More complications accumulate while unexpected alliances are formed as Season 4 heads into the homestretch.
Warning: This is an overview of Episode 407 of Yellowstone, so there will be scads of spoilers here. We strongly recommend that you not read this if you have not yet watched the episode. If you do read it before watching the episode, and then complain about spoilers, we’ll be forced to ask Beth to pay you a visit. Sorry, but those are the rules.
Kayce teamed with Mo to find the horses that were driven from the reservation, Beth took charge in ways that only Beth can, and John more or less drafted himself — reluctantly — for public office. What are we to make of all this? Here are our five takeaways from “Keep the Wolves Close,” Episode 407 of Yellowstone.
Takeaway No. 1
Beth (Kelly Reilly) walked into her new job as Grand Kahuna of Market Equities while displaying her customary modesty, self-effacing humor, empathetic people skills and…You’re not buying any of this, are you? OK, Beth strolled into the place like Genghis Kahn in heels, immediately firing someone just because she didn’t like the way he looked — or, more specifically, the way he was hooking up with the receptionist — and dismissing no-smoking rules as restrictions aimed only at mere mortals. She was thrown off her game, fleetingly, when she discovered during a meeting just much harm the conglomerate’s multi-billion-dollar development plans might do to the Yellowstone/Dutton Ranch. But she recovered quickly and immediately enlisted, of all people, Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo) — yep, the young animal-rights activist whose one-night stand with John (Kevin Costner) generated her strong disapproval last week — in a long-game plan to impede those development plans with lawsuits, demonstrations, and environmental activism. It’s clear from Beth’s frothingly condescending attitude (to put it diplomatically) that these two women will never be bowling buddies. But, hey, the enemy of my enemy…
Takeaway No. 2
On the other hand, Beth seemed ever so slightly less venomous while patching things up with Carter (Finn Little), who, truth to tell, after all he’s been through with her and the tough-loving Rip (Cole Hauser), really couldn’t be blamed for considering the monumentally stupid move of leaving the ranch and “taking [his] chances in foster care.” The boy looks like he’ll be back in Beth’s good graces — and back in his own bed — as long as he follows Beth’s intransigent edict: “Don’t lie to me.” His timing could not have been better: John wants Beth and Rip — and Carter — to move in with him at the lodge and claim their rightful places as members of his extended family. Why? Because he’s been feeling a mite lonely. Seriously.
Takeaway No. 3
The good news: Kayce and Mo teamed up to retrieve the horses that had been driven away from the reservation last week. (Actually, the two guys generated such great chemistry, it left some of us wishing they would headline the next Yellowstone spinoff as crime-solvers on horseback.) The bad news: His wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) is still giving him grief about Avery (Tanaya Beatty) — or “Little Miss Pouty Lips,” as she calls the former ranch hand now living at the reservation — and this week Avery made it very clear that Monica’s jealously is entirely justified. Chief Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) knew it long before Kayce did: “When they look at you like that,” he noted with a smile, “they’re all trouble.” And Avery left no room for doubt when she asked Kayce point blank: “Do you believe in love at first sight?” He replied that he did — and that’s why he married Monica. But, well, it doesn’t look like Avery is going anywhere anytime soon.
Takeaway No. 4
On a lighter note: After an effectively unsettling fake-out that made it seem like Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) visited a pawn shop to trade in his championship belt buckle for a handgun, it was revealed that what he really obtained was a replacement guitar to give as a peace offering to Walker (Ryan Bingham). Walker graciously accepted it, even going so far as to note that it was a better instrument than the one Lloyd smashed to pieces last week. Teeter (Jennifer Landon) also managed to maneuver her way back into the bunkhouse after making her case to Rip (who remembered that she wore the Yellowstone brand) and John (who didn’t know anything about that, and took the revelation with profoundly mixed emotions.) And off at the 6666 Ranch, Jimmy (Jefferson White) managed to make to most of yet another humiliating job, drawing semen from stallions for breeding. (It was well-nigh impossible not to laugh as he wailed: “I just jacked off a horse!”) The task allowed him the opportunity to meet-cute with Emily (Kathryn Kelly), a lovely veterinarian who freely admitted that when it came to dating, pickings were slim in the area. All of which once again raised the question: How does Jimmy keep attracting these attractive women? Does he bathe in Axe Body Spray, or what?
Takeaway No. 5
It remains to be seen how his new under-one-roof domestic setup at the lodge will affect John’s upcoming gubernatorial campaign. Yes, you read that correctly: John opted to toss his Stetson into the ring after his friend-with-benefits Gov. Lynette Perry (Wendy Moniz) dropped by the ranch to confine in him that she’s running for the US Senate. At first, Gov. Perry planned to throw her support for the candidacy of Jamie (Wes Bentley) — an idea that, not surprisingly, John shot down like an incoming enemy aircraft. When she insisted that despite his obvious, ahem, shortcomings, Jamie’s their best option — “The other options don’t want the Montana that you and I do!” — John responded: “You want a devil you really know? Here he is.” Indeed, right on the spot, John came up with a campaign slogan aimed at defusing accusations of his past bad behavior: “Damn right I did it!” Almost immediately, John had second, third and maybe even fourth thoughts about his decision. But Beth agreed it would be a great move, and volunteered to help run his campaign — if only to take another smack at Jamie, who obviously had his heart set on rising from his role as Attorney General. Jamie appeared shocked and angry as the episode ended with John’s fiery campaign-launch speech. (“I am the opposite of progress! I am the wall it bashes against! And I will not be the one who breaks!”) It should be noted, however, that Jamie has a potentially lethal weapon to exploit —Garrett (Will Patton), his biological father, who has grand ambitions for Jamie — should he decide to run against his adoptive dad. Hmmm. Beth versus Garrett. Sounds like it could be more fun than Godzilla Vs Kong.