From the moment we found out that Yellowstone’s John Dutton had been murdered, we knew that there would be hell to pay — and in Sunday’s episode, the bill came due. Read on, and we’ll go over all of the events that led up to a certain schemer’s inevitable demise.
‘THAT ALMOST MAKES SENSE’ | Beginning with a flashback to the day that John died, “The Apocalypse of Change” found both Beth and Kayce having vague premonitions of their father’s doom — an especially big bummer for the latter, who’d just moved into his new home with Monica and Tate. At the governor’s mansion, John was held down by three men, dragged unconscious to the bathroom and put through the motions of shooting himself. In the present, no sooner had Rawlins been sworn in as governor than he’d offered Clara a new position as his chief of staff. She turned it down, though, when she learned of his and Jamie’s plan to invoke eminent domain, seize control of the Yellowstone and reinstate Market Equities’ lease. Lynelle, what with her being as upset as Clara, pointed out to the young woman that, since she was momentarily not a government employee, she was no longer obliged to keep government secrets. Did Clara get her drift? You betcha.
When Kayce paid a visit to the medical examiner, he strong-armed her into reexamining his father’s body as if he’d been the victim of a murder, not a suicide. And whad’ya know? The coroner found evidence galore that John had been forcibly restrained. Kayce’s next stop was at Detective Dillard’s office, where he found out that the gun John had supposedly used was his old service pistol — which he had given Kayce. And which Kayce had kept locked up at the Livestock Commission. Since those offices have cameras, Kayce immediately granted the detective access. Finally, Kayce paid a visit to Jamie, dragged his secretary into the office (lest she call security) and threw his brother across the desk. Unlike with Beth, Jamie could look Kayce in the eye and swear that he’d had nothing to do with John’s death. “I hope not,” Kayce said, seemingly buying that line of bull, “for your sake and for mine.”
‘IT IS A SNAKE THAT SPEAKS FROM ITS TAIL SO IT MAY SAVE ITS MOUTH FOR STRIKING’ | By the time Rawlings was to address the state assembly and undo everything that his predecessor had done to protect the ranch, the police had held a press conference reclassifying John’s death as a murder. “Wish we’d known that six hours ago,” he muttered to Jamie. To save face, the new governor called upon his attorney general to recuse himself from having anything to do with the case surrounding his father’s homicide and more.
Back at the ranch, Beth was lamenting to Kayce that now the only choice they had left to make was what part to sell and how much of it. Shortly, Rainwater and Mo came by to pay their respects — and offer assistance. While Mo counseled Kayce about the nebulous choice he would have to make — “When the time comes, it’ll feel like fate” — Rainwater and Beth put their heads together. Their goal at this point was the same: to keep as much of the land as possible together and pristine. Perhaps Beth had a feasible idea in partnering with a private equity group that had an eye on experiential hospitality?
‘WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUES’ | After seeing the police press conference, Sarah bought a burner phone and tried to reach Grant. Shocker: The number was no longer in service. When Jamie showed up at her house, he had the nerve to be snarky about the “bang-up job” she’d done executing their murder plot. Sarah, and what a badass villainess she is, was having none of it. He accused her of executing John not for her lover but for a $6B development deal. In turn, she reminded him that “you want to be in that governor’s mansion so bad, you’d probably sleep in [your father’s] bed without changing the sheets.” In response, Jamie hit Sarah — hard. She then hit him back — harder — and left.
But Sarah had only driven about a block before Jamie called to snivel out an apology. “Lucky for you I can take a punch,” she cracked. Just as she was urging Jamie to trust her and believe in himself, a couple pulled up alongside her. They were lost, they said, then weirdly asked if she was Sarah Atwood. Oh, s—t, the passenger then shot Sarah, like, a lot as Jamie heard his one ally die over the phone. Damn! What did you think of Sarah’s demise? Kayce choking out an orderly?