Yellowstone's New Franchise-Changing Dutton Ranch Flashbacks Broken Down By Star

2 hours ago 10

Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) with a horse in Dutton Ranch

Published Jun 26, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Dutton Ranch episode 7, "Den of Sin"!Dutton Ranch shook things up by giving the first non-Dutton character flashbacks in the Yellowstone franchise, and they hold a lot of weight for Juan Pablo Raba's Joaquin.

The Narcos alum stars in the series as eldest son to Annette Bening's Beulah Jackson, and works as the fixer for the family and their expansive 10 Petal Ranch empire. The series has followed his efforts to keep the destructive actions of his reckless younger brother, Jai Courtney's Rob-Will, under wraps from the law, while also positioning himself to eventually inherit the business when his mother retires.

Dutton Ranch episode 7, entitled "Den of Sin," opened with a flashback to 1981, in which a young Beulah Jackson turned to her family's ranch hand, Mariano Reyes, for help confronting a man who attacked her and left her pregnant with Rob-Will, resulting in the man's murder, with a conversation also revealing his wife had already given birth to Joaquin. In the present, everyone gathers for the 10 Petal's anniversary party, during which Beulah announces her successor, only for Raba's character to be heartbroken when she names Rob-Will for the position, who threatened that he would kill his older brother if she chose him.

The Sheridan-verse · Ranch Assessment Taylor Sheridan
Trivia Challenge

🏠 Yellowstone Protect the ranch

🐴 1883 The Oregon Trail

🌾 1923 Drought & dust

🔒 Kingstown Prison politics

🎼 Tulsa King Made man, new town

SADDLE UP →

The Dutton family has controlled the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States for over a century. In which state is the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch located?

A Wyoming B Montana C Idaho D Colorado

✓ Correct! The Yellowstone Dutton Ranch sits near the border of Yellowstone National Park in Montana. The show is filmed primarily in Montana, with the real-life Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby serving as the Dutton homestead.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is Montana. The Dutton Ranch borders Yellowstone National Park in Big Sky Country. While the rugged landscape could pass for Wyoming or Idaho, the show is set — and largely filmed — in Montana.

John Dutton is the iron-willed patriarch who will stop at nothing to protect his family’s land. Which Oscar-winning actor portrayed him for the first four seasons of Yellowstone?

A Sam Elliott B Josh Brolin C Kevin Costner D Kurt Russell

✓ Correct! Kevin Costner brought gravitas and quiet intensity to John Dutton, anchoring Yellowstone as one of the most-watched shows on cable television. His departure ahead of Season 5B became one of the biggest stories in TV.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is Kevin Costner. While Sam Elliott did appear in 1883, Josh Brolin has his own Sheridan series (Outer Range isn’t Sheridan’s), and Kurt Russell hasn’t joined the Sheridan-verse. Costner defined John Dutton.

In the prequel series 1883, a Civil War veteran leads his family on a brutal wagon-train journey from Texas to Montana to find a new home. What is the name of this original Dutton patriarch?

A James Dutton B Jacob Dutton C John Dutton Sr. D Emmett Dutton

✓ Correct! James Dutton, played by Tim McGraw, is the Civil War veteran who leads his wife Margaret and their children on the perilous journey west. His daughter Elsa narrates the series, and the family’s arrival in Montana establishes the Yellowstone Ranch.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is James Dutton. Jacob Dutton is the character Harrison Ford plays in 1923 — James’s brother. John Dutton Sr. doesn’t appear until later generations, and Emmett Dutton doesn’t exist in the Sheridan-verse.

On the Dutton Ranch, certain cowboys receive a permanent mark of loyalty — a hot-iron brand seared into their skin that signifies a blood oath to the ranch. What symbol is this feared brand?

