Yellowstone season 1, episode 4, “The Long Black Train” throttles back on the story momentum for an episode as characters’ relationships are built up in expectation of what will come next in the season. The first season of Yellowstone may not be everyone’s favorite, but it’s critical to developing the characters who have only just been introduced. Episode 4 puts an emphasis on slowing things down and exploring just who the Duttons, their friends, and their enemies are. The previous episode, “No Good Horse”, was filled with backstory and violence, making this episode a reset.
In the previous episode, Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and John Dutton (Kevin Costner) finally have a face-to-face and John realizes that Rainwater will prove a formidable opponent. Beth (Kelly Reilly) is told that John will support her to run for state assembly over her brother Jamie (Wes Bentley) and she has a chance meeting with Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston). Kayce (Luke Grimes) saves a young girl, killing a man in the process, and his hands just get dirtier. Yellowstone season 1, episode 4, takes a long look at what the previous episode has wrought.
John Struggles With Health Complications While He Spends The Day With Tate
John’s Colon Cancer Has Him In Pain
In the beginning of the episode, John attempts to ride a horse but begins suffering from abdominal pains. It’s then revealed that not only does John have colon cancer, but he has recently had two feet of his colon removed. Despite his pain and growing sickness, John is still considering whether he should continue being a commissioner. The day begins to look a little brighter when Kayce arrives at the ranch with Tate (Brecken Merrill) and asks his father to take care of Tate for the afternoon. John is overjoyed to spend time with his grandson and takes him hiking.
When John and Tate arrive at a stream, they dismount their horses and begin setting up a fire. John begins to display his usual parenting style, telling Tate to do everything and encouraging him to be a man by not asking for help. After Tate goes to the stream to collect some rocks, he falls into the water and is knocked unconscious. John dives in to save him, and he returns the injured, but smiling, Tate to Kayce. However, John’s son won’t even look at him, once again disappointed with his father, showing how precarious the relationship between them is.
Jimmy Struggles To Fit In At Yellowstone Ranch
Rip And John Send A Ranch Hand To The Train Station
Jimmy Herstrom (Jefferson White) is a new ranch hand at Yellowstone, and he’s struggled to fit in with the more veteran workers, even if he does have the Yellowstone brand on his chest. While searching for a herd of cattle lost in the woods, a helicopter spooks Jimmy’s horse, and he’s thrown from it, leaving him battered, dirty, and now sure he’s not cut out for this work. Just as he’s contemplating his place on the ranch, he finds a forgotten calf stuck in the roots and bushes around a tree.
All on his own, Jimmy manages to tie the calf to his saddle and return it to the ranch, even managing a smile as he does so. His happiness doesn’t last long as another, large ranch hand named Fred (Luke Peckinpah), decides he doesn’t appreciate Jimmy’s good mood and picks a fight with him. Fred easily knocks Jimmy into the dirt, but he’s saved by Rip (Cole Hauser), who throws Fred to the ground and warns him to never touch a man with a Yellowstone brand ever again.
Fred doesn’t get the chance to though, because after John suggests he fire him, Rip goes a step further and says that instead of the bus station, maybe Fred should be taken to the train station. It’s the first mention of the sinister station, and it’s quickly revealed there are no trains there. Lloyd (Forrie Smith) drives the unaware Fred to a large cliff overlooking a ravine, and before he knows what’s happening, Lloyd shoots him and kicks him off the ridge. It’s clearly not the first time it has happened and it won’t be the last.
Beth And Dan Jenkins Have An Unusual Meeting At A Bar
Beth And Rip Share A Kiss
Beth has her own separate storyline in Yellowstone season 1, episode 4. While hanging out at a bar, Beth finally runs into the man she’s been tailing, Dan Jenkins. Dan is surprised to see her there, and as a married man, he’s nervous about his wife and family seeing them together, so Beth takes him to a bar more off the beaten path. Beth purposefully puts herself in a position to be hit on by men at the other bar and Dan valiantly stands up for her, first earning a punch to the throat and then two more to the face. Having enough, Dan leaves furious.
Beth sticks around, continuing to drink, smoke, and dance until Rip comes. He easily chases away the men pursuing Beth and takes a seat right next to her. Rip is the first person to make her smile all night after telling her she looks good, and the two have a dance together, eventually kissing.
Kayce And Monica Grieve And Thomas Rainwater Continues His Investigation
Monica Realizes How Toxic The Duttons Are
In other news in Yellowstone season 1, episode 4, Kayce and Monica (Kelsey Asbille) are still reeling from Monica’s sister-in-law’s suicide. Samantha Long (MorningStar Angeline) took her own life after her husband was killed by the Duttons in a shootout. Monica now believes that she took her life because she believed her estranged parents would take care of her children when Samantha was gone, as she would be unable to do so financially.
He eventually goes to Monica with his suspicions, warning her about the people she’s become involved with.
It’s just another reason Monica has lost respect and trust for Kayce. When Tate turns up injured after spending the day with John, her dislike of the Duttons grows even more. The end of the episode sees Kayce arrested by the police. He tells Monica he loves her before he’s driven off. Thomas Rainwater is getting even closer to discovering who Kayce killed and where the bodies are buried, and he causes a construction work stoppage after uncovering some bones. He eventually goes to Monica with his suspicions, warning her about the people she’s become involved with.
What’s Next For Yellowstone
Season 1, Episode 4 Gives Insight Into The Minds Of The Characters
Yellowstone season 1, episode 4, “The Long Black Train”, doesn’t see a lot of plot happen, but it does reveal some important things about the characters. Beth and Rip are growing closer, John is very sick and thinking about his legacy, Kayce’s sins are coming back to haunt him, Monica can’t keep a blind eye to the Duttons any longer, Jimmy has his work cut out for him, Danny has realized how formidable an opponent the Duttons will be, and Rainwater is proving to the Duttons that he can be just as clever and fearsome as they can.
The major conflicts in Yellowstone season 1 are set up in this episode and each character has to reckon with how they fit in with either the Duttons or with the Yellowstone ranch. Yellowstone season 1, episode 4, may be slow, but it starts the timer on the explosive events to come.