Yellowstone ends with epic two-hour season finale that killed off another major character and revealed fate of Montana ranch

Paramount Network’s Yellowstone came to a close with Sunday’s finale that spanned nearly two hours that featured the death of a major character.

Last week’s episode teased how this will all play out, with Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) stating he plans on giving away his father’s ranch.

The finale confirmed a long-running theory that the end of the 1883 prequel foreshadows this finale with an Indian saying his people will take back the land he started his ranch on in seven generations.

That was ultimately confirmed as Kayce sold the ranch back to the Indians for just $1.25 an acre – the same price land was going for back in 1883.

Kayce sold it to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) under two conditions – Kayce and his family can keep East Camp and Thomas can never sell or develop the land. 

The network also recently gave the green light for a new spin-off that will feature Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), with Beth and Rip getting a new ranch of their own… after Beth kept her promise and killed her brother Jamie (Wes Bentley) for his involvement in their father John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) murder.

The episode – written and directed by series creator Taylor Sheridan – begins with dozens of Indians with warpaint on, riding at night, though the site of the pipeline.

They start dragging away the pipes left on the ground with their horses and then rolling them over to a large crane.

The crane operator picks up the massive pipes and they roll the pipes into a lake as they sink to the bottom, destroying the prospects for a pipeline through the reservation. 

The episode picks up with Beth, Rip and all of the cowboys sharing beers together with Travis Wheatley (Taylor Sheridan).

Travis is sharing stories about Rip, before Travis and Jimmy get back on the road and head back to the Four Sixes ranch in Texas.

Before Travis leaves, Teeter asks Travis about a job in Texas, and while Jimmy says working for Travis is clearly no picnic, she says she’ll be there in a week.

In his typical Travis fashion, he gives her some money to ‘learn English’ because he doesn’t speak ‘hillbilly.’ 

Beth, Rip and Carter get back home as Beth shows Rip a website for a ranch listing and she asks if they can make a living there… as she reveals that she already bought that ranch, adding she’ll explain who’s going to run the Yellowstone tomorrow. 

The next morning, Beth gets a call as she goes outside and is joined by Rip, telling him that was the funeral home and her father’s body is ready.

She insists that she doesn’t want anyone there but the family and John’s cowboys, and she wants him buried next to her mother.

Rip leaves to dig the hole, as she calls Lynelle (Wendy Moniz) and tells her the funeral will be today.

Rip goes to the bunkhouse and asks where they’re all going. He gives them envelopes, seemingly with severance pay.

He asks for a favor, tells them to meet him outside as they all go to dig John Dutton’s grave on the ranch.

Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) tells Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) that last night’s mission to dump the pipes went well.

Thomas things they’ll make a lot of noise, which will get people’s attention, which is when they’ll start making noice.

Thomas and Mo arrive at Kayce and Monica’s (Kelsey Asbille) house, as he learns not even ‘the wife’ knows about his plan.

Kayce tells Thomas that he wants his family to make a living a East Camp, where his house is located.

Kayce tells Thomas that his vision told him he would have to choose between his family and the ranch.

Kayce offers Thomas the ranch at the same price land was selling for back in 1883 – $1.25 an acre.

Kayce will sell under two conditions – he keeps East Camp for his family and he can never develop and sell the land.

Thomas takes out a knife and cuts his hand, saying, ‘this knife was my blood,’ before handing it to Kayce.

Kayce takes out a dagger from his father and cuts his hand with it, passing that knife to Thomas.

‘We are brothers now, to each other, and to the land. I will deed this East Camp back to you, so your family forever has a home,’ Thomas tells him.

Mo takes his hat off and begins an Indian chant as Kayce hugs Monica and says ‘We’re free now.’ 

Rip and his cowboys finish digging the grave for John Dutton, as Rip asks Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) where he’s going to go.

Rip tells him that Beth bought a ranch and they would have room for him, but Lloyd insists if he can’t cowboy at the Yellowstone, he doesn’t want to do it at all.

Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) practices his big speech while Kayce and Monica and their son Tate get dressed in black for John’s funeral. 

Jamie keeps practicing his speech while getting dressed for the funeral as Beth puts on some old earrings, seemingly from her mother.

Rip says walking down to the grave is a tradition that has spanned 120 years but Beth wants to drive down since they have nothing to gain from that tradition.

