Nobody knows how Yellowstone is going to end under the circumstances, but if Taylor Sheridan was treating us right, then this is how it would go.
In a dream world, Yellowstone might have continued for one or two other seasons. There was so much to be done, with the battle for the Dutton Ranch really only just getting started.
The feud between Jamie and Beth was about to crescendo into levels of drama we couldn’t even imagine, and half the ranch was on their way to Texas to try and save their cattle. The stakes were high. The kingdom was on the verge of crumbling.
Now, Taylor Sheridan has six episodes to wrap it all up, and that’s without Kevin Costner. Luckily, Yellowstone’s perfect ending was already revealed years ago, and there’s still a chance it could come to fruition.
Dutton: Prophecy
In a show about cattle wranglers and real estate wars, you wouldn’t expect there to be a bona fide family prophecy. But alas, this is Taylor Sheridan we’re talking about – of course, there’s a generational curse following the Duttons through time.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of sitting down to watch the only good Yellowstone spinoff, 1883 (seriously, it surpasses the flagship show in every conceivable way), then you won’t know what the hell I’m talking about. Well, get ready, because I’m about to spoil it for you.
1883 follows the original Duttons as they made their way across the States, embarking on the treacherous journey from Texas to Montana. They encounter every possible obstacle, from bandits to rapid rivers, and it all ends with the death of the only Dutton daughter, Elsa.
After she’s mortally injured by an arrow, her father James makes a pledge to let her pick the spot where she’s buried. Together, they ride day and night until they come across a group of Native Americans led by Crow elder Spotted Eagle. Upon hearing their circumstances, he tells James about a spot where he can lay his daughter to rest – a place he calls “paradise.”
If you’ve put two and two together, then you’ll know he’s talking about Paradise Valley in Yellowstone, the land upon which the Dutton Ranch will be built. But Spotted Eagle also warns James, “In seven generations my people will rise up and take it back from you.”
James, preoccupied with laying his daughter to rest, tells him, “in seven generations, you can have it.”
James and Elsa make it to this spot, and in an emotional parting of ways, he sits by a tree with his daughter until she quietly dies. In any other show, this might have just been a throwaway line. But this is Yellowstone, and there’s no denying that this was part of Sheridan’s vision for the Dutton family from the start.
So, we’ve got a decades-old prophecy with a seven-generation countdown. Where does that leave us now?
Tate is the key to Yellowstone’s future
While Yellowstone thrives when it focuses on brutally violent plots and scathing political takedowns, let’s not forget that the show is only really about one thing: the quest for legacy. John Dutton does what he does because his family’s future (and past) means more to him than anything in the world.
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It’s why he murders, it’s why he runs for office, and it’s why he treats his children as unpredictably as he does. He knows the future of Yellowstone is greater than them, and it’ll only survive if it remains in their hands. (A debatable stance, but it’s his stance nonetheless.)
This leaves him with only one option: Tate. As John’s only biological grandchild and the sole heir to the Dutton land, everything has been geared towards ensuring the ranch survives so it can live on through Tate.
That’s no surprise – there’s always a put-upon heir in these family-driven dramas – but what makes Tate so important, outside of his birthright, is his heritage. Tate is the son of Kayce (John’s youngest boy) and Monica, a Native American woman from the Broken Rock Reservation. As such, Tate has bloodline connections to both the Duttons and the Reservation.
Put simply, he’s the prophecy incarnate. He’s the Lisan al Gaib of Montana. The ranch will go to Tate, and in doing so, it also goes back to his people. If we count James Dutton as the first generation in that prophecy, can you guess how many generations down Tate is? That’s right. Seven.
An ending written in history
Sheridan already has all the ingredients for a perfect Yellowstone ending. You have the past, the prophecy, the present, and the future. And most importantly, you have Tate. Regardless of how Season 5 Part 2 plays out, there’s one outcome that even John Dutton would be happy with.
Picture this: the final episode of Yellowstone. After the blood, sweat, and tears Kayce, Beth, and Rip have likely endured to keep the ranch under their name, we skip forward years into the future.
Tate is an adult, running the ranch fairly, sans all the murder and illegal activities. He already has a right-hand man waiting in the wings in the form of mini-Rip, Carter. Beth and Rip are able to leave behind the ranch after being at the mercy of it for all their lives, and Kayce and Monica are hopefully living a calm, comfortable life nearby.
It’s possible that Tate has even returns some of the land back to the Broken Rock Reservation, making good on the deal struck back in 1883.
The sun sets on another day at the ranch, and Tate and Carter saddle up their horses and ride on into the distance.
That’s how all the best Westerns end, and by God, that’s how Yellowstone should end.
Yellowstone returns on November 10 on the Paramount Network. For more, check out our guides to 6666, The Madison, and 1923 Season 2.
