As much as we all loved (and missed) Kevin Costner's John Dutton in the final batch of Yellowstone episodes, we knew for quite a while that Costner wouldn't be returning to the Paramount Network drama in the end. Indeed, Season 5 was always gearing up to conclude the Dutton story, something that became especially clear the more flashbacks we got to the life of a younger John Dutton, played by Josh Lucas. Although Lucas appeared as John in nine episodes of Yellowstone total (and five of those occurring in Season 5A), the character, much like his older self, was noticeably absent from the last batch of episodes. It's a shame, since more flashbacks may have made John Dutton's untimely death a bit easier to bear.
We Needed More Josh Lucas on 'Yellowstone'
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It's been a few weeks since Yellowstone wrapped up the story with a climactic two-hour finale. In the aftermath of the series, one thing may have made those last six episodes of the show even better: more Josh Lucas. We got a photographic cameo of Lucas' younger John in the final episode, "Life Is a Promise," but unlike the first half of Season 5, the actor didn't show up for any scenes of his own in Part 2. Admittedly, there was a lot going on in these final episodes, especially since the series aimed to give a proper conclusion to many of the supporting cowboys as well as the core Dutton cast. However, considering that Taylor Sheridan once told The Hollywood Reporter that Costner's impromptu exit "truncates the closure of his character," the return of Lucas' interpretation of the Dutton patriarch may have softened the blow.
Watching "A Knife and No Coin," Costner's final appearance on the series, and then hopping directly into the Season 5B premiere, "Desire Is All You Need," the shift between John Dutton's life and death is as stark and strange as the behind-the-scenes drama leading to it. What's more is that Josh Lucas' younger John also appears in Costner's final episode, and it's the last flashback to the '90s era Dutton Ranch the series employs. It's a shame, though, as the young John's growing mentorship of a teenage Rip Wheeler (Kyle Red Silverstein) is worthy of further exploration. The way Lucas plays the character, a blend of Costner imitation and advancing cowboy, is certainly leading man material. It's no wonder so many fans have called for a Josh Lucas-led prequel spin-off in the same vein as 1923.
It seems that Taylor Sheridan thought the best way to deal with Kevin Costner's departure from the series was to pull the plug on John Dutton entirely, with Josh Lucas' version caught in the crossfire. Admittedly, it would have been difficult to try and add more Lucas-led material in Yellowstone's final six episodes, but it wouldn't have been impossible either. The filmmaker's admission that Costner's exit truncated John Dutton's character arc is a sad reality, but one that may have been handled better by weaving in Lucas' John Dutton throughout. Flashbacks to key moments with each of his children may have helped express Beth (Kelly Reilly), Kayce (Luke Grimes), Jamie (Wes Bentley), and even Rip's (Cole Hauser) grief in the show's final episodes, offering a greater emotional anchor to propel them to that inevitable conclusion.
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'Yellowstone' Could Have Concluded With a Better Send-off for John Dutton
Of course, there were other ways that Yellowstone could have included Josh Lucas' John Dutton too. The super-sized finale did an impressive job of sending off John Dutton. The finale's powerful funeral service afterward exploded into the final confrontation between Beth and Jamie. However, there is one other major way that the flagship Yellowstone Universe program could have echoed what Taylor Sheridan set up in 1883 beyond simply the passing of the land. With the way Yellowstone wrapped up, using Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) as the narrator throughout the greater Dutton story, it may have been the perfect time to bring John Dutton's spirit back in the same way that hers returned in the 1883 finale, perhaps even as a co-narrator of the saga.
John Dutton had been the guardian of the land for so long that it would only make sense that he wouldn't be able to fully pass on from it. Bringing back Lucas' John in spirit (a more idealized version of the character than Costner's grizzled portrayal) may have signaled that he ultimately understood Beth and Kayce's decision to give up the land. Considering that's what Beth wrestled with throughout the finale, this may have been a way to honor John's own part in the story. Even if that wasn't the route Sheridan chose, knitting Josh Lucas' John Dutton throughout this final season would have been spectacular. He was certainly one of the most underrated elements that made Yellowstone special.
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A ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.
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