Warning: This article contains spoilers for 1883, 1924, and Yellowstone.A closer look at Lee Dutton’s (Dave Annable) death inYellowstonein the context of the Dutton family tree supports the theory that Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) will die in Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western epic. The connection is sobering afterYellowstoneforeshadowed Kayce’s deathin season 5, episode 12; things are coming to a head for the Duttons as they round outYellowstone’s fifth chapter.The second half ofYellowstoneseason 5 experienced production delays, but Sheridan planned its ending from the start. Thus, the series' first Dutton death of the five-season saga may foreshadow its last tragedy.
Kayce has a more active role inYellowstoneseason 5, part 2, starting with his father’s unexpected death. While Kayce, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and Tate (Brecken Merrill) were settling in a house on the Dutton Ranch, the father had distanced himself from his family’s affairs. However, afterKevin Costner’s John Dutton III meets his fate, Kayce takes an active role in his murder investigation. While he chooses not to murder the man responsible for his father’s death in episode 12, opting to “count coup,” Kayce is dangerously positioned asYellowstoneseason 5 concludes.
Lee Dutton’s Divisive Death In The Yellowstone Series Premiere Explained
Lee Dutton’s Death Marks The Beginning
The first milestone in a long line of Dutton tragedies isLee’s death in theYellowstoneseries premiere. Lee accompanies his father, a convoy of law enforcement, and cowboys to take back their cattle from Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham). As Lee and the others storm the Broken Rock tribe to take back their cattle, things turn violent, and a gunfight ensues. Ultimately, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch convoy retreats its cattle. However, the eldest Dutton challenges the tribe members on the scene, causing Monica’s older brother, Robert Long (Jeremiah Bitsui), to shoot and kill him.
you’re able to watchYellowstoneseason 5, part 2 live (and re-watch with automatic DVR recordings) on Philo with a $28/month subscription.
Kayce gets entangled in the start of the range war as he is rounding up cattle for the Broken Rock tribe, which includes his wife and son. Upon witnessing Lee’s death, Kayce shoots Monica’s brother to protect himself. The youngest Dutton then carefully walks his brother’s body back to the ranch on horseback. Thus,Lee’s death marks the beginning of Kayce’s reemergence at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. The event is divisive, turning a simple dispute over cattle into an all-out range war for the ranch, setting up the narrative arc forYellowstoneand its spinoffs.
Lee’s Death Ties To The Duttons' History Of Tragedy & Sets Up Another Clan Death In Yellowstone
Kayce Dutton’s Death Could Mark The End
As Sheridan expanded his neo-Western empire afterYellowstonebegan, the additional stories clarified that Lee’s death is just a part of the ranch’s history and the sacrifices made to maintain it. Specifically,Sheridan has a way of leaving a single child alivein the clans of the richDutton family tree. In1883,Elsa (Isabel May) meets a tragic, defining fate, leaving Audie Rick’s John Dutton I as the only surviving child of James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret (Faith Hill) Dutton. While John survives and the parents have another child, tragedy follows the Duttons into the Great Depression.
What Yellowstone’s Horrific Death In The Season 5 Premiere Means
Yellowstone season 5’s first death is an unexpected and tragic loss for the Dutton family. Why does this death mean for the future of the ranch?
James and Margaret had Spencer before Brandon Sklenar played the character in thecast of1923.Still, his brother, James Badge Dale’s John, dies in1923season 1, episode 3, “The War Has Come Home,” which leaves Spencer as the only surviving son of James and Margaret. John Dutton III’s father, Dabney Coleman’s John Dutton II, continues the trend since he has no known siblings. Even Costner’s John Dutton III was an only child. His brother Peter died as a baby — noted inYellowstonewhen John II died and again when Monica and Kayce’s son, John IV, died.
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The drama of one remaining Dutton per generation dominates everyYellowstonestory. It only makes sense that season 5, part 2, would continue the trend, and if it does, only one Dutton sibling can remain.Considering Tate’s conversation with his father about his death inYellowstoneseason 5, episode 12,Kayce might not survivethe series. The development would single out Kelly Reilly’s Beth as the last of a generation, solidifying the trend for the next, since Beth can’t have children of her own. Kayce’s death would leave Tate as the only seventh-generation heir to the family’s legacy.
Why Kayce’s Death Perfectly Fits The Dutton Family Curse
A Curse Follows The Duttons
Tragedy surrounds the lives of the Duttons inYellowstone.Sheridan’s existing1883and1923stories prove that the screenwriter makes a habit of leaving minimal Duttons surviving to pass on the family’s legacy, upping the stakes and drama. Therefore, Kayce would top off all the other untimely deaths inYellowstoneseason 5. Kayce and Lee’s deaths could serve as bookends to the series, potentially marking the beginning and end of the family’s modern range war. The loss of John’s youngest son would make for a tragic ending, but consideringElsa’s death and1883’s ending, it would be thematically expected.
Kayce’s death would leave Tate as the only possible blood-related Dutton to continue the family’s legacy, exacerbated by the untimely death of his infant brother.
There’s even buzz thatSklenar’s war-torn Spencer dies at the end of1923season 2, further suggesting thatthe Dutton family trends back up Kayce’s impending demise. Ultimately, it feels somewhat obvious when zooming out and looking at the entirety of the Dutton family curse. Kayce’s death would leave Tate as the only possible blood-related Dutton to continue the family’s legacy, exacerbated by the untimely death of his infant brother, John Dutton IV, inYellowstoneseason 5. The curse could also finally end with the family losing the ranch, as they shed the danger of protecting it.
Yellowstone
Yellowstoneis a neo-Western drama series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, centered on the Dutton family and their fight to protect the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch from various adversaries, including land developers and nearby reservations. Premiering in 2018 on Paramount Network, the show has been praised for its depiction of power struggles, family loyalty, and rural conflicts. It has expanded into a franchise with spin-offs such as1883and1923, and an upcoming sequel series is in development.
