‘Yellowstone’ recap: A tragic death, Kayce seeks revenge as grim conclusion nears
Season 5, Episode 12: “Counting Coup”
Spoiler alert: You know what doesn’t go well with Thanksgiving leftovers? Learning juicy details about one of your favorite shows. So, if you love “Yellowstone” and haven’t watched this episode yet, go snag that last piece of pumpkin pie, turn on Episode 12 and come back. Consider us the dessert to your dessert.
Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor: Sunday night brought the third-to-the-last episode of “Yellowstone” and, befitting the series ending that’s unfolding, it was appropriately grim.
We open with an ominous bit of foreshadowing: Montana cowboy Colby is on the phone with Teeter, who’s in Texas, and he lets slip that he loves her. He also warns that while he can’t explain, the future is up in the air, prompting her own declaration of love.
This can’t end well, right?
In the bunkhouse on this predawn morning, young Carter asks veteran cowhand Lloyd what he’ll do amid the uncertain future of the ranch. Lloyd expresses confidence that he can hook on with an outfit that still does business the old-fashioned way, if it comes to that; it seems to be naive at best, given all that “Yellowstone” has done to persuade us that the ranching lifestyle itself is being hunted to extinction.
It launches a larger conversation among the cowboys about what comes next. Soon, as if to confirm the uncertainty, manager Rip Wheeler comes in to discuss the liquidation of ranch assets, including (it appears) most of the Yellowstone cattle and horses.
Before long, Rip calls Travis Wheatley, the rancher/horse trainer played by series creator Taylor Sheridan. Rip is the one to tell Wheatley of Yellowstone patriarch John Dutton’s death. He asks for two difficult favors: Help sell off show horses the ranch acquired, and for Travis to tell Jimmy — the cowboy shipped off to Travis’ Four Sixes ranch after learning the basics at the Yellowstone — about Dutton’s death. It’s a heartbreaking scene. Jimmy, a recovering meth addict, reveres John as someone who helped save his life. Travis offers him time off to grieve, but Jimmy honors John’s cowboy legacy by choosing to work the week out.
Brayden Garcia, Star-Telegram reporter who covers all things in the Taylor Sheridan universe: Things have been gloomy for the ranch all season, and that continued here. I’m really having a hard time imagining things turning around or even well for this mammoth piece of land. You can only tread water for so long.
ARE THE WALLS ALREADY CLOSING IN ON JAMIE DUTTON?
Ryan: Next, we’re back in Montana, where Attorney General Jamie Dutton is reeling from the death of his lover, scheming lawyer Sarah Atwood. Police detectives — led by the very one investigating the governor’s death — are inquiring after Sarah’s business in the state and demanding to search her possessions.
Jamie maintains that their relationship was strictly personal and that Sarah had no business in the state. It’s an odd thing to say, because it’s so readily provable that she was working on the real estate project that threatens the ranch. But then Jamie has never been one to think quickly on his feet.
And that bites him again when the detectives explain their suspicion about the circumstances of her death. It had to be a target rather than a random carjacking, given that her door was not open and her purse was undisturbed. Uh-oh: Suddenly Jamie gets haughty about his rights against a search, demanding a warrant and playing the “do you know who I am” card. Detective Dillard gives it right back, straight-up telling Jamie that he’s making himself a suspect with this behavior.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Monica is making breakfast for the family. It’s a brief moment of normalcy and decency among grieving people, so of course it can’t last. Detective Dillard calls Kayce to tell him about Sarah’s death and Jamie’s reaction. Kayce immediately calls the old Army friend he previously queried about people and companies who might be providing “black” services, such as Dutton’s assassination. The friend sends Kayce a file of the executive Sarah met with to finalize the killing.
That seems to be enough for Kayce, but Beth insists that she wants to take care of Jamie, concerned that he’ll spill enough family secrets to ruin John Dutton’s name.
Brayden: I hope Jamie doesn’t play cards, because he has no poker face. I get that Sarah’s death was traumatic, but Jamie just completely folds and shows his hand. Beth and Kayce may finally have a leg up on their adopted brother.
A TRAGIC COWBOY DEATH ON THE YELLOWSTONE RANCH
Next, we get some good cowboy action, the first in about an episode and a half, as the hands in Texas are loading up the cattle for sale. But tragedy quickly descends.
Carter, the young boy taken in by Rip and Beth, is tending to the dangerous horse Lloyd has been battling with for a while. The beast traps the boy in a stall, and he calls for help. Colby responds, coming in to distract the horse while Carter escapes. A couple of well-placed kicks later, Colby is dead.
Carter returns to shoot the horse, prompting Rip and the others to rush to the scene. Nothing can be done, though, and Rip immediately calls Ryan, the cowboy he left in charge in Texas, to inform Teeter and the others.
