Reviewer Rating: 3.75/5.0
3.75
Being a cowboy is a dangerous job, and everyone found out in Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 12.
As word of John’s death spreads, there’s another tragedy to deal with–and Rip is forced to sell as many horses and cattle as he can to have any chance of saving the ranch.
It was a heartbreaking episode, but I couldn’t help but feel that the subplot about the new deaths took everyone, especially Beth, away from the Yellowstone story we most wanted.
Let’s face it: This is the pattern for Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2
I had hoped that Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 12 would have dealt with the Ranch 6666 scene since we were already firmly in the present.
Of course, the two ranches are intertwined.
Rip moved the cattle to Texas for safekeeping, and now he has to figure out what to do with his animals so he can try to save the ranch, where most of the employees are transplants from Yellowstone.
I didn’t mind the news broadcast scene, even though it took another 20 minutes.
Yellowstone has developed an annoying habit of having an explosive cliffhanger that doesn’t lead to anything going on for at least the first half of the next episode.
While Jimmy is a lovable goofball who’s heartbroken over John’s death, that’s no more important than figuring out what to do next after Sarah dies.
Unfortunately, due to Colby’s death, Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 12 only has a handful of these scenes.
See, none of this is bad.
I especially love Beth’s softer side. She is kind to both Lloyd and Carter, and she eventually admits that she considers Carter family.
These are all big moments and should be part of the summary, her support for Rip also gets an A+ (although I don’t know why people on TV seem to have so many glasses, they’d be frustrated every time they have the ability to break one) !
However, I wonder what Beth’s plans are for Jamie.
Case: There is nothing we can do.
Beth: Let me handle it. The best lies are 90% true, and I am the best liar in the world.
One moment, she’s telling Cassie she’ll take care of it before Jamie gets caught and starts spilling the beans; the next, she’s bringing Lloyd a box for Colby’s stuff.
The war between Beth and Jamie has been largely non-existent so far
Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 was supposed to focus on the war between Beth and Jamie, but so far, it’s been a C story—a little bit of it every week, but not much going on.
Beth either kept her off the screen or was so distracted by the Colby thing that she wasn’t doing anything yet. Regardless, the only one who seems to be fighting this war right now is Case.
I don’t know what Case would accomplish by scaring a kid.
I’m almost as bad at reading faces as Dr. Oliver Wolfe in Brilliant Minds, but I think that guy said it before that simulating a heart attack was a too obvious way to kill John.
Case’s contact said something about Grant Horton, and this guy was named Grant, so I guess that’s part of the reason why Case threatened this guy’s daughter with a gun.
Still, Keyes’ semi-carjacking behavior seems confusing and out of character.
I know he also wants revenge on the people who killed John, but it’s hard to reconcile this soft-spoken guy who rescued Native American children from white kidnappers with this guy threatening to shoot a kid over and over again she screamed.
His beef is with her father, not her, and “Counting Coup” doesn’t make it clear what Keyes hopes to gain from this exchange, other than to tell the man he knows where he lives and can kill him if he wants. Kill his entire family.
Meanwhile, Jamie and the police seem to be competing to see who is the most incompetent.
Dillard and the other cop had to know that Jamie would be trying to destroy as much evidence as possible once they left, so letting him do that didn’t seem like a good idea.
However, since he insists on his rights, they may not have much choice.
Meanwhile, Jamie does a great job convincing himself of being a suspect. Every time he showed up, I was more impressed by his stupidity.
‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Episode 12 ‘Everyone’s Sorrow’ Is the Best Part
Despite the lack of progression in the main storyline, all the sadness was handled well.
My heart breaks for Tite. Not only was she telling Colby that she loved him for the first time, but she and the rest of Texas had learned of John’s death just hours before.
The whole scene with the horse was horrific. I even felt sorry for the horse, even though I knew the only way to stop his rampage was to kill him.
The horse seemed to be having a tantrum, possibly stressed from all the changes he was feeling in the air, and sadly there was no way to comfort him or calm him down, especially after he killed Colby.
The scene of grief after John’s death is also beautiful. My favorite was when Tate told Casey he didn’t want to bury him.
Tate oscillates between being an average teenager (complaining about cereal at home, for example) and dealing with a crisis that would be difficult for someone twice his age.
He doesn’t know yet, but he might have the most to lose.
The ranch is partly his legacy, and Monica and Keith’s earlier argument about John was about whether Tate should be allowed to accept this part of his legacy.
Will Keith and Monica learn something?
Casey and Monica’s biggest problem since the inception of Yellowstone has been that he was doing things while keeping her in the dark.
This led to their separation in the first season of Yellowstone. Casey won’t tell her that he was the one who killed her brother to stop him from killing Lee, she knows he has a secret but doesn’t know what it is.
Their conversation in Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 12 seems even more similar. At least this time, Monica accepts Casey’s secret and just wants him to come back intact.
Still, I hope this dynamic changes, even though it’s hard for Case to tell the truth because of the shady stuff he has to deal with. This seems to be the Dutton family legacy.
Over to you, Yellowstone fanatics.
How many spurs would you give to Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 12?
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“Yellowstone” airs Sundays on Paramount Television at 8/7c.
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