Yellowstone
The Apocalypse of Change
Season 5
Episode 10
Editorial review
Photo: Paramount+
Man, this can be a tough season to get through, huh? I can deal with slow plot moves in the show, but it gets icy. This episode is slightly less boring than the midseason premiere, but the timeline jumps around for no apparent reason and it still feels like Taylor Sheridan is struggling to fill the space.
“The Apocalypse of Change” opens with an extended 20-minute segment in Texas, apparently sometime shortly after Rip and his team arrived there. The rattlesnake scene itself is quite fun and finally shows us some of the real threats they face at the Four Sixes. (I’d say rattlesnakes weren’t that big of a deal in Montana, but remember when Rip threw one in Roarke’s face at the beginning of season four? Josh Holloway deserved better.) A snake crawling around in Teeter’s sleeping bag is quite gruesome. scenario. However, it’s also unclear why we’re seeing this now: why not just stay in the present and make this an issue for the crew while Rip is away?
The rest of this flashback story, if you can call it that, shows a cute little date in Texas for Rip and a newly arrived Beth. They spend a few nights in a chic suite in Amarillo, dancing in a speakeasy and drinking Sixes brand vodka. This is a first for Rip, who had never even been outside of Montana until this trip. As he tells Beth, he generally has no interest in traveling and still feels tied to the Dutton ranch, even though the Duttons’ hold on it is waning. It’s an interesting conversation, but it feels like this all could have happened last week. In retrospect, maybe that episode should have saved John’s murder for the end.
When the episode abruptly jumps to the present, Rip is back at the ranch in Montana, talking to Lloyd about their hopes to carefully track down and punish John’s killers. (But if Beth knows that, he must know Jamie was behind it, right?) They also discuss the possibility of having to look for work elsewhere, an idea unimaginable to both of them. There’s something poignant about it in theory, and it would be nice to see more reflections like this in this final season. It’s hard to imagine these two men anywhere other than the Dutton ranch – what would that look like?
Less interesting is the return (and then departure) of Summer, although I think it’s necessary to give us closure on her character. That doesn’t mean she won’t come back; I can never quite tell when a character is actually gone for good on this show, and I’m still expecting a funeral for John Dutton. But this episode comes up with a questionable, but I think good enough reason to justify the end of her house arrest: always free to go, but John apparently didn’t tell her that.
As they drive to the barn, Summer tells Beth that she has learned a lot from John, that he has helped her become a better person. And when Rip takes her to the airport afterwards, she seems desperate for any shred of hope that this way of life can continue in some form. We should be moved in this moment because we can see how much this liberal-vegan, radical-feminist activist from Portland has come to change her way of thinking as a result of the heroic protagonist. It doesn’t matter that she just learned that he essentially manipulated her into living and sleeping with him.
This was always my problem with Summer. The character was only introduced to learn from John, rather than teaching him anything or affecting him in a profound way. In general, shows need to challenge the mindsets of their protagonists Yellowstone has always resisted that. It still uses its characters as mouthpieces too often.
The only storyline that really holds my attention these days is the central story of the season: the war between Beth and Jamie, which has heated up even further since John died. In fact, I’m kind of wondering why neither has punched the other yet, since both brought up that possibility. Beth’s visit to Jamie’s office goes about the same as always, which means it’s quite entertaining: she slaps him hard in the face three times, trying to force him to make eye contact. But Jamie is, as always, a weasel, and he can’t even try to lie about his role in their father’s murder.
“Seeing me will be the last thing you ever do alive,” Beth tells him, and honestly, I believe her. In my ideal version of this story, Beth would also receive a reward for the evil she has done. As bad as Jamie is, overall his constant meekness makes you want him to fight back, and I’d like to see him be more active in this fight instead of just doing whatever Sarah says while whining around his office .
When Kayce hears Beth’s confirmation, she contacts an old friend to track down the company behind the hit. He keeps this side project a secret from Monica for now, even though she seems to know something is going on. But how far will Kayce be willing to go when it comes to Jamie? The two somehow haven’t even spoken since John’s death, which feels weird.
Jamie’s meeting with Ellis Steele and Sarah confirms his plans for the coming weeks: reinstate the lease that John denied as governor, subpoena John’s will, begin the process to resume construction on the Market Equities developments, and run for office for governor in a special election. It’s an ambitious and probably doomed goal, but Sarah is ever the Lady Macbeth and assures him that he has won. “The kingdom is yours,” she says, setting off a Shakespearean downfall for the man who got away with far too much.
It’s a good place to end the story, but it’s not enough to overcome another disjointed episode. This show has always had a strange mix of tones, but the ensemble is now more spread out than ever, and with Kevin Costner gone, there’s no anchor anymore. After a lethargic opening episode, this one doesn’t raise much hope for the final four.
• Carter Corner: Carter is sad about the loss of John, who became a role model to him in the same way he was to a young Rip. Rip assures him that he will always have a home here, as long as the Duttons still own the ranch.
• Beth gets pulled over for speeding by a female cop (gasp!), who passes her thanks to Rip for everything he does at the Four Sixes. I know Taylor Sheridan cares a lot about reminding Americans of all the work that goes into producing their burgers, but the lyrics used to be a little more subtle about that, right? Maybe not.
• Why include another scene where Tate repeatedly complains about his parents’ displays of affection? That scene is almost identical to last week’s. The scene where Kayce discussed John’s death with his son was also a bit by-the-numbers, but it got the job done.
• The chatter about the difference between saying slow down And idiot is, well, idiotic. The similar conversation from the previous episode really didn’t need a follow-up.
• The hit on John was $50 million?
• Colby and Teeter reunion when?
