While all this may have seemed like a prelude to a season-long mystery, Yellowstone‘s ‘who shot’ solution came a lot faster than the famous one Dallas storyline, and as usual, Beth was right… well, half right, all along.

Jamie Dutton announced his father’s death to the public during the season premiere.

In a flashback scene, it is revealed that Sarah Atwood, the Market Equities consultant who has been trying to overthrow John’s governorship to advance her employer’s plan for an international airport, has hired an assassin to take out the Dutton patriarch to change gear. and make it seem like it was self-inflicted.

The move mirrored a tense exchange between Machiavellian Sarah and Jamie in the season five first half finale, in which Jamie said he thought Beth would try to have him killed and that it was time to “take offense.” At the time, it seemed like he wanted to have his sister pre-emptively killed, but toward the end of the scene, an unusual exchange occurred: “If you go after her, you might, you know. ..” Sarah said vaguely, to which Jamie replied, “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”

So did Jamie change his mind and decide to have his father killed instead? Or did Sarah go rogue and use Jamie’s apparent consent to further her own goals? In the season premiere, Jamie seemed devastated by the news of his father’s death, even arriving home to Sarah ready to celebrate their victory. While his attitude might cast doubt on the extent to which he understood what he was agreeing to, Jamie never outright says that he didn’t mean for his father to die, so at least for now a mystery remains.

The decision to kill John Dutton in a murder-for-hire plot is particularly interesting, considering that Costner (who retains top billing in the opening credits despite not appearing on screen) reportedly had a clause in his contract with the show with a provision for ‘moral death’. According to Puck’s reporting in 2023, the clause specifically included certain provisions regarding John’s possible death on the show, ruling out any circumstance that could bring shame to the character. a la the infamous death of Patrick Dempsey Grey’s anatomy character, Derek Shepherd, who died in a car accident following behind-the-scenes drama.

The show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, had previously dismissed such a possibility, telling THR, “I don’t do fuck-you car crashes. Whether (Dutton’s fate) inflates (Costner’s) ego or offends is additional damage that I do not take into account.” in terms of storytelling.”

Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and City & Country contributor covering beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine and cocktails.