Walker (Ryan Bingham) plays a somber tune on the guitar as Beth arrives and Kayce says Thomas agreed to everything as they embrace.

Kayce tells Beth that the casket is in the barn and she smiles and says, ‘He’d have liked that,’ as she starts crying the closer she gets to the casket. 

She runs her hand over the casket, fighting back the tears, saying, ‘You made me promise not to sell an inch, and I hope you understand that this is me keeping it. There may not be cows on it, but there won’t be condos either. We won.’ 

She said it breaks her heart that she had to lose him to do this but she lets him rest now and says she’s ready.

The cowboys and Kayce bring the casket out of the barn as Carter (Finn Little) takes Beth’s hand and walks her out of the barn.

They all gather around the casket as the priest begins the ceremony as Beth notices a bird landing on a tree above them before flying away.

Beth is given a white flower by the priest and he tells her to say goodbye, but she says, ‘I think I’ll say something else.’

She lays the flower on the casket and leans over it and says, ‘I will avenge you,’ before walking away.

Kayce lays a flower on the grave and tells Tate he can say something if he wants, but Tate doesn’t know what to say.

Kayce says he told John that he forgives him’ as the family walks away as Lynelle says, ‘Well, John, I wore the tightest skirt I could find in your honor. You go easy on the angels up there. You will be missed.’

Thomas Rainwater says he will protect the land for him and all their relations as the cowboys lay their flowers on the grave one by one. 

Rip lowers the casket into the earth and tells the priest to go, saying if he’s not in heaven yet, ‘then he ain’t going, or there ain’t one.’ 

They get back to the ranch where Gator is cooking a spread for them, adding he doesn’t do funerals.

Beth gets home and quickly changes out of her black dress for jeans and a t-shirt and gets a can of bear repellant and a large knife… seemingly for Jamie.

Rip finishes laying all the dirt back on John’s grave as he takes a knee and says, ‘I don’t even know what to say. Thank you. I want you to know I’ll take care of your daughter, you have my word.’

‘I’ll try and love her the same way she loved you. All right,’ he concludes, adding, ‘I’ll see you around,’ before leaving, seeing Beth speeding off.

Meanwhile, Jamie is giving his press conference with his well-rehearsed speech for the members of the press. 

‘What we will not lose, what I refuse to surrender to those who attack us are the blind scales of justice that measure the mettle of our constitution against the traitors intent on destroying the freedoms Montanans cherish,’ Jamie concludes.

Ryan (Ian Bohen) gets his things and says goodbye to all the cowboys before taking off in a black truck, but Rip suddenly gets in his truck and chases after Ryan, telling Lloyd to get in, saying he knows where Beth is going. 

Rip calls Beth, tells her he knows where she’s going, asking her to pull over, but she says she has a plan and she wants to keep Kayce out of this.

She says Rip is a big part of her plan, and asks him to speed up but she insists that she will keep her promise. 

Jamie is in his car, listening to positive reports about his speech as he arrives home… but Beth’s Bentley is there when he gets home. 

He pours a drink before Beth attacks him with a tire iron and sprays the bear reppelant in his face.

Jamie gets his bearings and punches her several times, knocking her out, as he pours milk on his face to wash the reppellant off along with water, but Beth gets back up and fights back.

Jamie says he’ll call the police and have her arrested for murder as he pompously tells her his plans to turn the ranch into a tourist destination.

Beth says she sold the ranch for $1.1 million – $1.25 an acre – for the largest ranch in Montana as Jamie can’t believe it, and starts attacking her.

Beth stabs him in the foot as Jamie starts to choke her, adding, ‘You know what you’re about to become? Another one of this family’s secrets.’

Rip arrives right in time and saves her before Beth stabs him in the chest, demanding she looks at him.

‘I’m gonna be the last thing you ever f***ing see,’ she says as he falls to the ground, dead.

She tells Rip that she doesn’t need to hide anything, it’s part of her plan, she tells him to dispose of Jamie’s body as Beth says she’s gonna call 911 before lighting up a cigarette in his home.

Back at the ranch, Kayce and Thomas go over the paperwork, as Thomas says the Yellowstone will be declared a ‘wilderness area’ and nothing can be built on it.