A A “D” inside a circle B A horseshoe C A skull and crossbones D The letter “Y”

✓ Correct! The branded “Y” is the Yellowstone Ranch’s livestock mark, but for ranch hands, wearing it on their chest means a lifelong oath of silence and loyalty. “Taking someone to the train station” is what happens to those who betray it.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is the letter “Y” — for Yellowstone. The brand is both a ranch identifier and a mark of absolute loyalty. Characters like Rip, Kayce, and Jimmy all bear the “Y” brand, signifying they’ve sworn their lives to the ranch.

In 1923, the Dutton family battles drought, Prohibition, and encroaching modernity during the Great Depression era. Which legendary Hollywood actor plays patriarch Jacob Dutton?

A Robert Redford B Harrison Ford C Clint Eastwood D Tommy Lee Jones

✓ Correct! Harrison Ford stars as Jacob Dutton alongside Helen Mirren as his wife Cara. Ford’s casting marked his first major television role and brought massive star power to the expanding Sheridan-verse. The series is set during Prohibition and the early Depression.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is Harrison Ford. In his first major TV role, Ford plays Jacob Dutton, brother of James Dutton from 1883. Helen Mirren stars opposite him as Cara Dutton. Their star power helped make 1923 Paramount+’s biggest premiere.

Beth Dutton’s volatile love story with a tough ranch foreman is one of Yellowstone’s most beloved storylines. The two eventually marry in a surprise ceremony. Who is Beth’s husband?

A Lloyd Pierce B Walker C Rip Wheeler D Jimmy Hurdstrom

✓ Correct! Rip Wheeler, played by Cole Hauser, is John Dutton’s most loyal enforcer and Beth’s husband. Taken in by John as a teenager after a traumatic past, Rip would do anything for the Dutton family — and his fierce devotion to Beth became a fan-favorite romance.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is Rip Wheeler. Lloyd Pierce is the bunkhouse elder, Walker is a ranch hand and musician, and Jimmy Hurdstrom is the hapless cowboy who eventually gets sent to the 6666 Ranch in Texas. Only Rip won Beth’s wild heart.

In Mayor of Kingstown, a family serves as power brokers in a Michigan town where the prison industry is the only business. Which family navigates this dark world of incarceration and corruption?

A The McLusky family B The Reilly family C The Kingsley family D The Dutton family

✓ Correct! The McLusky family, led by Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner), acts as unofficial mediators between prisoners, gangs, police, and politicians in Kingstown, Michigan. The show is one of Sheridan’s grittiest explorations of the American justice system.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is the McLusky family. Jeremy Renner stars as Mike McLusky, who inherits the role of “mayor” — an unofficial power broker between inmates, gangs, and law enforcement. The Duttons are Yellowstone’s dynasty, not Kingstown’s.

One Dutton sibling is an adopted son and ambitious lawyer who frequently clashes with his family — sometimes even conspiring against them. His complex loyalty drives much of the show’s drama. Who is he?

A Kayce Dutton B Lee Dutton C Tate Dutton D Jamie Dutton

✓ Correct! Jamie Dutton, played by Wes Bentley, is the adopted son and Harvard-educated lawyer whose desperate need for his father’s approval and political ambition create some of Yellowstone’s most dramatic betrayals. His rivalry with Beth is legendary.

✗ Wrong trail, cowboy! The answer is Jamie Dutton. Kayce is John’s biological youngest son (a former Navy SEAL), Lee is the eldest son who dies in Season 1, and Tate is Kayce’s young son. Only Jamie is the adopted lawyer who conspires against the family.

REVEAL MY SCORE →

Round-Up Complete Your Ranch Record

/ 8

Are you a ranch foreman — or headed straight to the train station?

↻ RIDE AGAIN

As season 1 nears a close, ScreenRant's Liam Crowley interviewed Juan Pablo Raba to discuss Dutton Ranch. When asked about the flashbacks revealing his father's loyalty to Beulah in her darkest days, and how it influenced his own approach to his character, the star began by acknowledging that when making TV shows in which the full season's scripts aren't given ahead of time, "we're all building the puzzle" of who the characters are, and how they fit into the wider story, whereas a film "you know the arc, and you already know where the pieces go."

