Yellowstone Round Table: Was That the Worst Season Yet?

It’s time to break down the biggest moments of Yellowstone Season 4 Episode 10!

Yellowstone Superfans, Julie Castaneda, and Jim Thomas join TV Fanatic Senior Staff Writers Whitney Evans and Jack Ori to chat about their thoughts on the finale and what the developments mean for Season 5!

Get on board by sharing your comments below, and join our new Facebook group for the Taylor Sheridan Universe, 1883 Yellowstone 6666.

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. It’s all about Jimmy! What are your thoughts on his story coming to a close on Yellowstone?

Julie: I’m looking forward to the 6666! I’m excited to see how Jimmy continues to grow up. He’s come a long way.

Jim: How about we keep Jimmy on Yellowstone and ship Taylor Sheridan to the 4 6’s and let him stay there forever. Taylor has ruined this season with all of his self-promoting bullshit.

I will never watch 1883 or the 6666 show. It’s time for Taylor to go to the train station.

Jack: I was glad that everyone was supportive of Jimmy. That was a great way to end his arc, regardless of what happens on 6666.

Whitney: I have never minded Jimmy, but his storyline was so bad this season that I started to dislike him because he was taking away screentime from the things I cared about.

But he FINALLY got to end his Yellowstone arc, and it was perfectly fine. He was embraced by his found family, and that’s lovely.

Summer’s story turned out much different than expected. Did she deserve that sentence? Was John right to step in? How does that affect Yellowstone’s future storytelling?

Julie: I think the judge was making an example out of Summer. It wasn’t necessarily what she deserved, but it was within the Judge’s power.

I think because he has the leverage, it was right of John to use his influence. Once he realized Beth had used Summer to execute her plan, John immediately felt responsible.

If he hadn’t invited her to stay the night at the ranch, Beth would have never met her.

I get how he was trying to help. Future storytelling? Well, there’s quite a story there if Summer ends up pregnant!

Jim: Lock her up. Yellowstone doesn’t need another storyline right now.

Jack: I don’t blame John for using what leverage he could, since the sentence was ridiculously long, and Beth put the whole thing in motion.

I hope that Summer is NOT pregnant. We don’t need any more of her or any stories like that.

Whitney: I don’t like Summer, but she didn’t deserve that sentence. I mean, come on! If there was a time and a place to use your leverage, it was then.

So good for Summer she had John, but that’s enough of Summer now. We don’t need her to come back for another season.

Kayce spent most of the finale freezing and having visions. What did you like about that story, and what’s the meaning of “I saw the end of us”?

Julie: I wasn’t sure what that meant, actually. The end of him and Monica? The end of the Dutton family? The end of civilization as we know it? I’m so curious how this plays out!

Jim: I think Kayce, Monica, and their kids will be the future and will be able to bring both sides together to fight the common enemy.

Jack: I found the visions confusing and am still unsure what they meant. However, I liked that Kayce embraced Native traditions and that Yellowstone strove to be accurate in its portrayal of the tradition.

Whitney: Much like everyone else, I have no idea what that meant. I assumed the end of him and Monica, but that didn’t make any sense to me. So, to be honest, I don’t have many thoughts because I was so confused.

Beth’s story was all over the place. Let’s start with following Rip’s suggestion she set things right with John. Thoughts?

Julie: As I mentioned last week, it didn’t seem like Beth to curl up and die because daddy told her he didn’t approve of her fighting style.

I knew she’d have to come to her senses and own her misstep. I loved that she humbled herself and then got right back in the fight!

Jim: Beth’s character is no longer fun to watch. She needs to be locked up in the nuthouse.

Jack: I never object to more Beth! I didn’t think she was all over the place, personally.

I thought that she did what she needed to do and, as Julie said, then got back in the fight.

I liked that John also realized he went overboard by suggesting she move out.

I also liked that Rip can balance her out and get her not to do impulsive things like pack up and move away forever because John said something in anger.

Whitney: Agreed, Jack! I love that Rip and Beth know each other so well that they’re able to get through to one another in ways no one else ever will.

She and John have a unique relationship, and some time away and perspective pulled them away from a really dark place.

It’s my opinion that Beth’s logic for the conjugal visit was way out of whack, and the story was leaning into the fantastical. How did you feel about it?

Julie: I didn’t see it as fantastical at all. I felt like Beth was going to use the conjugal as a way to get him into a more intimate setting with nobody watching, in case she had to kill him.

But as soon as he said he only ordered the hit, she decided he could just rot in jail. Death was too humane.

Jim: Where was the drama? Why didn’t she ask who hired him? Another waste of airtime.

Jack: I didn’t think this was fantastical either. I knew that Beth was going to confront the guy and possibly kill him.

She got info she needed in a typically Beth way. I’m surprised she didn’t kill him since she asked Walker about weapons, but we didn’t need to see her stab him with a hairpin, so that’s fine.

Whitney: Are conjugal visits even a thing anymore? I assume it’s on a state-by-state basis, but right away, I couldn’t shake the thought that this wasn’t something that would even really happen.

So, I see where it was leaning toward fantastical. But for storyline purposes, I understood what she was trying to do.

Jamie chose Beth’s third option, which led to murder and blackmail. How does Jamie being owned change things going forward?

Julie: Oh, it’s great! John doesn’t have to be Governor any more, and Jamie will be under their control. It’s time to get sh!t done!!

Jim: At least he finally did something right. Too bad he is such a sniveling coward.

Jack: Considering that John still loves Jamie, if Jamie hadn’t gone for the third option, it might have created some very interesting drama with Beth revealing Jamie’s secrets to John and Rip.

