Yellowstone Season 2 Episode 3 Recap With Spoilers: The Reek of Desperation"

John works on establishing Kayce has his successor and things take a turn in the race for Attorney General in "The Reek of Desperation".

By Nicole Drum

Last episode of Yellowstone saw some big shifts for the Dutton family as John started to try to set up Kayce as being in charge of the ranch while Beth started her efforts to protect it by buying up land around This week, those efforts continue as the series catches back up with Jamie Dutton and his efforts to run for political office while Dan and Rainwater run into a complication in their own plans for taking down the Duttons. Here's what happened in "The Reek of Desperation.

Fair warning: spoilers for Yellowstone beyond this point. Read on only if you really want to know.

What Happened in "The Reek of Desperation"?

John and Kayce discuss moving the herd of cattle and John, who was testing him, approves. John also tells Kayce that he wants him to be focusing on the business side of the ranch going forward rather than the actual wrangling. Kayce then lets the wranglers know what they need to do and when the men have suggestions, Rip shuts it down.

Dan and Rainwater finalize their hotel and casino deal. Later, Jamie meets with Governor Perry and finds Rainwater in attendance as he is going to back Jamie's campaign. Rainwater says that with his support, Jamie will win, but without he'll lose to John's candidate, Cassidy. Jamie isn't sure how to proceed once the meeting ends and asks for a day to think. Elsewhere, John is working with Kayce and tells him that he'll need to go through the police academy to take his office as Livestock Commissioner. It's not something Kayce wants, but John says it's something that will happen in the future. After the meeting, Kayce goes to Monica and Tate's new apartment. He and Monica have a heartfelt talk, but he ends up hurt and confused when Monica says she hoped he would fight for the life he wanted.

John meets up with the Governor at the bar and they talk about politics and the Attorney General situation. John tells her that he's going to make Jamie step down and wants her to promise not to fight him on that. They end up making out. At the ranch, Beth tells Rip she thinks things will get worse with Kayce in charge.

Elsewhere, we meet Malcom Beck reading headlines about the new casino. He wants to know who Dan Jenkins is. We next see him showing up while Dan is looking at the model of the hotel and casino. Malcom is with his brother, Teal, and says he knows about the battle with John Dutton and tells Dan that he and John stay in their own lanes but Dan has stepped into things. When things get tense, Teal notes that Malcom is the head of the Montana Liquor Board and that he will revoke Dan's current license as well as not issue one for the casino or hotel. They want him to end the partnership with Rainwater and work with them instead.

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At a hardware store, two men are buying acetone but quickly leave with nothing when police show up. Jimmy and Avery are there and run into the men outside and it turns out that Jimmy knows the men, who are trying to get supplies to make meth, and Jimmy owes them money. They say that they'll forgive the debt if he buys the supplies. Jimmy comes back out without the supplies and when an altercation ensues, Avery sprays them with bear mace, allowing them to safely escape.

Jamie talks with Christina about his options over dinner and she suggests that they hide where the funding is coming from. Jamie ends up going to talk to Beth, who dresses him down and tells him he reeks of desperation and that he will be torn apart and that he needs to consider everyone in his life and do what is best for them. The next day, he decides not to accept Rainwater's money and also to not play dirty. Christina tells him that if he quits, she's dumping him. Jamie later shows up at the ranch telling them that he withdrew from the race. Jamie sits down to eat with them while Kayce asks where Jamie's been. John walks away from the table and looks over the ranch, emotional.

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