Yellowstone Recap: The Big Bad Wolf

Yellowstone

“Tall Drink of Water” is another pretty fragmented episode of Yellowstone, inching several different main stories forward without really committing to any action. But, it’s a pretty light, enjoyable hour anyway, with a small break from John’s politicking in Helena and a nice return to bunkhouse shenanigans.

Yellowstone often has the most fun during its ranch-hand stories, which take advantage of the beautiful location shooting and thrive on the chemistry of this weird little found family. Today it’s Lloyd’s 58th birthday, a fact that shocks all the cowboys who think of him as an old man. (For the record, Forrie J. Smith is 63.) It allows for some solid comedy, especially from Ryan. In fact, Ryan seems to be taking slightly more of the spotlight in season five; he has his own romance going with Abby (country singer Lainey Wilson), with whom he reunites during this episode’s field trip to Bozeman. That means almost all of the ranch hands are coupled up, especially with the return of Walker’s barrel-racer girlfriend Laramie.

The Bozeman bar night comes about when Beth suggests doing something other than their standard bunkhouse poker nights. She has reason to celebrate herself: During her visit to Salt Lake City, she managed to sell her controlling interest in Schwartz & Meyer to her old friend Rob’s company, appealing to his desire to fuck over Market Equities. With Beth placing the land in a conservation easement like John suggested last episode, Caroline Warner’s plans are officially tanked; the higher-ups want her back in New York, and they don’t even care about the lawsuit anymore.

It’s another easy win for Beth, who usually comes across as infallible in this show despite her frequent meltdowns. But, the end of the episode hints at a reversal of fortune for Beth; at the “fake cowboy bar,” she catches a woman hitting on Rip and, after being approached by the bold woman, smashes a beer bottle over her head. It explodes into a big bar fight, and Beth can’t stop herself from punching the woman again after they’re outside. When Sheriff Ramsey shows up, he lets everyone go except Beth, whom he arrests for aggravated assault.

Last season, the principled new sheriff suggested the rules would work differently from here on out; no matter how much power and money the Duttons had, he wouldn’t go easy on them the way the last guy did. It’s especially satisfying to see him follow through on that promise with Beth, who typically faces fewer consequences than almost any other character on the show. One arrest isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, so I fully expect Beth to wriggle out of this one, but it’s promising that the show is following through with some of its threats instead of just dropping them and resetting every episode.

The same holds true in another story line: The missing wolves have already attracted attention from the Fish and Wildlife Service. The opening flashback gives some more context about this decades-long battle, showing that escaped park wolves have been killing Dutton cattle since they were first released a hundred miles from there. Back in the present day, dealing with the FWS is still a pain in the ass; two officers force Rip to accompany them on a ride to follow the missing wolves’ path. Rough terrain delays them from finding any real evidence of foul play, but this doesn’t seem to be a problem that’s going away.

The wolf story isn’t exactly thrilling yet, and I’m not sure who exactly the show is positioning as the bad guy here. Realism aside, though, the ingredients are there for a unique, region-specific crime story. There’s also interesting ground being laid elsewhere, with Sarah Atwood setting herself up as an intriguing new threat with the trap she lays for Jamie. The one Jamie scene of the episode is a fun one, with Jamie smugly shutting down Ellis until he utters an amusingly weak, “You promised.” With Ellis gone from the room, Sarah proposes that she and Jamie meet for dinner the following night, wanting to discuss how they could help each other. She knows that he’s skeptical of John’s decision to stop the development, and knows that he wants more than to be his dad’s servant. And we learn at the end of the scene that Ellis was faking his histrionics; it was all part of the plan to lure Jamie in. He’s always been the weakest-willed of the Dutton kids, and the most gullible. Of course he wouldn’t be able to resist.

He may soon have another Dutton in his corner, though, because Kayce is looking for a job. These first few episodes have been transitional for him; he’s grieving his son and dwelling more than ever on that cryptic dream about making some choice. I figured that meant Kayce would have to choose between the ranch and the reservation — between the Duttons and his new family — and that holds true here with his conclusion that he needs to give up his livestock commissioner job, no matter how much his dad insists Montana needs him. Monica’s request to bury his son at the ranch allows us to see Kayce and John directly interact for the first time in a while — in fact, as far as I can tell, this is the first scene Kayce has shared with a main character other than Monica or Chief Rainwater since last season’s “Winning or Learning.”

Anyway, it’s nice to see Kayce and John spend some time together, and to see John continuing to grit his teeth and reluctantly accept Kayce’s gravitation away from him. Then again, if Kayce takes Mo’s suggestion and gets appointed to state investigator for the Montana DOJ, he could have a way of more regularly interacting with John, Beth, and Jamie. It’d be great to see them all share more scenes.

As Kayce’s go-to spiritual adviser, Chief Rainwater has also been in a holding pattern, and his story similarly starts to kick to life again here. I’m still a little skeptical of Angela Blue Thunder, whose threats against him are continuing to ramp up without real clarification about her end goal, though a power struggle could be fun. But Rainwater’s frustration with John for ghosting him since becoming governor seems to promise more direct conflict between them in the near future, something I’d definitely like to see. And I’m always interested in the larger reservation’s attitudes toward the chief; this week, protesters at his casino accuse him of making decisions for the benefit of only white people and himself, an idea that clearly wounds him. It both is and isn’t true.

“Tall Drink of Water” doesn’t alter the season’s trajectory in any unexpected way, and it feels like we’re still potentially weeks away from any real fireworks. But it sets up some decent stories for Yellowstone’s most stagnant characters, features a rare dose of consequences, and, most importantly, has a little fun. Who wouldn’t want an invite to Lloyd’s 70th?

The Last Round-Up

• Beth: “I think I’ve told you about everything. Hell, I told you about my first threesome.” John: “Your what?” Beth’s overfamiliarity with her dad continues to provide some of the funniest reactions from Kevin Costner. She also urges John to move on from his late wife and find someone new, so let’s hope his next love interest is better than Summer. (No disrespect to Piper Perabo.)

• It’s a sweet moment when Laramie wishes her ex Lloyd a happy birthday and he replies, “If my day ends like yours began, it’ll be good enough for me.” After the endless antagonism between Lloyd and Walker in season four, Lloyd’s good-naturedness comes as a relief.

• I thought for a second that Rip giving Beth a firm no was going to cause an actual fight, but I like how quickly it diffuses and Rip admits it was a poor choice of words.