We’ve made it to the Season 1 finale of Yellowstone, ‘The Unraveling Part 2’, — the first part airing last week — and last we left off Monica had left Kayce, Jamie had come to blows with his father about the run for Attorney General, and Beth essentially declared war on Dan Jenkins. It’s a lot heading into this episode and the end of the season, but fortunately fans won’t have to wait very long to see where things ultimately go. Season 2 of Yellowstone is set to premiere next Sunday, October 29th. Here’s what happens in the Season 1 finale.
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Fair warning: spoilers for Yellowstone beyond this point. Only read on if you really want to know.
What Happened in “The Unraveling Part 2”?
The sheriff along with Fish and Wildlife examine the remains of the bear that wolves devoured at the end of last episode — the one that Rip had previously killed in self-defense. With so little left of the bear, there’s no way to determine exactly what happened. John then uses his own rifle so that they can figure out where the bullet casings would have landed had Rip shot the bear at close range like he said. When the sheriff claims no other casings were found in the area where John’s landed, John figures out that he’s lying and then hands casings over to the Fish and Wildlife officer. The sheriff ends up admitting that the casings were in fact found where Rip said they would be and the case ends up dismissed. John warns the sheriff that he’s on his list, but he admits to Rip later that he thinks the county and authorities have turned against him.
At the house, Beth’s assistant Jason leaves a bad first impression on John and John tells Beth that Jamie is no longer the ranch’s attorney and says he’s going to take away what Jamie left them for. John then goes to meet with the governor because he wants Jamie out of the race, but they don’t give John what he wants. She wants John to leave his role as Livestock Commissioner because they think his legal issues will be a problem for other politicians. John says no and says they need to find someone capable of beating him if they really want to get rid of him.
John meets with Rip and John says he doesn’t know who is behind the subpoenas that were delivered in last week’s episode. Rip says he’ll look around and John tells him to start with Dan Jenkins. They also talk about John’s health with John deciding not to go back to his doctor for treatment whatever it is. Beth then talks to John who tells her that he wants to put the ranch in a trust with her as executor. She promises she won’t sell it or allow Kayce to either. John tells her to take Jamie off payroll. Beth then goes to Jamie’s campaign office. She tells him he’s no longer the family attorney and wants his gold card and keys to his truck. After insulting him and his campaign manager, she leaves and Jamie tells Christina he feels free.
Rip goes to a strip club and asks one of the women, Avery, if she wants to make $1000. She says she really wants a job at the ranch and says she can out-ride all the cowboys. Rip doesn’t want her there around the guys, but she says she can hold her own.
Sarah, the woman who has been spying on the Duttons, introduces herself to Jamie the next day. She’s a report for New York Magazine and she says she’s writing about John and she’s found that Jamie is a good guy while John isn’t. She wants Jamie to be a subject or a source. Christina pulls Jamie aside and asks what Sarah will find if she goes digging. Jamie says it depends on how deep she digs. Sarah explains she wants to write her story on Jamie and paint him in a good light, but he’ll have to turn on his own father. She also says Jamie can’t win without the article.
Jenkins and Rainwater go over the details of their plan while Avery is nearby, surreptitiously recording their conversation. At the ranch, Beth and John go over legal paperwork and Beth says it will take many attorneys to go over the lawsuits and subpoenas. Rip shows up and asks Beth to step out so he can give John the update on what he has learned, playing John the tape that details Jenkins and Rainwater’s hotel/casino plans that will edge up to the Yellowstone property. John says he doesn’t think his kids will be able to protect the ranch in time and that they may end up losing everything. He wants the problems to go away before he dies. Rip asks how far away and John says when they go away, they never come back, ever.
The sheriff shows up at the ranch with Kayce and explains he was jumped by a drifter and about the fight, but he’s not under arrest. Sitting together on the porch, Kayce says he wants to come home and that Monica left him. Kayce heads to the bunkhouse and John tries to stop him but Kayce says that all he has to give his son is a future and that for him means being a cowboy on the ranch. Kayce goes to the bunkhouse where Avery is also now fitting into the group.
The next day, Monica goes home to her grandfather’s house. Tate isn’t happy about being there and he cries in the yard. Monica can’t handle it and breaks down crying. Elsewhere, Jamie and Christina go to Sarah’s hotel for an interview.
Rip and Lloyd end up following Jenkins and, with Kayce’s help, Jenkins is captured by the group and pushed into a truck then taken to the ranch where he’s put on a horse with a noose around his neck. Rip makes Jenkins confess that the semi that hit John’s truck in the series premiere was a set up as well as confess to his plan to inflate land prices and run up property tax. Jenkins says that John can sell the Yellowstone or lose it, but after the confession, Rip says to cut Jenkins down. Kayce doesn’t. He causes the horse to run off and says “let him hang” before walking away.
John at Beth are having dinner at the ranch, the only two at the big table in the dining room and Beth cries, telling him that he needs to buy a smaller table. She’s upset about what’s happened to the family and John tries to comfort her, telling her that it doesn’t matter how many people are actually at the table it’s that there’s places for them to sit. Beth says she’s not doing the things she’s doing for the table; she’s doing it for him and when he dies, she’s selling the table first. He says he’s not going anywhere.
Yellowstone airs Sunday nights on CBS. The first four seasons of the series are also available to stream on Peacock.
