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Editor's note: The below recap contains spoilers for Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 13.
With only one episode of Yellowstone left, the flagship Dutton saga is nearing its fateful end. The deaths of both John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and Colby Mayfield (Denim Richards) have shaken the cast to their core, and with few avenues left to turn, Season 5, Episode 13, "Give the World Away," suggests that maybe doing just that is how the Dutton legacy is ultimately saved. But until next week's finale, here's a rundown of everything that happened in the show's penultimate episode.
'Yellowstone' Continues to Set the Stage for Its Dramatic Finish
Image via Paramount Network Kicking things off, Rip (Cole Hauser) and Beth (Kelly Reilly) prepare the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch for auction. Well, not the ranch itself, but plenty of equipment, horses, and stock that will render the ranch effectively useless (but may just save the land). Rip and Beth argue over how to run the ranch if everything is sold, and if they can even make a profit going forward. It's then that Beth asks about Travis Wheatley (Taylor Sheridan), who is selling some Dutton horses down south. Beth decides to go to Texas to oversee Travis, though Rip doesn't think Beth should — because his friend is not below trying to sleep with his buddy's wife. But, since Beth doesn’t trust Travis to sell their horses properly, she does so anyway.
"Give the World Away" pivots to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and Mo (Moses Brings Plenty) as they watch over the advancing construction of the oil pipeline, a scene very reminiscent of the Season 5B opener, "Desire Is All You Need." "There's nothing I can do to stop it," Rainwater laments. "Nothing legal, anyway." Rainwater says the best way to fight is by convincing people to stop selling piping. Meanwhile, at Market Equities, Detective Dillard (Rory Cochrane) hands Ellis Steele (John Emmet Tracy) a warrant to search Sarah Atwood's (Dawn Olivieri) office for evidence of foul play against John Dutton. From his own home, Jamie (Wes Bentley) watches a news report that evidence has been discovered that Jamie may have benefited from the land lease that John had canceled as governor.
Jamie immediately calls Beth, who is on her flight to Texas, and scolds her. "You destroy me, you destroy yourself. You destroy the entire family," he explains. "Any legacy this family has earned is eradicated." Jamie tells Beth that he knows every secret of the Dutton family. Undeterred, Beth hangs up, but only after first noting that, unlike Jamie, she keeps her promises. At this same time, Kayce (Luke Grimes) returns from his own trip to Texas. Monica (Kelsey Asbille) asks him what happened, to which Kayce replies that he made it clear that his family is off-limits. "If we walk away from this place, I don't want them following us," he tells her. Monica wonders if the intention is to walk away, and Kayce notes that he's been trying to do so his entire life.
The Dutton Ranch Struggles to Stay Afloat in 'Yellowstone' Season 5 Episode 13
Image via Paramount Network As all the ranch hands return to the Dutton Ranch, Teeter (Jennifer Landon) instantly retreats to the bunkhouse. Though Ryan (Ian Bohen) tries to follow, Walker (Ryan Bingham) steps in instead. "Hating that horse isn't going to help," Walker tells Teeter, noting that, just maybe, Colby is still out there doing what he loves, "doing it forever." Fans who remember Elsa Dutton's (Isabel May) fate at the end of the prequel series 1883 might agree. Just then, Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) offers Teeter Colby’s old hat, which she soon dons herself, rejoining the rest of the cowboys. Outside, Ryan asks Rip about Colby's death. Though Rip explains how Colby saved Carter (Finn Little), he concludes with, "It's just cowboy-ing. That's it." Rip tells Ryan that he did a good job in Texas, and that "wagon boss" should be on his resume.
Down south, Beth arrives at the Bosque Ranch. Now, if that sounds familiar, it's because "Bosque Ranch Productions" is one of the production companies listed at the end of each Yellowstone end credits. It's also a working ranch owned by Taylor Sheridan in real life (and Sheridan's character, Travis Wheatley, in the Yellowstone universe). By the time Beth finally catches up with Travis, he's in the middle of a strip poker game, ignoring their Brazilian buyers. Beth soon gets him up and running, and he thrives at the showing. When Beth asks Travis’ girlfriend, Sadie (Bella Hadid), why she’s with him, she explains that it's all about how he rides. After Beth watches Travis work, she starts to understand the appeal herself, especially after he sells the Dutton Ranch's horses for $3 million by posing his maintenance crew as opposing buyers. Even if he is sort of the worst, that's smart business.
Afterward, Beth asks Travis to come back to Montana for the auction, believing that what he pulled in the Bosque arena would help the Yellowstone as well. Beth knows that nobody can put on a horse show quite like Travis, and he agrees to the task, but only if they play their own game of strip poker for it first. Irritated, Beth says Rip will kill him, but Travis thinks Rip will find it funny. Although Beth loses, he stops her from stripping and instead offers his help with no strings attached. Back in Montana, Rip asks Lloyd (who has been at the Yellowstone for 43 years) to stay on and help build it back from nothing. Though the rest of the hands will be out of a job, Rip is fighting to keep Lloyd and Carter around. "Thank you, boss," Lloyd answers. "It means more to me than you know." "I know what it means to you," Rip replies. "That's why I asked."