Kayce and Tate are then seen scouting the graveyard on the ranch. Their grim talk of where Colby and John will be buried turns to a conversation about what happens when Kayce himself dies, which Tate wants no part of.
Kayce has had a revelation of what he must do next, and he calls Mo to ask for help. It’s obviously a big ask, as he warns Mo that it entails risk. Mo wisely replies: All favors do.
Brayden: Well, if things couldn’t get any worse, they do with Colby’s heroic sacrifice. I should have known something was bound to happen, when the episode opens with Colby finally professing his love for Teeter. Rest easy, Colby, we’ll see you down the road.
RARE SCENES OF A TENDER BETH DUTTON
Ryan: Colby’s killing brings out the rarely seen softer side of Beth. She and Lloyd gather up Colby’s belongings to ship to his mother, and then she goes to find Carter in the stables’ tack room. After oversharing about her and Rip’s use of the room when they were younger, she reflects on how Carter, Lloyd and Rip are all blaming themselves for something they weren’t responsible for. The right response, she tells the boy, is to honor Colby’s sacrifice to save him and not squander it. Suffice to say that it’s more caregiving than we’ve seen from Beth in almost the rest of the series combined.
Next, Beth tends to her man, handing Rip a drink and starting a fire so he can hurl the glass in to satisfying effect. He obliges.
Brayden: I enjoyed the scene of Beth coming to pick up Colby’s belongings from the bunkhouse. Lloyd and Beth make for a good pair and leaving Colby’s hat for Teeter was a nice touch. For being such an antagonizing force, it was good to see Beth comfort both Carter and Rip. With John gone, Beth’s little family needs to stick together.
LOOK OUT, WORLD: KAYCE SWINGS INTO ACTION
Ryan: Kayce is packing up to leave, and Monica is of course concerned. He explains he’s about to take a step to protect the family, not the ranch.
What follows is a grippingly dark scene, even for “Yellowstone.” We see Grant, the executive from the assassination company, coaching his daughter in soccer and taking her to his car (a Mercedes, natch). Soon, Kayce slips into the backseat and pulls a gun — on the kid.
He outlines the situation for Grant: Kayce knows where his wife works, the family’s home address and exactly which loose ends the firm left. He tells the daughter that she should be scared and bitingly wishes Grant good luck explaining to his wife what happened. He leaves Grant with a good wallop on the head — which he explains is known as “counting coup” in the Special Forces work he did. Mo picks him up, and the episode closes.
With just two episodes remaining, the end of “Yellowstone” is starting to come into focus. The satisfying part will of course be seeing Jamie’s comeuppance finally arrive. The sad part, it seems, will be the demise of the ranch. To be determined: What level of peace and happiness Beth, Rip, Kayce and the cowboys manage to find.
Brayden: Do not mess with Kayce Dutton! What a great way to end this emotionally heavy episode with some action. Kayce is doing this for his family, not the ranch, which makes him even sharper. Everything is laid out on the table, with only Jamie left to deal with. Only two more episodes left, folks.
Random observations on Episode 12
Storytelling often requires a different pacing from real life. But the rush to action when Colby was killed was just odd. Before calling an ambulance or even dealing with the body, Rip immediately called the Texas cowboy contingent and spread the word. He wouldn’t have had minutes to digest what happened. And yet no one in Texas seemed to still not know about John Dutton’s death, which (for the “Yellowstone” cowboys) called their boss away and which would be a nationwide story when it was classified a homicide. Do these people not get news alerts or text messages?
Notes on drinks: Just two bottles are visible when Beth pours three generous helpings of whiskey — one for the fireplace, one for Rip and one for her. It’s Buffalo Trace, the insanely popular Kentucky bourbon that frequently advertises on the show. The other bottle is Tito’s Vodka, Beth’s usual standby, though one she eschews here.
Line of the night: From a grieving Teeter: “He’s a cowboy, suffering is the job. I just wish he would have suffered a little longer so I could say goodbye.”
From Brayden:
At the end of the preview for next week’s episode, the trailer announcer said there’s only one episode left before the “season finale.” Besides Kevin Costner’s involvement, the No. 1 question for “Yellowstone” fans heading into season 5B was whether this last batch of episodes would be the show’s last. Well, it seems like “Yellowstone” isn’t done just yet.
I thought there was some interesting meta commentary related to John’s death. Travis (played by “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan) tells Jimmy that it doesn’t matter how John died, just that he was dead. I wonder if this was a winking nod to the many “Yellowstone” fans who speculated over how John would go out.
Line of the night is either from Rip about saving the ranch, “Uncle Sam wants his pound of flesh and we don’t want to give it to him in land.” Or from Teeter about Colby’s death, “He’s a cowboy, suffering is the job.”
This story was originally published December 1, 2024 at 10:30 PM.
