‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Episode 10 Recap

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 10.

As Yellowstone continues its final batch of episodes following Kevin Costner‘s premature exit (despite the actor still being credited in the opening credits), the series proves that it can work just fine without John Dutton running the show. With “The Apocalypse of Change,” Taylor Sheridan reinforces the neo-Western’s new status quo, setting up new plotlines, new ideas, and a new format that will propel us toward that inevitable series finale. What happened on this week’s Yellowstone? Quite a bit, all of which is leading toward a massive skirmish that we can only wait for.

‘Yellowstone’ Continues to Balance the Past and the Present in Season 5 Episode 10

Right off the bat, Yellowstone takes us back to the “six weeks earlier” past that covers the period between Season 5 Part 1 and John Dutton’s untimely death. We resume on the Four Sixes (6666) Ranch back in Texas with Rip (Cole Hauser) and the gang, as rattlesnakes are discovered in Teeter’s (Jennifer Landon) tent — in fact, one is sleeping right on her chest. After moving their camp to a snake-less plot of land, the crew gets a surprise visit from Beth (Kelly Reilly), who steals her husband away with the promise that the cowboy’s significant others will get flown down on the company dime after she’s through with Rip. It’s another kick at Ryan (Ian Bohen) while he’s down post-breakup — though, Rip does make him wagon boss, so there’s at least some reward for being alone.

But it’s down in Texas that Beth starts to get some new ideas. After being told by a Texas State Trooper (Karina Logue) that the folks down in the Lone Star State actively admire their cowboys, and an old timer at the bar (Dwayne Tarver) that Texas is “the cattle capital of the world,” Rip can see his wife’s wheels spinning. Spinning is the operative word here, as there have already been rumors about a potential Beth/Rip spin-off. It’s here that Rip notes that being in Texas is the first time he’s ever been out of Montana (which doesn’t seem right, considering the neighboring Yellowstone National Park — and even the Train Station itself — is primarily in Wyoming, but we’ll let it slide), something Beth seems to want to change. “Imagine all the things that we could do if we’re not shackled to that ranch,” she says. “I chose to be shackled to that ranch,” Rip replies.

Back in Montana, Kayce (Luke Grimes), Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and Tate (Brecken Merrill) work to turn their new house into a home. After some clear renovation, Monica expresses her gratitude. We learn that this is their first home that they weren’t either renting or living in with either of their families. Though it still rests on traditional Dutton land, it’s theirs, fully and completely. Given all that this family has been through, especially in the first half of Season 5, they deserve the win. It’s too bad that John Dutton’s death cuts all of that terribly short.

The Dutton Ranch Deals with the Fallout of John’s Death in ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Episode 10

But as pleasant and unassuming as the past is, Yellowstone can’t stay there forever. The back half of “The Apocalypse of Change” returns to the present in the aftermath of John Dutton’s death. It’s here that Rip, now back at the Dutton Ranch, talks with Lloyd Bridger (Forrie J. Smith) about the next steps. “I don’t believe that bullshit in the newspapers,” Lloyd tells Rip, both of them understanding that John Dutton wasn’t the type of man to kill himself. Rip implies that Lloyd ought to look for other jobs, but the old cowboy notes that he’s been at the Yellowstone all his life. “Me too,” Rip replies. Afterward, Rip goes to check on Carter (Finn Little), who hasn’t taken the news of John’s death well. “Don’t believe what you read in the news, nobody quit you,” Rip tells the boy, prompting him to get back to work and “cowboy up.” Given he wants to be just like John Dutton, that’s exactly what he does.

Elsewhere on the ranch, Beth comes downstairs to find Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo) still there, wondering what to do next with her life. Summer explains that she’s still under house arrest, but Beth reveals that her release had no such qualifications. In actuality, John just wanted her to stay at the ranch with him, so he didn’t give her an option to leave. But now that her father is gone, Beth wants Summer out, and orders her to get out of Dodge. Though Summer tries to have a heart-to-heart with Beth, the Dutton heiress isn’t interested. Instead, she drops her off at the bunkhouse and drives off. In the end, Rip takes her to the airport. When Summer tries to explain that their way of life is dying, Rip tells her that when John Deere was faced with the arrival of the automobile, he left steel plows behind and began making tractors. “They rolled with the changes,” Rip explains. “I guess we’re just going to have to do the same too.” With that, Summer presumably leaves Montana for good.

