Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe builds on the fantasy of cowboys and ranchers against the almost romantic backdrop of the vast Montana wilderness. But after playing in the sandbox of creative liberty for 4 seasons, the cinematic arc of the Paramount+ series seemingly ties its red thread of fate with that of its characters, especially the Dutton sibling-cum-enemies, Beth and Jaime Dutton.
However, with the Season 5 grand finale approaching fast after a 2-year-long wait, Yellowstone faces a grim fate and a serious challenge. It has become pertinent that Taylor Sheridan does his story justice by not only drawing the curtains on a prized show but also delivering justifiable closure to his characters after the antagonism between two of his leads reaches an explosive high.
Yellowstone Headed Toward a Dark Hole in its Finale
It might be a difficult task for Taylor Sheridan to tie up all the loose threads on Yellowstone with only half a season of storytelling left to cover. However, not much seems out of the realm of possibility for the actor who gained notoriety and Oscar-nominated fame as a writer-director after having had enough on the sets of Sons of Anarchy.
Despite his multitude of talents and a modicum of awareness of the audience’s perception toward Yellowstone, it might not just be a Herculean task but also a spiritually transformative journey for Sheridan to step back into the world of Yellowstone and tackle its problematic issues.
Be it the plotholes or the discrepancies in its character storylines, Yellowstone turned from one of the most exemplary television shows to alarmingly horrid within a few years. Be it the changing of the guard (from Taylor Sheridan’s singular imagination to the collective thought of a writers’ room) or simply a run-of-the-mill quality dump, Yellowstone‘s demise is one of the most tragic ones in recent history.
Taylor Sheridan Responsible for Yellowstone Closure
After building up the rivalry between Beth and Jaime from the very first episode of Season 1, it will simply be a mistake of ungodly proportions if Taylor Sheridan kills off one character as a resolution to the conflict. Needless to say, each character has its own faction of supporters who are willing to fire up a storm at the drop of a hat on social media if things go awry.
It is universally agreed that the Beth vs. Jaime situation needs to come to a head with one party walking away as the ultimate victor. However, for the fans, that seems too risky a move for Taylor Sheridan to make this late in the game. According to some fan theories on Reddit:
I feel like given the direction of the show as it ends: Either Jamie is gonna end up dead or is gonna end up getting the Governorship where he is able to save the ranch legally from everything threatening it and Beth finally sees him as a good brother.
I feel like a feel good ending is the right way to end this show where no one has to visit the train station. As much as some viewers hate Jamie, I feel like there are alot of Jamie fans who want an avengers assemble moment for the family finale if John is dead.
On the other hand, a more aggressive fan, i.e. Tarmac_Chris suggests:
Killing Jamie would be just so… boring?
Every season he’s treated like shit and Beth gets to humiliate him. Killing him (or worse, having Beth kill him) would be so very unsatisfying and redundant writing as well.
Suffice it to say, after making the fans invested in Jaime Dutton’s arc of growth, maturity, and confidence for 4.5 seasons, simply killing him off would generate a similar uproar as the kind Dan Weiss and David Benioff faced in the aftermath of Game of Thrones finale and their unforgivable Season 8 blunder.