Yellowstone Recap: The Tux Stops Here — Plus, Jamie Gets Lucky
Heavy was the hat that wore the Stetson in Sunday’s Yellowstone double header. First, in “A Monster Is Among Us,” John, having done a world-class job of alienating his children, got all poutypants because they sat out the Stockman’s Dinner at which he was speaking. Later, after his MRI was said to be concerning enough that he needed to schedule an endoscopy, he suffered from severe abdominal pain and wound up puking blood in the bathroom.
More from TVLine
The Irrational Recap: Alec's Church-Bombing Investigation Suffers a Terrible Setback
Yellowstone Season 1 Finale Recap: Payback, a Dangerous Kiss, and... Aw, Don't Leave Us Hangin'!
Throwing a Hail Mary pass God’s way, the Dutton patriarch asked for a reprieve. “I’ve got too much to do” to die, he sighed. Of course, we all know whether or not John had a prayer of being spared (at least for a few more seasons). But it didn’t necessarily appear that he was going to use his time wisely. In “The Unraveling, Part I,” he got so hot under the bandanna over Jamie’s focus on his campaign that he pulled his support, such as it ever was, and went so far as to banish the would-be attorney general from the ranch. Believe it or not, that wasn’t even the worst of it.
Read on, and we’ll go over everything that happened in “A Monster Is Among Us” and “The Unraveling, Part I.”
Is It Hot in Here?
In episode No. 1, while John scared some tourists off the Yellowstone with his rifle — “This is America,” he barked, we don’t share land” — Monica underwent a craniotomy, after which her memory and motor skills seemed to have been impacted. Over at Jamie’s campaign HQ, sparks flew between him and Christina when he told her first that he wasn’t an idealist and second that his goal was to halt change. “That,” she said, almost fanning herself, “is the most idealistic thing I’ve ever heard a politician say.”
Unhappy Holidays
Still stung from John’s tongue-lashing (read how cruel he was here), Beth recalled the Christmas of 1996 when she got her first period. Everything had changed for her now, her mother warned. Boys would see her as weaker, but Evelyn wouldn’t let her be. She was going to be so hard on Beth that she turned her daughter into “the man most men will never be, and I’m sorry in advance for doing it, ’cause you’re gonna hate it.” Back in the present, Beth conquered her fear of horseback riding — with a little help from Walker.
‘I Want Everything John Dutton Has’
When Dan’s lawyer balked at Rainwater’s deal, it looked for a hot minute like it might go up in smoke. (So much arguing over pieces of the pie!) Dan ultimately came up with a solution that might be agreeable to both himself and Thomas. And Melanie thought that she had John checkmated. By rerouting the river, he had violated the endangered-species act, a felony. Of course, serving anyone at the Yellowstone Ranch a summons was easier said than done. (See above for how it went down.)
The Bear Never Stood a Chance
Speaking of endangered species… yeah, by the end of “A Monster Is Among Us,” the bear we met last week was toast. Jimmy, Walker and Ryan tried (and failed) to run it off, then Rip killed the poor thing. And this is just how bonkers Yellowstone can get: Before Rip shot the bear, he discovered a couple of tourists perilously hanging from a cliff. Before he could pull them to safety, panic and a language barrier led to not one but both of them plunging to their deaths.
‘If You Die, They’re Gonna Think I Did This, Too’
In episode No. 2, a flashback reveals that John took in a young Rip after he murdered the abusive father who’d killed their family. In the present, things weren’t looking much better for Rip. He was on the hook for shooting an endangered species and, the sheriff theorized, murdering the tourists to cover it up. Wait, it got worse. When an agent from Fish & Wildlife showed up, she ignored Rip’s warning about a horsefly on her horse and got impaled on a fence post when it bucked her!
‘Be Selfish With Me’
Given all that was going on, you could see why John was mad that he couldn’t get his attorney Jamie on the horn. But what could he do? Christina had had his phone — and she was busy fending off questions from Sarah, who was doing a lousy job of pretending to be a campaign volunteer. When Jamie finally returned to the ranch and was ordered out of the AG race by Daddy Dearests, punches flew. Luckily for Jamie, back at campaign HQ, Christina was ready and willing to lick his wounds.
‘I’m Done Begging You to Stay’
As the time neared for Monica to be released from the hospital, she told grandpa Felix that she wanted her and Tate to come live with him. She didn’t know who Kayce was anymore — and not in a memory-loss kinda way. When she broke the news to her husband, she asked for one last thing: the truth. Finally, Kayce confessed that he’d shot her brother, who’d shot his brother and had been about to shoot him. Shattered by his separation, Kayce was ripe for a fight with a lowlife at a gas station.
‘Regret Is the One Thing I Don’t Do’
In other developments, while Dan and Thomas plotted to get John’s property taxes raised well past the point at which he could pay them, Beth pimped out her assistant to Mrs. Jenkins and schemed to buy up all of the shares in the developer’s company. At the bunkhouse, Walker came to realize that being branded meant being John Dutton’s outlaw. He wasn’t cool with that, which mattered not one damn bit, Rip informed him. And it appeared that the other hands had started to warm to Jimmy; they pitched in and got him a new hat.
Best of TVLine
Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
