Yellowstone continues to spark discussions with its fifth season going strong at the moment. The showrunners frequently kill off characters, but the one that surprised people the most (or perhaps not at all) was the death of the lead character, John Dutton (Kevin Costner). It seems Dutton was killed off because Costner had increasing demands for the show, but many viewers agree that Yellowstone might be better off without its main character.
John Dutton was an antihero, to put it best; his personality didn't fit everyone's idea of a great man. However, when Taylor Sheridan created Yellowstone and its characters, he never promised they'd all be good people. With an array of literal villains in the show, it's hard to admit that no one in the Dutton family is the actual villain, but it's time to face it - John Dutton was the biggest villain on the show, and there are plenty of reasons why.
10 He Put His Interests Before Others’ Even When He Wasn’t Supposed To
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John Dutton's ambition to be a landowner and a governor meant he'd pretend to be anyone's friend. His own interests were usually at the top of his list, even with four children depending on him. He would often leave the kids to make their own decisions and fend for themselves; this is proven the most when teenage Jamie takes teenage Beth for an abortion at a shady clinic. Though Jamie was also in the wrong here, the fact that Beth approached him, a child, over her father and caretaker with such an issue proves how much he was there for them.
Other examples of John putting himself before others include using his kids as pawns in most of his dirty work (one instance resulted in his first son Lee dying in the very first episode), refusing progress on the Yellowstone ranch but wanting to give it to the state, avoiding the role of the Governor of Montana that he was actually elected for, and belittling people around him to get them to do what he wants.
9 He Frequently Took Advantage of His Governor's Position
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When John Dutton became Governor of Montana in season 5, viewers knew he did it out of selfish reasons, and not really because he wanted to. Jamie's Governor's chair run was cut short by John's insistence to take his spot, and there was a specific (and pretty good) reason in John's mind. Becoming Governor for him meant only one thing - saving Yellowstone. Whoever tried to suggest things that would better Montana, he'd dismiss them or reject their ideas.
The biggest proof that John Dutton used his gubernatorial power for personal gain was in season 5, episode 5, when he canceled his appointments as a government official for two weeks and went to the ranch to camp out. While this just proves John is a man of the land, disinterested in official procedures, his Governor's position requires more attention. Other examples, listed by some viewers, also include him using his political power to pardon Summer (Piper Perabo), just because she's a romantic interest (though her prison sentence was overly harsh in the first place).
8 He Was Excellent at Manipulating People
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This goes without saying, but a powerful and influential man like John Dutton most likely has the skills to manipulate people. However, it seems like he used these skills on his children, employees, and other loved ones as much as he did on strangers and opponents. The biggest example of this is whipping his son Jamie (Wes Bentley) into submission so he does everything John wants; one could argue that Jamie is the only Dutton child who's always done everything John asked of him. Despite this, John would still bully Jaime and create a competitive atmosphere between them.
Throughout the entire series, there are other small examples of John's influence on people that could also be considered manipulative. And while some would argue he's just doing the best he can for his family, it seems the most important thing to him is his ranch, Yellowstone, and staying in charge of it. The land is valuable, but to him, seemingly even more than somebody's life.
7 He Had His Hands in Numerous Killings
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Yellowstone is full of shootouts and standoffs, and John was involved in most of them. Besides that, he doesn't flinch at the idea of "getting rid" of people he doesn't want to meddle in his business; his kids and employees are often the tools for exacting this sort of revenge on anyone. Some viewers also felt he considered Rip (Cole Hauser), now Beth's (Kelly Reilly) devoted husband, as nothing more than a guard dog that kills on command.
The first-ever example of witnessing John's ruthlessness was in the second episode of the series. In the first episode, his son Lee and daughter-in-law Monica's brother die, but it seems they went at each other. John covers up the traces that would imply his second son Kayce in foul play by ordering Rip to ruthlessly kill a medical examiner who might talk about the causes of Lee's death. This may be an instance someone might find defendable, but murder rarely is. If saving his land means ending lives, that could make anyone wonder what sort of ranch he's really running.
6 He Dumped His Enemies’ Bodies in a No-Regulation Zone
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As Jamie explains to Beth in season 5, episode 8, the bodies of John's enemies don't just randomly disappear. Instead, they are "taken to the train station" - a metaphor for dumping dead bodies into a "Zone of death." This isn't something Taylor Sheridan made up for Yellowstone; the Zone of Death is areal area of around 50 square feet on the border between Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. When Beth learns about this, she's in denial but accepts the fact pretty quickly later on. Her reaction depicts how normalized murder is in the family, since she suggests adding Jamie to the roster of bodies.