Beth Confronts Jamie To Learn the Truth in ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Episode 10

Perhaps the most intense scene in this episode is the moment when Jamie (Wes Bentley) returns to his Attorney General’s office in the Montana State Capitol in Helena. There, he finds his sister waiting for him, smoking leisurely at his desk. But when she confronts her adoptive brother, Beth smacks him in the face — not once, or even twice, but three times, hoping to get Jamie to look her in the eye. But he can’t do it. Knowing the truth behind his father’s murder, even if he wasn’t directly responsible, has driven one final wedge between Jamie and Beth that can never be set right.

“Okay, next time is the last time,” Beth tells him. “Seeing me will be the last thing you ever do alive. I swear to God, Jamie.” Promising that her smiling face will be the last thing he sees, Beth leaves her brother’s office, ready to plan his death. But she also leaves just in time to run into Market Equities lackeys Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) and Ellis Steele (John Emmet Tracy), leading to Beth physically assaulting Sarah. Distraught, Beth calls Kayce and tells him what’s seemingly been confirmed for her. “It was him. He didn’t even deny it,” she explains. “He wouldn’t look me in the eye, Kayce. Let me rephrase that, he couldn’t.” It turns out, this is the final straw for Kayce too.

Earlier in “The Apocalypse of Change,” Kayce returns to his homestead and is greeted by Monica. Deciding to go stay at the Dutton Ranch house together until he and Beth can get through all the paperwork, Kayce takes some much-needed time to talk with his son. Kayce and Tate don’t often get scenes together on Yellowstone, but this was a welcome exception. It’s here that he asks his son what he wants to be when he grows up, a question he never thought to ask before. “I’ve never had a job that made me feel whole,” Kayce tells him. “Only your mother does that. And you.”

Tate expresses interest in being both a fly-fishing guide and in working at the Dutton Ranch. This prompts Kayce to reconsider taking it over for the sake of their family legacy — but only if Tate really wants it himself. “I just don’t understand why,” Tate finally says. He struggles with coming to terms with his grandfather’s death. But Kayce reassures him that he can remember either the way John Dutton lived or the way he died, “your heart can’t focus on both.” Tate chooses to miss his grandfather rather than be mad at him. “Yeah, me too buddy,” his father replies.

Jumping forward a little bit, once Kayce, Monica, and Tate are on the road, Kayce gets his call from Beth. Immediately after this, Kayce dials up an old friend from his days as a Navy SEAL, newcomer Cade McPherson (Jake McLaughlin). Cade sends Kayce a link to an app through which they can talk off the books, and the Dutton heir pulls over to install the program. Pulling over in her own car, Monica walks up to Kayce’s window and asks if he’s alright. He assures her that he is, but she doesn’t believe him. Upon returning to her vehicle, she explains to Tate that they are going to have to fight to keep their family together. “We can’t let this take him from us,” she tells her son. Back in Kayce’s truck, Cade tells him that he’ll start looking into whoever might be involved in John’s death.

‘Yellowstone’ Is Preparing for Change All Around in Season 5 Episode 10

“The Apocalypse of Change” ends by setting the stage for these last four episodes. Jamie and Sarah consummate their alleged victory over John Dutton in his office, Rip leaves Summer at the airport and meditates on how his future may change, Beth plans revenge on her brother, and Kayce goes off the books to find out who was responsible for his father’s death. In the final shot of this episode, we see Ryan rounding up Teeter, Jake (Jake Ream), and Walker (Ryan Bingham) as they begin a new day working the land and running the Duttons’ cattle. The story isn’t over just yet — nor can it be, there was no Gil Birmingham in this episode — but change is certainly on the rise. However Yellowstone concludes, we know that it’s been a long time coming. John Dutton will be avenged, and his family’s legacy will live on, either in Montana, Texas, or perhaps both.

Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 airs Sundays on Paramount Network. Previous seasons can be streamed on Peacock.

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