dramatic scenes in the history of the show.
Season 2, Episode 9 is titled “Enemies by Monday,” and it opens with Kayce (Luke Grimes) and an accomplice setting up explosive charges to blow up the airplane the Beck Brothers used to kill the cattle on the Dutton ranch.
Other highlights of the episode include:
・Jimmy’s (Jefferson White) grandfather dies as a result of the injuries he sustained when Jimmy’s former drug dealing cohorts beat him, causing Rip (Cole Houser), Jimmy and more of the Yellowstone bunkhouse boys to exact a stunning, violent revenge.
・Jamie (Wes Bentley) finds out that Christina (Katherine Cunningham) is pregnant with his child, and she gives him an ultimatum if he wants to be a part of their lives.
・Beth (Kelly Reilly) comes to Monica’s (Kelsey Asbille) rescue when she comes under suspicion of theft in a swanky boutique due to her race, in a scene that demonstrates Beth’s fierce loyalty. She tells Monica that she’s too good for the Dutton family and implores her to take Kayce with her when she leaves again.
・The Beck Brothers kidnap Tate (Brecken Merrill) to try to leverage John (Kevin Costner).
Season 2, Episode 10 is titled “Sins of the Father,” and it opens in flashback with John’s father dying, a memory that causes John to tell Rip that he will not lose Tate as he has lost everyone else that he loves.
Elsewhere in the episode:
・The Beck Brothers dispatch a team of killers to murder Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston) in his home.
・Monica embraces part of the dark legacy of the Duttons that she has previously rejected, making Kayce promise to kill everyone involved in Tate’s kidnapping.
・John comes to an uneasy truce with Rainwater (Gil Birmingham).
・Kayce storms the Beck Brothers’ house and kills Teal Beck (Terry Serpico), but Tate is not to be found.
・John writes Rip into the trust for his children to inherit the ranch, letting fans see a softer, more emotional side to Rip and Beth.
・Rip volunteers to take a life-threatening risk to make sure that Tate comes home, and John shoots Malcolm Beck (Neal McDonough) in the ensuing raid on his home, though viewers do not actually see him die on screen … which may set up more trouble for the Duttons in future seasons.
・They bring Tate home, and the season ends with an emotionally powerful scene in which Beth sees John comes out to the porch and burst into tears, in yet another unexpected revelation of another side to an oftentimes harsh character.
Yellowstone began airing on CBS in September during the actors strike. CBS has yet to announce if the show’s third season will also come to network television, but given the ratings hit the show has produced in a down season, it seems likely that announcement is pending.
The second half of Season 5 of Yellowstone will air beginning in November of 2024 on Paramount, and those episodes will bring the show to an end, with a sequel planned to launch directly on the heels of the end of the show. Matthew McConaughey is reportedly in talks to headline the new show.
Check out Taste of Country’s Dutton Rules podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for ongoing coverage of Yellowstone and all of its related shows.