What happened in the ‘Dutton Ranch’ finale? Here’s a spoiler-filled recap
“Dutton Ranch” really knows how to keep fans on the edge of their seats.
The Paramount+ series wrapped up its first season with a doozy of an episode that released on Friday, July 3. The show will be back for a second season, which is sure to appease fans after a major character is kidnapped in the finale’s closing minutes.
As the dust settles in Rio Paloma, lets recap what happened in the “Dutton Ranch” finale.
Editor’s note: Spoilers for “Dutton Ranch” below.
‘Dutton Ranch’ season 1 finale recap
Carter, oh Carter, why didn’t you answer the phone?
After spending most of the episode safe and sound, the young’un (played by Finn Little) is kidnapped by Mariano’s (Raoul Max Trujillo) men in the finale’s closing minutes. Will he be OK? Likely. Will Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) get him back? Probably, but it’s sure to cost them.
Before we get any further, lets backtrack a bit.
The finale opens with Beth and Rip besting Rob-Will (Jai Courtney) and taking his logbook, which contains a record of which cows are packing on a few extra pounds. It turns out that the 10-Petal’s Mexico operation is smuggling drugs into Texas by stashing away a few kilos in each cattle load.
Beth and Rip come to this conclusion after Everett (Ed Harris) pulls out several goodies from freshly doctored cows. Everett gets the full story a few minutes later from Beulah, who says that when times were tough about 15 years, Joaquin’s (Juan Pablo Raba) father Mariano presented a solution to keep the lights on, and she hasn’t looked back since.
Speaking of Mariano, we meet a modern version of the character in this episode after seeing his younger self in episode 7.
After murdering the man who raped her, Beluah says her father found out about the whole ordeal and blamed it on Mariano and offered him a deal: leave baby Joaquin behind and flee to Mexico. Scared out of his mind, Mariano takes the deal and is widowed after some business at the border.
It’s not mentioned how Mariano broke into the drug trade, but flash forward 40 years, and he’s a name to be reckoned with.
After playing a game of musical drug chairs, Beth and Rip send Beulah back to the 10-Petal with all of Mariano’s product. But, it’s too little too late for the couple, as Mariano wants the “thieves” who wronged him.
What ensues next is a firefight on Dutton Ranch between Mariano’s men and the combined efforts of Rip, Everett, Azul (J.R. Villarreal) and Zachariah (Marc Menchaca). Rip’s crew comes out on top, which sends Mariano into a rage and is why his men later kidnap Carter.
Over on the 10-Petal, Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind) is gearing up to leave Rio Paloma for good with Carter. The pair reconcile earlier in the episode, but Oreana does not tell Carter that she’s pregnant. It’s unclear if Carter is the father, or if ex-boyfriend Hoyt (Kyle James) should be picking up diapers.
Either way, the Rio Paloma escape is put on hold not only because Carter is kidnapped, but since Oreana is utterly broken after finding her father Rob-Will with a gunshot wound to the head. While the murder is not directly shown on screen, it’s implied that Joaquin pulled the trigger on his own brother after Mariano gave him the go-ahead.
Boy howdy, that’s a lot of moving pieces for one episode of television.
While Rob-Will is the only main character to bite the dust, the rest of our heros and villains are still feeling mighty beat down and broken. What will happen next? I have no earthly idea and will leave that in the hands of the folks who make this show.
What’s for sure, is that “Dutton Ranch” will be back in North Texas sometime soon to roll cameras on season 2. In the meantime, fans can rewatch the entire show on Paramount+.
