Get ready for shock twists and gripping storylines, cementing this series as one of the most watched in recent years.
In preparation for the final ever episodes of Yellowstone, we’re recapping every series which has aired so far – in case you need a quick reminder of what’s happened.
You can also watch every episode in its entirety exclusively on Stan, which is exactly where you’ll find the brand new season when it premieres this November.
Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride!
After the chilling ending of Season 2, the Dutton family are trying to establish a sense of normalcy in their lives.
First order of business is to deal with the aftermath of the rescue mission. With six casualties, and an obvious conflict of interest, John Dutton (Kevin Costner) resigns as Livestock Commissioner for “gross abuse of power”. The Governor agrees and turns a blind eye.
But who to replace him? John asks Kayce (Luke Grimes) for the honour, but he turns it down leaving Jamie (Wes Bentley) as the new Livestock Commissioner. Jamie is soon promoted to Attorney General leaving Kayce to take on the role with surprising pride.
Second order of business? Land developers.
Jenkins (and the Beck Brothers) may be a problem dealt with but a new enemy swoops in and they swoop in fast. Market Equities, a hot-shot firm, buys out Jenkins’ estate with sights set on a new development. They’re planning on building an airport and they want to do it right on Dutton’s land.
Don’t they ever learn?
Representing the firm is smooth-talking, trout fishing Roarke Morris (Josh Holloway), who Beth (Kelly Reilly) encounters at the lake.
Beth finds out about his airport plans and confronts the businessman. Roarke reassures her they’re not afraid to fight.
Watch out Roarke, you’re fighting with the Dutton family.
So, Roarke calls on the help of old-timer cowboy Wade Morrow and his son to do their dirty work. “Keep poking that son of a b—h until he does something he can’t take back,” he instructs to the cowboys.
They go after John’s handlers and almost trample them to death which soon ends in both their demise. But Wade bears the Yellowstone brand and before his death, they brutally carve it out of his chest. Ouch.
That’s right, John knew the cowboy.
“He has something and I want it back,” said John.
Meanwhile, a romance is blossoming on the ranch. Following the shocking events of Season 2, Rip confessed his love for Beth and with her father’s blessing, Beth asks Rip for his hand in marriage.
With love comes heartache when Beth reveals she can’t have children. “Being with me is the end of you,” she warns Rip.
“You’re all I need,” he replies.
But there’s a reason why Beth can’t have children and we find out now.
In an emotional flashback we learn that Beth fell pregnant as a teenager. Desperate and scared, she turned to Jamie for help who in an attempt to hide her secret, took Beth to a small clinic. But at a cost. A cost unbeknown to Beth, in order to get an abortion, she had to get sterilised.
Present day John finds out what Jamie did to Beth, and is not only furious but heartbroken. That’s not the only heartache that comes between them either.
Jamie needs a copy of his birth certificate and in a shocking twist, finds out his was adopted. Never one to fully belong, never one to feel loved, Jamie’s walls come crashing down. He confronts John who makes it very clear that Jamie is part of the family.
“You can call me whatever you want, Jamie. But I will call you son, because I have earned the right, and it is the hardest thing I have ever done,” says John.
Jamie searches for his birth father, and learns he is a convicted killer who murdered his birth mother when Jamie was a baby.
Jamie finds his dad, Garrett Randall, and learns the harsh truth of his actions. His mother was a drug addict and killing her was his only chance to give Jamie a better life.
Jamie’s whole world becomes a lie. He was raised to run the ranch. It’s all he’s ever known and now it’s taken away from him.
His birth dad leaves him with some imparting words: “Yellowstone ain’t a ranch. It’s an empire. The only way to take an empire is to kill the king.”
Jamie has never felt more distant from his Dutton family. Interesting timing, after the CEO of Market Equities offers Jamie $500 million for a segment of their property.
Which brings us to the final episode…
It’s a negotiation showdown between Market Equities, Thomas Rainwater, and John Dutton. To set the scene, Market Equities just bought out Schwartz & Meyer through a stock takeover – and fired Beth in the process.
“The sting never fades with me. It is a painful lesson, one you’re about to learn,” scolds Beth to the CEO of Market Equities.
Jamie is there, as well as the Governor who holds the power to condemn John’s land shall he refuse to sell.
Here’s the deal, the airport is an investment for the city – and the land most suitable for said airport is smack bang on Dutton’s land.
Jamie, as the only legal authority representing the Yellowstone Ranch approves the sale, knowing if they don’t, the land will be condemned and they’ll be paid a tenth of what it’s worth (reasoning Beth actually agrees with if loyalty wasn’t at play).
The odds are in Roarke’s favour and Dutton doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
That’s when Rainwater throws a curveball – a class action lawsuit based on the proposed impact on native and park land.
“Join our suit, John,” pleads Rainwater. “It won’t cost you a cent.”
“There will be nothing to fight over if there’s a city here,” he says.
With no sign telling he’ll join the pursuit, John reminds everyone what’s his: “This land is mine and no one can sell it but me.”
He walks up to Roarke and looks him dead in the eyes. “You think you’re winning this game? You don’t even know the god damn rules. But don’t worry, I’m gonna teach them to you.”
Before we know it, a bomb goes off in Beth’s office, a squad starts shooting down on Kayce’s office, and John is the target of a drive-by shooting, but we don’t know exactly who coordinated the attacks.
Rip senses that something is wrong. He quickly calls Jamie who responds: “Rip, I don’t think you should call me anymore.” Suspicions are rising!
The phone in John’s pocket saves his life, but we don’t know how the rest of the Dutton family held up.
That brings us to Season 4.