By using the advantage of the "train station" to get rid of anyone who doesn't suit his agenda, John has managed to keep Yellowstone intact for decades. Understandably, this was his father's land, but resorting to murder to keep the land safe isn't a very commendable move. In the world of Yellowstone, though, keeping up with tradition often means defending the ranch with every available resource, firearms included.
5 He Often Played Favorites With His Children
Playing favorites with his kids was a common occurrence for John Dutton. This was obviously depicted in his treatment of Jamie versus Beth. While Beth was always able to do whatever she wanted (which makes her the most hated Yellowstone character in the US), Jamie was scrutinized and often degraded. Even Kayce (Luke Grimes) would typically get a good talking to about crossing lines while Jamie was considered the pariah.
Even if John did favor one of his kids over the other, his treatment of each of them didn't really warrant the Father of the Year title. Telling Beth he's proud of her and then criticizing her was common; viewers would often find the relationship between the two slightly odd. Although Beth might be aggressive and unruly because of her strained relationship with her mother, their similarities may also be what John appreciates in her. It's left to see how Beth will handle being without John and whether his 'playing favorites' rubbed off on her in any way.
4 He Branded People Who Work at Yellowstone
One of the most offbeat things about the Yellowstone ranch is the branding. John Dutton has his ranchers literally branded with a scorching letter Y as a means of ensuring their unending loyalty and service to Yellowstone. Most of the characters who work on the ranch (including Kayce) have the brand on them. While in some ways, this is a badass way of putting the Yellowstone ranch first for those people, it also makes them seem like they belong to him.
By branding his employees, John owns them in a way. Although they enjoy great levels of respect on the ranch, their position should be known without being subjected to a painful initiation. His way of earning loyalty feels like nothing more than plain powerplay, which is most evident when John brands his son, Kayce, when he disobeys him. It seems this is a practice on some real-life ranches, and employees likely agree to it, but branding, historically, are only done on cattle and slaves. This could have such connotations, though it's obvious it's a loyalty trick.
3 He Stole the Governor's Position Under Jamie’s Reach
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Before John ran for the Governor's seat, Jamie was slated to run, as John learned from the former Governor Lynelle Perry (Wendy Moniz). She approached John, telling him she'd endorse Jamie, which awakened a vengeful spite in him; this led him to kick Jamie out of the race and decide to run for the position himself. Upon learning the news of Jamie's campaign, John began to exclaim distrust in Jamie to everyone around him. He would emphasize his incompetence and lack of loyalty while putting himself up for running.
Whether John really distrusted Jamie for being a governor or felt jealous of the potential power Jamie would wield in a political position can only be left to speculation. What's obvious is that he forcefully snatched the chair from under Jamie's reach so he wouldn't get a chance to even run. In Jamie's eyes, this was just another betrayal from the man who was meant to be a father figure.
2 He Shunned Kayce After He Refused to Ask Monica for an Abortion
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In season one, episode 6, Monica asks John about branding his ranch workers. While John says they feel like it's their second chance, Monica wonders whether Kayce's brand means the same. This is how the viewers find out that Kayce also wears the branded Y on his skin, but the reason isn't as wholesome or cool as John presents it. While John is great with Monica and her and Kayce's son Tate, it seems like that wasn't his intention from the get-go.
In a story where John remembers the past, he recalls how he first tried to force Kayce to convince Monica to have an abortion. When Kayce disobeyed him (for obvious reasons), John felt that he should be punished for going against his wishes by getting the Yellowstone brand imprinted on his skin. In Kayce's example, it wasn't a matter of pride as much as imposed shame by John. This caused a rift between the father and son, and Kayce left, feeling shunned and betrayed for what his father did to him.
1 He Repeatedly Bullied Jaime
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Perhaps the most obvious terrible thing John Dutton did during Yellowstone was bullying his son Jamie. Though Jamie isn't the most positive character, it's obvious a lot of his scars come from growing up with John as a father; the fact he's still fighting with so many "battle scars" is commendable to some. Jamie was adopted when his biological father ended up serving a 30-year sentence for murder. John and his wife Evelyn adopted Jamie and raised him as their own; but it seems like John rarely considered Jamie a son, and Jamie, without knowing he was adopted, had to grow up thinking his father hated him.
This led Jamie to constantly seek validation from John since he was little; every decision he made was more than likely influenced by his desire to be accepted by his father. In some episodes, viewers even recall John (and Beth) telling Jamie he should end his own life, even after John prevented Jamie from taking that step at some point. Contrasting attention from John caused Jamie to become the symbolic villain of the show, even if he's the most wounded and neglected Dutton child in the entire series (though the competition is toughest between him and Beth).
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