'Yellowstone' S4, E7 Recap: I'd Like to Apologize to Beth
I need to make good on something, y'all: Last week, in this ongoing Yellowstone recap series, I spoke ill of Beth Dutton. Or at least it appeared that I spoke ill of Beth Dutton, and let me clarify: that is the last thing I would do. To run afoul of Beth Dutton is to ask for your life to end. To be beat with whips, and not in a fun way. If I may be so blunt, to wish ass cancer upon yourself. (To speak ill of the writer's however...)
Part of me says this because I want my name to be on the right side of history. Part of me says it because after this week's episode, "Keep the Wolves Close" I am legitimately scared for my life. I would square up against Rip. I would fight Kayce in a round of fisticuffs. But Beth? Absolutely not. And perhaps the main reason to fear her is because this week, she left the insults behind for something even scarier: strategy.
Let's break down the episode, especially all that craziness happening with Jimmy down in Texas.
Home on the Range
The fallout of the big Walker and Lloyd fight has left everyone on the outs, including Teeter who loves working at the Yellowstone. So much so that she gives one of the best speeches of the season to John Dutton himself, explaining that she deserves to be in that bunkhouse because no one works harder than her. She wears the brand with pride. Rip allows her to come back, which ends in a precious hug forced upon Rip.
The good feelings end, however, when Lloyd rolls up to a pawnshop. You'd think after that big battle that he'd be tired out, but it appears he's trading a one of a kind belt buckle for a gun—and I think we all know who he intends to be on the other end of it.
Off the Reservation
The most compelling story off the Yellowstone ranch is how Kayce seems to be falling back in with the Broken Ranch Reservation family and community while hunting for the 18 racing horses that went missing last week. Kayce and company find the horses (along with that great dog), and honestly, it's the happiest we've seen him in some time. But as the old saying goes, no rest for the Duttons: there's problems on the horizon because Monica's worry about that woman out at Broken Rock isn't so misplaced. She admitted that she's in love with Kayce, real quick.
The Return of Mama Beth
Carter has been in hot water since that little fiasco at the co-op. Eventually, even John says he's going to have to make good with Beth, so Carter rolls up with a bouquet of flowers. That's not cutting ice with Beth though, who insists instead that he simply become the kind of man she knows he can be. He gets a second chance with her, and y'all, we know why: it's because she can't help but see a Baby Rip when she looks at him. Oh, and if you're curious like Carter was, the rule of giving flowers, per Beth: You give them for no reason. No reason at all.
But behind that sweet mama sentiment, there's a woman ready to strike. Cut to Beth occupying her new office at Market Equities and blasting whomever decorated it in crystals. Then she fires her assistant, which he takes as a shock, but if you think of Beth's track record with assistants, this is really more of a favor. But as soon as she hoodooed an assistant, Beth learns she's been hoodooed, too. She's been brought on to fully revamp the Montana landscape... and that might just include the Yellowstone ranch.
So Beth decides to employ the devil she knows: Summer Higgins. Summer is protesting against fur, but Beth has a bigger idea in store for her. Protest the ski resort and airport that Beth's company is putting together... if she's down for it.
Oh, Yeah, Meanwhile, Back in Texas...
The big takeaway from this episode, in my humble opinion, is that Jimmy made a horse ejaculate. The one good thing that comes out of it is that Jimmy meets a new girl named Emily, who makes her move on Jimmy real quick. Mia, who?
Father Knows Best
This weird family dynamic happening between Jamie, his biological father, and Christina is bizarre. And, when he's not promising to kill off the Duttons, Garrett seems like a halfway decent dad. But this episode, he and Christina sit at a distance and admire as Jamie plays with his kid. Garrett has dreams of him holding office—maybe even governor.
Meanwhile, Jamie's other father is dealing with another fallout. Governor Perry has come to John to tell him that she's running for Senate, leaving her governorship behind. Her advice? Jamie steps in. John is not down with the idea, but it seems like Lynell has made up her mind... until John says that he's willing to run for governor himself. Seriously. No, seriously. Even Beth was stunned with the change of heart.
The most heartwarming exchange however comes after John asks Beth and Rip to move into the main house. When Rip says "we have that stray kid," John says he doesn't mind kids, just dogs. All Rip says: "You know I hate dogs."
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