Yellowstone season 1 episode 6 recap: all eyes on John
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NOTE: this post contains spoilers for Yellowstone season 1 episode 6, "The Remembering."
There are only three episodes of Yellowstone season 1 left after "The Remembering," so it makes sense that John's (Kevin Costner) enemies dig in to how they are going to attack the Dutton patriarch. Plus, Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica (Kelsey Asbille) still can't catch a break.
Here's a complete breakdown of the episode.
Rip and Kayce square off
Kayce wakes early to ride the stallion. When they get to a stream, the horse runs off and leaves Kayce there with a massive bear. Kayce tries to back away, but the bear keeps moving toward him. Realizing he can't run, he knows he has to fight the animal.
Thankfully, Rip (Cole Hauser) scares the bear off with a gunshot. Despite the gesture, Rip and Kayce have a tenuous relationship at best. Rip gives him the backhanded compliment of standing his ground for once, while Kayce says he isn't used to seeing Rip off John's leash. The two fight, with Rip knocking Kayce to the ground. Kayce is ready for more, but Rip says he has to get back to work, getting in another barb about how Monica makes the money in Kayce's family.
Later, Rip collects Kayce's horse and waits for him. He tells Kayce his job is to protect the Dutton family and Kayce is its biggest threat. He warns Kayce not to come back as he's tired of burying his secrets, leaving behind the medical file of Monica's brother, Robert, whom Kayce killed.
Learning the truth
The morning after Monica witnesses the branding, she has a few questions. John explains cowboys who wear the brand are getting a second chance, with the brand a symbol that they can be trusted. She asks if that was the case for Kayce. John uncomfortably explains Kayce got the brand as punishment for getting Monica pregnant and then refusing to take her to get an abortion, marrying her instead, which was against John's wishes. John says he branded Kayce himself. Monica is hurt by this, but she thanks John for his honesty.
Despite John's initial objections to the situation, it's clear from his interactions with Tate (Brecken Merrill) that he loves his grandson and at the very least respects Monica.
Monica isn't the only one learning some hard truths. Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Beth (Kelly Reilly) go to meet with Governor Perry (Wendy Moniz) to strategize for each of their campaigns; Jamie for attorney general, Beth for a state representative seat. Jamie is excited and is given a campaign manager, Christina (Katherine Cunningham), to help him. Beth, meanwhile, is antagonistic to everything.
Perry, speaking to Beth alone, calls her emotionally stunted from her mother's death and a bully, but she can't bully her, saying she won't endorse her unless she gets some help. But Beth isn't interested in her endorsement. Instead, she warns Perry that if she sleeps in her mother's bed again, she will ruin her career.
Perry then speaks with Jamie alone on another sensitive matter. She says someone in the Livestock Association has been talking about John having cancer. This is news to Jamie, who immediately leaves to go back to the ranch.
When they talk to John about his cancer diagnosis, he brushes it off, saying he had the tumor removed. Jamie says it could still present problems. Right now, the only problem John wants to deal with is Beth.
He says she embarrassed him with Perry. Despite Beth's worries, John knows what he is doing with Perry and wonders why Beth doesn't think the governor is good enough for John. Beth says it's because she's not her mother. This angers John. He tells Beth to toughen up or go back to Utah and to never mention her mother again to John, claiming she forfeited that right a long time ago.
John's enemies are on the move
Sarah Nguyen (Michaela Conlin) and Alice Wahl (Savonna Spracklin) are enjoying a day on the river as part of their vacation. Well, Alice is. Sarah is caught up in a story about John and how he operates the Livestock Association, as it reminds her of crooked cops back home.
Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), meanwhile, is looking to purchase land bordering the Yellowstone ranch. He comes across Dan's (Danny Huston) resort. Realizing the land has no power after John diverted the river and therefore will struggle, Rainwater sees an opportunity.
He goes to Paradise Valley to meet with Dan, but Dan is occupied with Melody Prescott (Heather Hemmens), the fixer that he called in episode 5. Her plan is to eliminate John not with a big fight, but a thousand little cuts. But she needs someone besides Dan — a white billionaire from California — to serve as the face of the opposition.
Overhearing this, Rainwater offers himself as an option. He wants to partner with Dan, bringing the resources needed to develop on his land, but not for subdivisions, for a casino, which Dan will get a piece of. Melody is skeptical, wanting to get some background on Rainwater, but Dan calls it the deal of the century and already knows that John Dutton has no bigger enemy than Rainwater. They shake on the deal.
Back at the capitol, Perry is worried Beth can't be controlled, but also what John pushing her for a government seat means about his judgment. She floats the idea of replacing him as Livestock Commissioner, which the current AG Stewart (Timothy Carhart) describes as the nuclear option. Still, she wants to start thinking about who it could be.
Even as John tries to end his day on a high note fly fishing with his friend, he comes across Sarah Nguyen, whose boat passes John on the river. She can't help but eye him, which catches John's attention.
Monica takes a punch
Tate makes it clear he wants to live at the ranch, but Monica tells him their home is on the reservation. Tate's response: "our home sucks balls," something he claims he learned at school, shrewdly arguing it may not be the best place for him.
Adding to that argument, when Monica and Tate arrive at the school a fight is going on. Monica tries to break it up but accidentally gets knocked out and is left bleeding on the ground. When Kayce arrives she is awake, but her head is bandaged and the nurse warns him that if she is dizzy or starts talking strangely he should take her to the hospital.
At their house, Felix ( Rudy Ramos) helps out, trying to get Tate to understand he needs to act better because Monica won’t punish him as his mother and Kayce is afraid to because of how he was raised. This conversation gets interrupted when a drone begins flying over the property.
They figure it may be "treasure hunters" looking for stuff to dig up on the reservation, which immediately worries Tate that they could be after his dinosaur bones. Kayce throws some rocks to get rid of the drone; ultimately, his neighbor shoots it down. They see the car that operated the drone and chase after them, but they are able to get away.
Monica is walking down the steps when Kayce gets back, moving slowly until she passes out. Kayce rushes to give her CPR to try and save her.
Yellowstone season 1 episodes air Sundays on CBS and are available to stream on Peacock.