But Beth and John blackmailing Jamie works too, and I’m curious as to how this will play out.

Whitney: I’m very interested to see how this plays out. It was definitely the one thing from the finale that had me the most intrigued. And seeing what Beth and John do with this power should be a big plotline next season.

Despite everything, John admitted he loves Jamie and doesn’t want him harmed. What should the future hold for Jamie’s place in the family?

Julie: I still think Jamie is a Dutton. I think his middle names being James is a clue that he’s named after Dutton Ranch founder James Dutton (1883).

I think there will come a reveal that Phylis (Jamie’s bio mom) was John’s sister. Maybe even a sister he was very close to at one point.

Jim: Gee, it’s kind of hard to develop a character that you have restricted to being a sniveling, backstabbing coward. He will be the family doormat.

Jack: Ooh, that’s an interesting idea, Julie. Either way, I do think that there’s quite a lot of tension coming for Beth and John since Beth purely hates Jamie, and John isn’t reacting quite the way she expected to any of this, including the blackmail scheme.

Whitney: I agree with Julie. Jamie will always be a Dutton, and John will always be his father.

I’m not sure Beth and Jamie will ever find any kind of common ground, but I do think there is a tiny place for Jamie somewhere in the family. I can see a scenario where he and John have some kind of relationship, but it might be a while.

 Will Rip and Beth ever come around to treat Carter like he deserves to be treated? If John could love Jamie, can they find it in their hearts to love and accept Carter, too?

Julie: Beth will have to deal with her demons before she can truly embrace the mother role. She’s going to have to tell Rip.

She’s going to have to forgive Jamie, and she’s going to have to forgive herself. Until she does that, she’ll be a train wreck. She pulls Carter in and then pushes him away as soon as she feels him too close. It will be agony to watch Carter live through it.

Jim: Beth is such a bitch. Her reaction and interaction with Carter was totally uncalled for. Beth is so destructive, she doesn’t deserve any happiness.

Jack: I agree with Julie. I think Beth has more motherly feelings toward Carter than she admits. She was thrown off by him calling her Mama and reacted automatically, then got scared and went completely the other way.

Rip and Carter seem to be bonding now, and eventually, hopefully Rip will help Beth to come around where Carter is concerned. It was her idea to adopt him in the first place, after all.

Whitney: I was a little taken aback by what Beth said, but I guess it makes sense.

I understand she’s not his mother, but she is the closest thing he has to a mother figure. I hope in time she can fully embrace him, but I’m not sure she’s at a place where she can do that yet.

How will marriage affect Rip and Beth?

Julie: I hope the relationship gets stronger. I think Beth has ideals about marriage and how badly she wants her marriage to not fit any mold.

But Rip has a great devotion and love for his own mother… his first love… I think that is what has guided him through his love for Beth. Rip is simple in love, Beth makes it more complicated with all her rules.

Jim: Rip might be the only person that can get her to change her destructive behavior. If not she might be taking a train ride.

Jack: Marriage is never easy, and Beth has a lot of issues with intimacy and trust that are going to make it harder for sure. But Rip knew how to handle her before they were married and that isn’t going to change now.

Whitney: I want to say it won’t change things at all, but that’s naive. Even two people who love each other as much and Beth and Rip do will have their ups and downs.

But I think they have a strong foundation and so much love that they will probably be able to withstand pretty much anything if they work together.

What are your final thoughts on the finale and the season?

Julie: It was good. Much like most of season 4, it felt a bit confusing and detached in some ways from previous storylines.

I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. It didn’t hit with any big moments or cliffhangers, but it was a smooth conclusion to the season.

Jim: It was almost up to the standards of Yellowstone but not 100%. Thank God this season of the Taylor Sheridan show is over with.

This season was not up to the standards set by previous seasons. They delayed the release of the season premiere because Taylor was doing a movie with Angelina Jolie and working on three other tv shows, and Yellowstone suffered because of it.

His actions and shoving 1883 and 6666 down our throats has done more harm than good.

Jack: It was a good episode, but didn’t feel like a season finale. The cliffhangers weren’t strong enough to sustain conversation until Season 5. It felt like an ordinary episode.

Whitney: This was probably my least favorite season of Yellowstone. But even a Yellowstone that I didn’t love overall wasn’t a bad ride.

There were some great moments (the Kayce/Jamie talk, most things Beth, the addition of Carter), but there was a lot bogging it down as well (namely, everything Jimmy).

I agree that the episode didn’t feel like a finale, but the whole season has been so all over the place, that it wasn’t much of a surprise that’s how it turned out.

What are your hopes for Yellowstone Season 5?

Julie: I hope we get some meat this coming season. I hope it’s less fragmented and has fewer loose ends. I hope for a simpler, more meaningful storyline… possibly wrapping up some things that still need closure.

Jim: Hopefully we will never have to see Taylor Sheridan, 1883, 6666 or any of his other crap again. If Taylor is too busy to give Yellowstone the attention it deserves then he should quit and let someone else be in charge. The fans deserve the best.

Jack: I hope for more of Beth, Rip, and Carter’s story. I also hope that Kayce’s visionary journey will lead to a real story for him and his family. Monica and Tate were MIA far too much of this season.

Whitney: I would like to see everyone connected again. I understand that the family is fractured, beyond repair really, but more than other seasons everything felt very disjointed.

I would like everyone to have their own stories, but also something that brings them all together in some way.

What do YOU think? Hit the comments with your contributions to the conversation.

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.

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