Editor’s note: This story contains spoilers for the debut of the second half of Season 5 of “Yellowstone.”

CNN
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We now know the fate of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in ‘Yellowstone’.

The long-delayed second half of season 5 debuted on Sunday. Moments into the episode, the audience learns that Dutton, the family patriarch, had died of a gunshot wound.

Although it is initially believed that Dutton died by his own hand, it is later revealed that he was actually murdered in a scheme involving Sarah Atwood (played by Dawn Olivieri), who is in a relationship with Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley).

Costner confirmed in June that he would not return for the new season.

The actor announced this in a video he shared on Instagram.

“I just want to let you know that after this long year and a half of working on ‘Horizon’ and doing all the things that need to be done, and thinking about ‘Yellowstone,’ that beloved series that I love, that I know where you loves,” Costner said. “I just realized I can’t continue season 5b or the future.”

The western ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ was the first of a planned multi-part film series, which ultimately failed to break through at the box office.

Viewers of “Yellowstone” took to social media to lament the loss of Costner’s character and the way he was written out of the show.

Some of his cast members shared in the grief.

“It’s hard to imagine the show without him. But that’s always where the show was going. It was: Can these kids do it without him? Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton, told The Independent.

“So we all knew it would get to this point, we just didn’t know how or when, and it was obviously different than we thought,” Grimes said. “But what it did do was elevate the show to a 10 and now everything is starting to unravel.”

“Yellowstone” airs on Paramount and can be purchased on demand on Prime Video.