Jamie Prepares To Make a Desperate Move in 'Yellowstone' Season 5 Episode 13
Image via Paramount Network That night, Jamie sits outside his baby mama (and former campaign manager) Christina’s (Katherine Cunningham) house before she brings him inside. With their child, James, asleep, Christina asks if Sarah was responsible for John's death. Jamie confesses the truth, only for Christina to ask why he didn't just arrest her. Lying to both of them, Jamie says that it's because he was afraid of those Sarah hired to kill his father. After her assassination, he doesn’t know what to do. "The only reason I'm helping you is because we share a child," Christina tells Jamie, ordering him to call a press conference and spearhead an investigation into both Sarah and John’s deaths.
The only way for Jamie to get out of this relatively unscathed, Christina says, is by denying the affair and accusing those spreading those "rumors" with disinformation. "Praise your father's convictions, herald his love for Montana and its people. Declare his death more than just a murder, it is an outright defiance of the rule of law," Christina explains. She tells Jamie that he should publicly brand John's death "the murder of [the people of Montana's] freedom." She also tells Jamie that he must connect Sarah to the murder and make sure the world believes she acted alone. With his entire future at stake, Jamie leaves with a new mission.
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'Yellowstone' Season 5 Episode 13 Centers Around an Important Auction
Image via Paramount Network By the time Beth returns home, she asks her husband how Travis could even be his friend. Rip reminisces about his earlier years, after Beth left Montana, and explains how he and Travis first met. Rip had been defending a former girlfriend and found himself surrounded by cowboys, only for Travis to stand beside him and fight back. The Texan cowboy went so far as to go back into the bar and retrieve Rip’s hat afterward, despite being a bloodied mess. The next day, at the auction, Beth tells Monica that they’re going to have to start selling off pieces of the land to cover their debt. Kayce butts in and tells his sister that the coroner’s office called about their father's body, which Monica offers to deal with to spare them the pain. Beth remarks to Rip that the funeral will be small, and will be held after the auction.
Speaking of the auction, it's quite the party. With music provided by the Oklahoma band the Turnpike Troubadours, everyone has a grand old time. After the showing, the ranch hands — including Jimmy (Jefferson White) and his wife Emily (Kathryn Kelly), visiting from the Four Sixes — all get together and wonder about the future. But while some, such as Walker, see potential on the horizon, Ryan and Teeter both struggle with their grief, unable to fully move on after Colby's death. Speaking of grief, Beth has a heart-to-heart with Senator Lynelle Perry (Wendy Moniz) that evening, who admits that she's been to "more funerals on this ranch than anywhere else in the state." Though John's funeral is intended to be a private event, Beth invites Lynelle to attend, as the senator had been one of her father's oldest friends.
As the music continues, Kayce and Monica dance together. It's here that Kayce tips his hat regarding a different plan to save the Yellowstone, one that he believes guarantees the future. "I know in my heart it's gonna work," he tells Monica. "And I know it's the right thing." Leaving us on the edge of our seats, the episode pivots to Rip and Beth as they watch Teeter distance herself from the rest. This prompts Beth to help the other woman grieve, knowing that the men will just try to fix it, by asking her out to a fancy bar so they can mess with some out-of-towners. After Beth and Teeter scare off some tourists at the bar, Teeter asks if the pain will ever go away. "There's a hole in your heart now," Beth replies. "There's a hole in mine, too."
Grief Turns to Action in 'Yellowstone' Season 5 Episode 13
The next day, the auction continues, though not before taking a moment to honor John Dutton and Colby Mayfield. Kayce and Teeter present riderless horses in front of everyone as the auctioneer notes that "Colby died exercising [his] freedom, and John Dutton died protecting it." Afterward, Carter asks Beth what they're going to do next, not sure what he’s supposed to do with all the horses gone. "I guess you sleep in," she tells him. When Beth catches up with Kayce, she notes that the ranch earned about $30 million, which may keep them around for another year. But the conversation quickly takes a different turn...
"You promise me something?" Kayce asks her. "Don't spend a dime of your money, or anything you've earned, on this place. Not a dime. You can't save it that way." Beth agrees, but before Kayce goes, he brings up "a business question," wondering if the taxes one pays on an item are based on the value of that thing or simply what you bought or sold it for. The question sparks something in Beth, who seems to be picking up on Kayce's secret plan to save the Dutton Ranch. Kayce asks his sister to give him some time, just to be sure, and soon tells Monica that he believes the only way to save the Yellowstone is to give it away.
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 airs Sundays on Paramount Network. Previous seasons can be streamed on Peacock.
Yellowstone teases a final climactic hour with one last episode that feels true to the series.
Pros
- Kayce is much smarter than he looks.
- Beth had some tenderhearted moments this week, but where has that been all this time?
- Keeping Lloyd around is the least Rip could do.
Cons
- Haven't we seen this exact sort of Rainwater/Mo scene before?
- How has Jamie gotten this far in his political career on his own power?
A ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.
Release Date June 20, 2018
Creator
Seasons 5
Story By Taylor Sheridan
Network Paramount
Franchise(s) Yellowstone
English (US) ·