Yellowstone has been over for several weeks now, but there’s one death fans of the Taylor Sheridan show still can’t understand – and it’s not John or Jamie Dutton’s.
There were plenty of casualties in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2. Sheridan pulled out all the stops for his big finale, and for better or worse, fans were witness to several brutal deaths.
The final episodes kicked off with John Dutton’s unsurprising demise. After that, Sarah Atwood and Jamie Dutton also both bit the dust in their own terrifying ways.
But there’s another Yellowstone character who didn’t make it out alive, and it’s one who didn’t deserve to go.
Yellowstone fans still aren’t over Colby’s death
In Season 5 Episode 12, “Counting Coup,” fans were shocked to see Colby die after being kicked multiple times by an angry horse.
Initially, it looked as though Carter was going to be the victim of this wild animal since he was trapped in the stall. However, Colby found him and distracted the horse while Carter escaped. Unfortunately, this left Colby in the line of fire, and he ended up being kicked in the chest.
By the time Rip turned up, Colby was dead.
The scene was entirely unexpected, making Colby’s death one of the most surprising and tragic in the entire series. But the decision to kill him didn’t come without backlash. And although the show ended on December 15, fans still can’t work out why he had to go.
As one Reddit user asked, “Why do you think Taylor Sheridan killed off Colby? Was it for the sheer shock factor? Did he express the desire to act outside the Yellowstone umbrella of shows? Or did he make commitments where he could not appear? The character seemed to have an arc and potential to continue to develop so I was wondering what are your opinions on why Taylor took the route he did.”
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The responses vary, proving that there’s no simple reason as to why Sheridan chose to kill off one of the unassuming ranch hands at the last hurdle.
Some believe it’s all to do with Teeter, Colby’s girlfriend, who’s now all set up to appear in the upcoming spinoff, 6666.
“My assumption was Teeter will be in the Four Sixes show but Colby will not,” said one comment. Another agreed, “His death gave drama for Teeter and Carter who it is rumored will be in sequels.”
However, some suggested a more personal reason for Colby’s killing, with one saying, “The actor sided with Costner and Sheridan’s ego couldn’t handle it.”
Some even suggested the scene was essential in showing another side of cowboying – a more dangerous and risky profession than the show has previously portrayed.
“I think it was maybe to show that cowboying is also dangerous and can get you killed (since we spent five seasons seeing cowboys kill/die in ways that are decidedly not in the normal spectrum of cowboying duties),” one wrote.
This theory makes sense, and matches a comment made by the show’s director, Christina Voros. As she said [via The Hollywood Reporter], “It’s a dangerous job, and this kind of thing happens and it happens in a split-second.”
For more, find out how to watch Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2. You can also see what’s happening with the upcoming spinoffs The Madison and 1944.