Yellowstone’s final season has seen Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) descend into a dark and volatile place, with choices that have alienated him from his family and pushed him closer to the edge. Yet, from a surprising perspective, director and executive producer Christina Voros is arguing that Jamie isn’t the villain in this story, despite his betrayals, manipulations, and complicity in his father John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) murder.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Voros explained that Jamie’s actions are as a result of desperation rather than vindictiveness or malice. With his adoptive father John now dead, his relationship with the rest of the Dutton family irreparably damaged, and the murder of his (admittedly, psychotic and unhinged) partner Sarah (Dawn Olivieri), Jamie has been left to fend for himself in a world that seems to be closing in on him.
“You have to keep in mind that Jamie has had everything taken away from him at this point,” Voros said. “You can’t blame him for having his own interests at stake, because the only thing left now is survival. His real father is dead. He was at war with his adopted father. His family, with the exception of Kayce, has basically disowned him.”
In Voros’ mind, it’s that context which gives off the clear reasons why Jamie’s choices are done to protect himself rather than actively harm others.
“In a weird way, it’s commendable that he’s still fighting,” she added. “But he’s fighting against things that he spent a long time fighting for. His strategy of fighting for the land and for his family didn’t work because it wasn’t allowed to work.”
Jamie’s downward spiral has been exacerbated by his relationship with, who manipulated his weaknesses and pushed him down the darkest path, but even though their pairing was the root cause of John’s murder, Voros made it clear that Jamie isn’t acting out of pure evil but rather out of necessity and fear.
“This war has erupted and he has taken some irreversible steps because of Sarah’s involvement,” Voros said. “There’s nowhere for him to go. He can’t fix it. He can’t fix anything, except for maybe getting out of it alive.”
Jamie’s Only Friend Left is His Brother — For Now
With Sarah’s shocking death in the latest episode, Jamie’s isolation has only gotten worse. Voros pointed out that Kayce (Luke Grimes) remains Jamie’s only remaining connection to the family and possibly his only chance at redemption. Kayce’s loyalty, however, is being tested as he grapples with the possibility that Jamie may have played a role in their father’s murder.
“ At this point, yes. Kayce is the only person who is holding out for Jamie to be the good version of himself. Kayce still sees the brother he’s always known, somewhere. He’s not ready to give up on that .”
The next episode of Yellowstone’s final season will air at 8 PM on Sunday evening on Paramount Network, and on Monday night at 10 PM on CBS. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on the future of the Western saga.