6 Unanswered Questions Yellowstone Failed To Address

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"Yellowstone" season 5 is over, and with its final episode, the main flagship series appears to have rode off into the sunset for good. The franchise will continue with spin-offs like "1923," "The Madison," "6666," and more, so fans can look forward to more series set in Taylor Sheridan's cowboy-loving universe. At the same time, the end of "Yellowstone" has left us with burning questions that still need to be answered.

Of course, no one who watches "Yellowstone" is too concerned about plot holes. Viewers learned to accept them in season 1 after Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) dug up some dinosaur bones and the show led us to believe that people might come to try and claim them, only to never revisit the story. In some ways, "Yellowstone" is charming for its tendency to forget about certain plots while unloading more outlandish drama at us, and that's fine.

That said, while "Yellowstone" boasts enough wild moments to keep us entertained, some of these unanswered questions can't be overlooked. With that in mind, let's take a look at the most glaring examples of storylines that never received a proper payoff.

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Angela Blue Thunder (Q'orianka Kilcher) looked set to cause trouble for Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) in "Yellowstone" season 5. The cutthroat attorney initially started out as an ally of the Broken Rock Reservation leader in his quest to defeat the Duttons. However, she disappeared after the chief and John Dutton (Kevin Costner) became friendly rivals, but came back to try and shake things up later on.

When she returns in season 5, Angela wants to replace Thomas with a younger candidate as the Chairman of the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock. For a minute, it seemed like a power struggle storyline was on the cards, but that never happened as the attorney didn't show up at all in "Yellowstone" season 5 part 2, conveniently ending her feud with the chief and the intriguing drama that could have stemmed from the situation.

Furthermore, Thomas Rainwater didn't have another major storyline until he inherited the Dutton family's ranch in the "Yellowstone" season 5 finale, which was a shame as he's one of the best characters in the entire franchise. Birmingham has been open about his willingness to return for a potential spin-off series centered around his character, so, hopefully, that will come to fruition and this storyline can be revisited.

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Sarah Nguyen's (Michaela Conlin) murder and its underwhelming aftermath is a perfect example of "Yellowstone" losing its way. Taylor Sheridan's series is often criticized for giving quick and tidy conclusions to storylines that should realistically pose some problems for the Dutton family — and the way in which the show handled this one lends some legitimacy to that argument.

Sarah, a journalist, was murdered by Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) before she published a damning expose about his family's dark secrets. What's more, Jamie shared all of the juicy details with her in an effort to make his father look bad in a political campaign, only to have a change of heart later on. Unfortunately for him, she wasn't prepared to revoke his statement, so Jamie strangled her to death and the murder was framed as an accident.

No one looked into the suspicious nature of Sarah's death afterward, even though her editor and fiancé — also a journalist with investigative instincts — would have known that she was working on a story about an organized crime family with skeletons in its closet. Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) even tricked Walker (Ryan Bingham) into getting his fingerprints on her car — just in case the cops came knocking and they needed a fall guy to pin it on. The cops didn't even question them, and Sarah's loved ones and colleagues stayed away. Did no one think her death was suspicious?

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Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie Dutton's feud on "Yellowstone" dates back to their teenage years. In short, she asked Jamie to help her get an abortion so that no one would find out about her pregnancy, but he got her sterilized and ensured that she couldn't have children later in life.

Over time, Beth grows to hate and resent Jamie for this, and she doesn't react positively when she learns that he has a son. In fact, Beth informs her adopted sibling that she's going to take the child from him, though it's unclear if she means forcibly adopt the kid as her own or commit a more heinous act. When it comes to Beth, either outcome is possible, as she becomes quite maternal when she adopts Carter (Finn Little), but she is also capable of doing some real horrible things.

Ultimately, Beth kills Jamie in the "Yellowstone" season 5 finale and moves to Texas to live happily ever after with Rip, seemingly content to leave her brother's son alone. It's possible that she just wanted to get inside Jamie's head when she threatened to take his kid, but we'll never know for sure. Still, maybe she'll make good on her promise in Beth and Rip's upcoming "Yellowstone" spin-off.

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The early seasons of "Yellowstone" establish that the Duttons have the local cops on their side, with Sheriff Donnie Haskell (Hugh Dillon) leading the charge. When Donnie gets killed during a diner shootout in season 4, though, he's replaced by Sheriff Bill Ramsey (Rob Kirkland), who's way more idealistic and law-abiding than his predecessor.

After picking up the sheriff's badge, Ramsey vows to run the department differently. He knows that Donnie was beholden to some unsavory characters, and he refuses to work with criminals. Ramsey positions himself to become a thorn in the Dutton family's side, but he only arrests Beth after she gets into a bar fight with a woman who hit on her husband — and she gets released the next day with no charges against her name.

The sheriff only appears in one episode of "Yellowstone" season 5 and doesn't put any real pressure on the Duttons. As such, his legacy will be that of a character who teased upsetting the applecart of organized crime in Montana, only to fade into obscurity without even posing a threat to the corruption.

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The Beck brothers are arguably the Duttons' most effective rivals on "Yellowstone." They show up in season 2 and kill the family's livestock, kidnap Tate Dutton (Breckin Merrill) and leave him with a neo-nazi militia, and send masked men to attack Beth Dutton. Naturally, the family responds with more violence, sending Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes), a military-trained assassin, to plant a bomb on their enemy's aircraft. Smart plan, right?

Despite making a big deal out of the Duttons' intention to blow up the plane, the storyline was dropped without an answer. Instead, the Beck brothers die the old-fashioned way, with Kayce shooting Teal Beck (Terry Serpico) when he's on the toilet, and John Dutton (Kevin Costner) having a final showdown with Malcolm Beck (Neal McDonough) that ends with the baddie dying pitifully. We'll never know if the plane exploded, as the show never addresses the storyline after Kayce informs John that he planted the explosive.

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As previously mentioned, Jamie Dutton was adopted by the family "Yellowstone" is centered around. His biological father, Garrett Randall (Will Patton), killed his mom, Phyllis Randall, and that's all we ever find out about her. Jamie goes on to have quite a positive relationship with his original dad — until he shoots him for self-serving reasons — but we learn absolutely nothing about the woman who gave birth to him.

Some fans have theorized that Phyllis was a member of the Dutton family, but surely someone would have mentioned that? At the same time, Lee Dutton (Dave Annable) is rarely mentioned after he gets killed in "Yellowstone" season 1, so this family does have a history of forgetting about its deadest members. That said, Phyllis isn't listed on the Dutton family tree, so let's rule out that theory until we have concrete proof to suggest otherwise.

John once told Jamie that he advised Phyllis not to marry Randall, so the family clearly had a relationship with her — and it must have been strong if they felt inclined to protect her son. It's just strange that Jamie's mother's backstory wasn't given any thought or consideration beyond that, even though there were opportunities to elaborate on her history.