A tragic death sets the stage for a vengeance-fueled final season of the contemporary cowboy drama.
And the premiere, dubbed “Desire Is All You Need,” wastes no time doing just that.
But we’re not left to wonder what all the foreboding is about.
Kelsey Asbille and Luke Grimes on ‘Yellowstone’.Emerson Miller/Paramount Network
“Is this a crime scene?,” she desperately asks an officer.
But Kayce and Beth can’t not look.
A pistol lies near the corpse’s hands, and spattered blood covers the wall above.
Gil Birmingham and Mo Brings Plenty on ‘Yellowstone’.Emerson Miller/Paramount Network
It seems the Dutton patriarch has taken his own life.
As he sits in stunned silence, his phone buzzes in his office.
After a long pause, Jamie responds, “Copy.”
Wes Bentley on ‘Yellowstone’.Emerson Miller/Paramount Network
Jamie can’t manage the words, so he whispers what he’s learned.
Perry urges him not to share the specifics with the press, then asks if he believes the news.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” he says somberly.
Luke Grimes and Kelly Reilly on ‘Yellowstone’.Emerson Miller/Paramount Network
Beth calls her beloved Rip (Cole Hauser,) who’s in Texas and atop a horse.
Oh, and Ryan gets bit by a scorpion.
The manipulative Market Equities' lawyer is undergoing a full body search before meeting with an extremely cautious client.
He even requires her to verbally give the “permission to execute” order.
but the very professional, er,professionalensures it’s the least risky method.
With a sinister smile stretched across her face, she gives the final order to kill John Dutton.
“This is the hill we die on,” he tells Mo.
Back in the present, Jamie’s arriving home, but his key isn’t working.
He breaks through the door, runs to his bedroom, and begins crying.
Sarah, wearing lingerie and wielding two glasses of champagne, enters the room ready to celebrate.
He was expecting they’d maybe have, like, a follow-up conversion before deciding to kill someone.
Sarah gives him a pep talk, reminding him John had abandoned him both emotionally and financially.
She urges him to look to the future: “You won.
This is your kingdom now.”
While Sarah’s plotting a takeover whether Jamie likes it or not Beth’s planning revenge.
Beth concurs, but insists he had help from someone with the stomach for it.
She tells Kayce to call the state police for more details.
It’s confirmed John died at 3:53 am by a self-inflicted gunshot.
Powder burns on his hands, as well as prints on the pistol, prove it was suicide.
The surveillance cameras, however, cut out minutes before the trigger was pulled.
“Go look him in the eye.”
she tells her brother.
“Then come home and help me decide how to kill him.”