With the Yellowstone spinoff, Raba found he was "building the puzzle" of who Joaquin is as he was "getting more pieces" regarding "the relationship to the world around the character." When reading the flashback scenes, he recalled feeling that it "really gave me a lot more questions than answers," but described it as being "a great thing" as it allowed him the chance to talk with former showrunner Chad Feehan and the writing team to fully unpack what it was revealing:

Juan Pablo: If we can ask a lot of questions, then we get to make that character fuller and richer. And it just made me think about what it meant for Joaquin to be abandoned by his parents. Imagine being a little kid growing up on a ranch as help, because your parents were a help in the ranch, and suddenly one day, they tell you, "Hey buddy, we're going, and now you're going to grow up with this family. Adiós, amigo. Hasta la vista." What does that do to a kid? "Oh, this is why this guy's so lonely." He only has one objective in his life, which is, "I'm going to do things right. So number one, I'm loved by this woman. Number two, I'm accepted in this society. And number three, I get to keep this ranch because that's the only thing I know."

Though Joaquin may not have been physically present in the Dutton Ranch flashback sequences, Raba further found that they helped him make sense of his character's generally solitary state, having wondered at the start of filming, "why doesn't Joaquin have a wife, and he doesn't have a kid?," humorously calling him a "grown-a-- man." Ultimately, because he's carrying "a lot of trauma" from his mother and father's departure and sudden shift to being raised by Beulah, it contributed a large part to his loner nature.

Beulah's Betrayal Of Joaquin Is "Heartbreaking" For A Specific Reason

ScreenRant: We get that great look on Joaquin's face as he's exiting the ranch. He can't even be in the presence of anyone at 10 Petal anymore. We also get that conversation with Rob-Will at the end, quite a contentious conversation.

Juan Pablo: It's heartbreak. I think it's very heartbreaking. And looking at her, at Oreana, and realizing that although he has been more of a father to her than Rob-Will has, her alliances are still with him. And to see Beulah not give him what he believes he deserves, it's so heartbreaking. I think at that moment, he's not even angry anymore. He's just heartbroken to realize he's never going to be accepted. It doesn't matter how good he may be. They're not going to give it to him. He's never going to be good enough for these people. And it is pure heartbreak. That's what I worked on, that's what I felt during that scene. It was like, "I'm going to be heartbroken." And everything from now on that happens with Joaquin it's going to build up from heartbreak. There's no rage, there's no vengeance. It's just pure and simple heartbreak of not being able to be loved.

ScreenRant: Joaquin's not present for Beulah's health scare, but watching that as an audience member, what was your reaction to the fact that she makes this decision to pass on the heir, and we don't know if she's going to live or die?

Juan Pablo Raba: I think that's the proof that he really loves her. It's not only the interest of owning the ranch and the ego behind it, and the money or the power. I think that his being there in that moment after that heartbreak, after that betrayal, really shows us that he really genuinely loves her. In the end, what he would've appreciated the most is if Beulah had made him feel like a son, but it just didn't happen. But no matter what, he will stand by her. That's his mom. That's the only thing he knows.

ScreenRant: The fact that we think Beulah is going to announce that, "Hey, you're going to be a father," but in reality, she just straight up kills him. I feel like that sets the tone for what would be Joaquin and Beulah's relationship for the decades to come after that scene.

Juan Pablo Raba: I think that all of the show gravitates around two very powerful women, Beth and Beulah. I think we all know so much about Beth right now, and we all know what she's capable of, that we needed something this strong to really present who Beulah is. This really helps everybody understand who you're dealing with. So that's why it's so shocking and so powerful, because you need to know that this is for Beth. We need a worthy antagonist for such a powerful protagonist as Beth is. And that antagonist is born in that moment.