Yellowstone Season 5 Gives Jamie Dutton His Anakin Skywalker Moment

The machinations of the coward Jamie Dutton finally came to fruition during the midseason finale of Yellowstone; the adopted son made his move against the Montana Governor in an attempt to salvage the development deal that antagonists Market Equities have invested so much money in. But while John and his family have been so invested in saving the valley under the guise of protecting "all Montanans," new antagonist Sarah Atwood and Market Equities have been manipulating Jamie in order to get that sweet, sweet Yellowstone land. (All of this is overshadowed by the return of this long-missing character, however...)

Jamie has a point here, though, because while the land would be decimated for the sake of more mini-malls and condominiums, it would be a boon to Montana's economy. That's precisely the point he makes when he attempts to sway the constituents to move for impeachment against Governor John. Of course, his plan goes over about as well as you'd expect.

Shortly after, Jamie's least favorite sibling Beth finds out about the impeachment plans and decides to go straight to the source. She breaks into his house and attacks him with a brick, interrupting some manipulative cozy time with Sarah, only to find that Jamie discovered he has a spine with which to stand.

After Beth threatens Jamie to release the blackmail photos from the end of Yellowstone Season 4, when she caught him disposing of his biological father's body after killing him, Jamie comes back and says he knows where John has been disposing of his enemies' bodies for all these years. This is a shock to Beth, as it is yet another secret her father has been keeping from her. Jamie calls her bluff and dares Beth to call his own, forcing her to leave – but not without some choice words for Sarah.

Beth finally confronts her father, and after they both discuss how far Jamie is willing to go to get what he wants AND hurt their family, they both come to the realization that Jamie is a threat that must be dealt with. Unfortunately, Jamie realizes the same thing... After speaking with Sarah, he decides to make use of her nefarious forces and potentially have Beth killed as well. As he himself says, he's sick of playing defense and wants to protect himself with an offensive maneuver.

It will be a while before we learn how Jamie and Beth's conflict resolves (or escalates), as Paramount Network just revealed Yellowstone Season 5 won't return until Summer 2023.