‘Yellowstone’ Drops Another Body

Grade: B

In an episode full of Kayce’s pertinent regard to his father’s alleged death, fighting the medical examiners, letting them know his rights, it shows his brain power. Also, Beth is rather sullen and almost withdrawn when she encounters Thomas Rainwater. Where Kayce is determined and still a very much relevant part of all of this investigation, he stays cool headed and rational in his motives.

Beth greets Rainwater with a sense of quiet confidence and acknowledges that John Dutton always respected Rainwater, despite their bitter differences.

Meanwhile, Jamie is still trying to project strength but his spinelessness leads to the killing of his girlfriend and associate Sarah Atwood. This is a rather clean and justified killing off of a character as the actress Dawn Oliveri’s Sarah was about as venomous as a rattlesnake…but worse. A rattler’s nature is to use its toxins to capture prey. Sarah just preyed on people for the simple thrill of not achieving or enjoying power but to attain it for its own sake.

The descriptions of the land and the ideas about big box stores dotting the pristine acreage and how Montana’s population continues to boom in places like Bozeman, trouble Beth.

She realizes she had the opportunity to keep the land and do whatever she wished with it but the opportunity slipped through her fingers like reins attached to a horse.

Kayce may be the most valuable Dutton in this episode, however. As he moved into a new house with his wife and son, it’s refreshing to see him be so assertive and forthright, a direct contrast to his “brother” Jamie.

This little scoundrel that is played with glorious ineptitude and vileness by Wes Bentley brings into focus the thought of making a villain in the family structure. His character arc is so complete with his inability and vice that it creates excellent viewing.

Beth is still determined to stitch together all of the developments concerning Yellowstone. She is in a rut and her facial expression, body language, and reduced tone in her voice all point to a woman distraught by the recent turn of events.

One of the best scenes in the episode relates to Kayce picking up Jamie’s office assistant, played brilliantly as always in her small role by Maria Julian. He places her in the office, preventing her from temporarily contacting the authorities. Kayce decks Jamie and dishevels his desk. His ego-driven stance against Jamie’s puny selflessness is a direct message of a man with integrity and one with no virtues to speak of at all.

While this episode doesn’t delve into the lives of the cowboys other than Rip’s appearance at the hotel earlier, it is still felt that the men and women who work the land and govern the cattle still plow through their days, making the best of things.

In this installment, the might of the two siblings in Kayce and Beth who project strength and resilience, show this in the way they literally tackle problems and run down the list of what needs to happen, respectively.

While the episode is full of quiet moments, the bang at the end with Sarah’s permanent departure, it shows how compelling this drama can be. The absolute wreckage of Jamie’s psychology demonstrates the virile nature of the show, ironically. His downfall contrasts the virtuous sailor in Kayce and the unwavering conviction of Beth.

Objective Observations:

Kayce relying on his days as a Navy SEAL to show a debilitating move on the medical examiner associate seems apt and it keeps the tension flowing.

The death scene for Dawn Olivieri’s Sarah Atwood seemed rather calculated and the rolling Range Rover made for a satisfying end to this despicable character.