As the Yellowstone dust settles, the fate of the Dutton Ranch has left fans reeling, particularly with its historic sale back to the Broken Rock Reservation. While the finale brought the story of the ranch full circle, Gil Birmingham, who portrayed Tribal Chairman Thomas Rainwater throughout the series, has shared his thoughts into what he believes lies ahead for his character. In an exclusive interview with Collider, Birmingham revealed how Rainwater’s purchase of the Yellowstone Ranch comes with a unique set of challenges that mirror those faced by Kevin Costner’s John Dutton. Reflecting on Rainwater’s vision for the land, Birmingham expressed the weight of responsibility that comes with stewardship:
“My thought was that he would probably first create a community where his people could be safe with their homes, facilities of hospitals and schools — create a community that they wouldn’t have to worry about being entrenched upon. Then, outside of that, maybe offering educational centres for people to visit and learn what our disconnected sense of our society has created in us with the cities and some of the rural areas, that Mother Earth is our sustaining power. She always has been for all life.”
However, Birmingham noted that Rainwater’s challenges wouldn’t end with the transfer of ownership. Just as John Dutton fiercely battled external threats to preserve his family’s legacy, Rainwater will likely encounter similar obstacles, particularly from the same forces of “Corporate America” that plagued the Duttons.
“I think Thomas Rainwater is probably going to encounter the same obstacles and challenges that John Dutton did. Corporate [America] isn’t going to sit by and see open land that they think they can exploit and profit from. So, it would be a constant preservation of that.”
Is This Just the Beginning for the Broken Ranch Reservation?
Rainwater’s journey has always been a parallel to John Dutton’s, and the series finale just highlighted that even more. The ranch’s sale to the reservation was not just a political and financial victory for Broken Rock, but also a spiritual one. Birmingham shared how Rainwater’s character arc, from a cunning and ambitious chairman to someone respectful of the shared legacy of the land, but he also highlighted the potential difficulties in uniting his community around this shared responsibility, particularly given the land’s complicated history.
“It’s a beautiful thing, but you have to wonder how the leaders of the reservation will get across the message that this is now spiritually shared land. There’s such a history of pain there, and it’s going to be a challenge to make everyone see the bigger picture.”
Yellowstone is streaming now on Peacock. Stay tuned to Collider for more from our conversation with Birmingham.