Thomas presents him a check and jokes, ‘Congratulations. You just made the worst land deal since my people sold Manhattan. But look at Manhattan and what it’s become. Then look at your ranch. It’ll never change. Thank you for your sacrifice and for saving it.’

Kayce leaves the house, bursting into tears, saying he’s free, as they see a wolf digging, as Mo says he’s building a den.

Mo says the wolf isn’t real, but Monica asks how she can see it and Mo says, ‘Guess it’s our vision too.’ 

Beth is being treated by medics as Detective Kevin Dillard (Rory Cochrane) arrives as a cop tells him the story she told him: Jamie didn’t attend his father’s funeral and she came to confront him and accused him of involvement in their father’s death.

She tells the detective to look for LLC’s in Sarah Atwood’s name and look for large wire transfers and says Sarah paid for the hit.

The detective says Jamie struck him as a man with something to hide and he wants to talk more with her.

Rip and Lloyd take Jamie’s body ‘to the train station’ – the spot where the Dutton family has disposed of the bodies of their enemies for years. 

They drive Jamie’s car to another location and set it on fire, before Rip and Lloyd drive away. 

Beth is resting in the hospital where she watches a report that reveals Attorney General’s car was torched and they are starting impeachment proceedings.

Carter gets Beth her purse and she pours some Tito’s vodka into her cup and takes a drink with a smile. 

Meanwhile, Teeter arrives in Texas and meets up with Travis and Jimmy as Travis keeps ribbing Jimmy for his horse riding techniques.

Ryan gets a ticket to a concert in standing room only as he finds Abby (Lainey Wilson) on stage as he walks closer and closer to her as she performs at Billy Bob’s in Texas.

She finishes the song and spots him in the crowd and finds him after the show as he admits to her he made a mistake by choosing his job over her.

He finally admits to her that she is his ‘Super Bowl’ and all he can think about is her as they make out.

He says he will need another job but she has one in mind for him on her tour bus. 

The bunkhouse is all cleared out, the barn is empty as Rip takes seemingly one last walk through the ranch, closing the barn door for the last time.

Beth walks through the empty house her family shared for decades, joining Kayce, asking if he wants something ‘personal’ from the office.

‘I spent my whole life trying to get away from this place. Seems silly to cling to its things now,’ Kayce said.

Beth adds that her son Tate might want them or to know John’s story, adding his story is ‘a story worth remembering.’

Kayce leaves the house with two rifle cases and puts them into his truck with a horse trailer attached to it as he leaves his family home while the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch sign is being taken down by Rip and Lloyd, who thought he might want the sign.

Kayce says he will be running about 300 pairs, as Rip tells him to holler if he needs help.

Kayce and Tate are at a cattle auction, telling Tate what to look for as he wins the auction.

The Indians are tearing down the main house and blessing their land as Thomas and Mo watches.

The iconic Y logo is taken down from the barn as Mo walks past, while some Indian kids push all the headstones over before Mo stops them.

‘They protected this land. They died for this land. And this land is where they’ll stay,’ Mo tells them as he starts pushing all the headstones back into place. 

He pushes up the new headstone of John Dutton as Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) talks about how her father first learned of this land 141 year ago.

‘Seven generations. My father was told they would come for this land, and he promised to return it. Nowhere was that promise written. It faded with my father’s death but somehow lived in the spirit of this place,’ she began.

‘Men cannot truly own wild land. To own land, you must blanket it in concrete, cover it with buildings, stack it with houses so thick, people can smell each other’s supper. You must rape it to sell it. Raw land. Wild land. Free land can never be owned. But some men pay dearly for the privilege of its stewardship. They will suffer and sacrifice to live off it and live with it and hopefully teach the next generation to do the same. And if they falter, find another willing to keep the promise. Now, when they come out, they’re not gonna know where they’re at, so we’re just gonna ease,’ Elsa says.

Meanwhile, Kayce and Monica and Tate get to work on their land, moving their 300 pairs of cattle, as Monica says this is always how she pictured it would be. 

Beth is on her new ranch, looking at Rip and Carter herding their cattle, as Rip says the grass is as good as he’s ever seen. 

Beth says she found a bar that serves steak for dinner and tourists never stop there, which is exactly what they wanted. 

She says there’s a hitching post and he tells her to get her saddle for a ride, as the season comes to an end.