Yellowstone Season 5: Why Eden Brolin’s Mia Left Yellowstone — Will She Come Back?

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Eden Brolin appears in Yellowstone as Mia and when she exits the show, there’s a door left open for her return. While John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and the rest of the Dutton family tree will commit all manner of murder, theft, and other crimes to keep those who want to take their land away, they’re pretty easy-going about letting in anyone who wants to help on the Yellowstone Ranch. Plenty of different cowboys, ranch hands, and barrel racers have come through the ranch, some looking for adventure, others for escape, and some to chase after a boy.

Mia is in the latter camp as she follows Jimmy Hurdstrom (Jefferson White) to Yellowstone. Jimmy starts off Yellowstone as a young troublemaker but turns his life around after he is hired to work at the Dutton Ranch, where he earns his brand and learns to be a better member of the team. Mia actress Eden Brolin is the daughter of Josh Brolin and Alice Adair. Her career is a young one, with her only other major role coming in the show Beyond as Charlie Singer. Though Brolin appears to have left Yellowstone, there’s a chance Mia could return.

Mia Is A Barrel Racer Who Falls For Jimmy In Yellowstone
Jimmy And Mia Have Their First Date In A Hospital

Mia first appears in season 3, episode 3, “An Acceptable Surrender”, when she meets Jimmy at a rodeo, in which she’s competing as a barrel racer. Jimmy suffers major injuries, which results in the pair having their first date in a hospital room. Charming at first, Mia turns out to be a bad influence, pressuring Jimmy to return to the rodeo despite being hurt. But Jimmy eventually returns to the ranch, and Mia and her friend Laramie also go along to Yellowstone to work.

Mia is a frustrating character. It’s tough to watch her manipulate Jimmy into disobeying John right when it seemed like he was on the right path.

As she works alongside her boyfriend, her constant whispering in his ear causes him to go against John’s wishes, and he attempts the rodeo again, only to end up in the hospital. Mia is a frustrating character. It’s tough to watch her manipulate Jimmy into disobeying John when it seemed like he was on the right path. But Brolin makes Mia’s deception seem natural and not overtly villainous. She’s a thorn in Jimmy and John’s side, but Brolin plays her with enough empathy that it feels like Mia could change.

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Mia Was Heartbroken When Jimmy Left The Yellowstone Ranch
She Was Furious When Jimmy Returned With A New Woman

After Jimmy is injured again, John sends him to Texas and the 6666 Ranch, where he hopes Jimmy will learn to be a real cowboy. Mia declines to join him and the two split up. Mia still has feelings for Jimmy though, because when he returns to Yellowstone for a visit in season 4 with his new fiancée, Emily (Kathryn Kelly), a distraught Mia attacks her, only to end up bloodied and in the dirt. This humiliation combined with witnessing a fight between Walker (Ryan Bingham) and Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) leads to Mia leaving the ranch, and Brolin Yellowstone.

Jimmy has barely been on Yellowstone since season 4, with just one credit in season 5 and, according to Jefferson White, there are no official plans for his return, as he divulged to Looper what he knew of his character’s next steps,

“I wish I knew. I think you won’t be surprised to hear that they don’t tell me anything, and it’s mostly my job just to try to hold on to the bucking bronco at any given moment. Anytime I try to guess what [Yellowstone creator] Taylor Sheridan’s going to do, what he actually does is much better, and more surprising, and cooler, and more interesting than what I would’ve guessed. So, at this point I’ve learned to just try to hold on.”

Without Jimmy on the show, there’s no reason that Mia would return, so while it’s possible, it’s also unlikely.

Eden Brolin Appeared In Candy & High Desert After Yellowstone
Brolin Has Two Upcoming Film Projects

Even if Eden Brolin won’t be returning as Mia on Yellowstone, she’s kept herself busy. After her Yellowstone performance, she went on to play Riley in Candyland and Jeannie in the TV show High Desert. These are much less spiteful characters than Mia, and show that Brolin is versatile in her craft, adapting well to genres like horror and comedy. Brolin also has two upcoming films she has significant roles in: Montauk, a drama about a mysterious island, and Land of Grace, an action crime drama.

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