One of the longest-running mysteries of “Yellowstone” is the ongoing animosity between Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley). Though the truth behind their tense relationship has been explored plenty over the show’s five seasons, their murderous feud has grown to new heights in Season 5, Part 1.
This is because the tail end of “Yellowstone” Season 4 sees Beth forcing Jamie to murder his biological father, Garrett Randall (Will Patton). But what choice could make Jamie murder one of the only people he trusted after spending so much time with him? Well, it turns out that Beth only offered three options to her adopted brother and that the other two — going to jail or facing down Rip (Cole Hauser) — were much worse.
This leads to the inevitable moment in “Yellowstone” Season 4, Episode 10 (“Grass on the Streets and Weeds on the Rooftops”) where Jamie approaches his father from behind and shoots him in the head as Garrett stares off peacefully at the flowing waters of a nearby creek.
While Beth’s punishment might seem unduly harsh, “Yellowstone” fans will no doubt recall that Garrett was the one who attempted to have Kayce (Luke Grimes), John (Kevin Costner), and Beth killed at the end of Season 3. Though Jamie was unaware of the attacks at the time, he later found out and did nothing, hence Beth’s brutal retribution. All the same, Beth may not get the last laugh despite seemingly having Jamie over a barrel at last.
Jamie may have his vengeance on Beth yet
Jamie may have seemed totally helpless and out of options during the Season 4 finale of “Yellowstone,” but it turns out that his choice of dumping ground for Garrett’s body allowed him a way out of Beth’s blackmail. Whether he thought of this at the time or only later realized is hard to say. Either way, Jamie’s planning has revealed that if he goes down, the whole Dutton family goes down with him.
This is due to the fact that Jamie dropped the body at the so-called “train station.” Fans of the series know well that this is the same place where John, Rip, and countless others have left bodies that they don’t want to be found. Though Beth gets camera footage of him doing so just to be sure she can keep a leash on him, she doesn’t realize that the spot where Jamie stashes Garrett’s body is tied closely to the Dutton family. With this in mind, Beth’s blackmail becomes meaningless, as she can’t turn Jamie in at all without also risking the lives of John and Rip.
The double twist is one of the most shocking storytelling decisions that have been made in the entirety of “Yellowstone,” as it sets up an unshakable and undeniable confrontation between Beth and Jamie that has been building up since the start of the show. Now, with the two hateful siblings set up in a high-noon-style stand-off, there’s no way to walk back the conflict. This means that in the final episodes of “Yellowstone,” blood will almost certainly be spilled between the duo.