The episode was bookended by bursts of gunfire and filled with intrigue, but laced with moments of romance and humor.
Warning: This is an overview of Episode 408 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 John to load up again. (See above photo.) Sorry, but those are the rules.
Jimmy took a shot at a new romance, John took several shots at would-be robbers — and James Dutton took a shot in an ominous flashback. What are we to make of all this? Here are our five takeaways from “No Kindness for the Coward,” Episode 408 of Yellowstone.
Takeaway No. 1
OK, don’t try to be coy about it: You thought that extended prologue with James Dutton (Tim McGraw) leading a posse in a violent assault against horse thieves was just a plug for Taylor Sheridan’s new Yellowstone prequel 1883, didn’t you? (Of course, even it were such a thing, it did seem a tad strange that Sheridan dropped hints that McGraw might not make it to 1884 or 1885.) By the end of the hour, however, it appeared more likely that Sheridan intended the flashback as a bookend for this episode’s final scene, in which a present-day John Dutton (Kevin Costner) — with a little help from Rip (Cole Hauser) — triumphantly shot it out with robbers at his favorite diner. As the closing credits rolled by, we couldn’t help thinking: Would John’s heroism enhance his public image just in time for his gubernatorial campaign? Or would it make him look like a recklessly quick-triggered hot head whose shoot-first impulses could get innocent people killed in the cross-fire? (By the way, speaking of innocent bystanders: What ever happened to that poor lady who was gunned down by John’s would-be assassins in the Season 3 finale?)
Takeaway No. 2
It’s more than likely that Jamie (Wes Bentley) will be pushing the trigger-happy narrative if he really does wind up running against his dad. After being blindsided last week, Jamie remains seriously peeved that John is deliberately thwarting his adoptive son’s political ambitions by tossing his own Stetson into the ring. Or as Jamie’s baby mama Christina (Katherine Cunningham) put it, “He’s not running for governor — he’s running against you.” Garrett (Will Patton), never one to miss an opportunity to pour poison in Jamie’s ear, encouraged his biological son to play dirty, and play for keeps, while opposing the Yellowstone/Dutton Ranch paterfamilias: “You know where all the bodies are buried.” Jamie’s response? “Yeah, because I buried them!” Strictly speaking, that’s not entirely true — Rip has done his own fair share of spade work — but we could be seeing a lot of skeletons uncloseted during the final two episodes of Season 4. Indeed, John could come to regret curtly dismissing Jamie’s offer of a meeting in a neutral location.
Takeaway No. 3
On a lighter note: Jimmy (Jefferson White) once again demonstrated his inexplicable animal magnetism by capping off his first date with Emily (Kathryn Kelly), the lovely veterinarian he met last week, with a lusty roll in the hay (or, to be more precise, bounce on the couch). Actually, the close encounter was hardly a surprise: Even before they went out to dinner, Emily strolled in to take a gander at Jimmy while he was showering at the 6666 Ranch, cuing him to deliver the episode’s funniest line: “It’s kind of hard to describe in words just how uncomfortable I am right now!” Meanwhile, over at Mrs. and Mrs. Kayce Dutton’s new place, Kayce (Luke Grimes) was a tad rattled by the late-evening appearance on his property of a wolf — possibly his spirit animal issuing a warning, possibly the same critter who spied on him last season when he and Monica (Kelsey Asbille) were getting frisky, possibly both. But he quickly forgot all about the four-legged intruder when Monica shared some good news: She’s pregnant.
Takeaway 4
Beth (Kelly Reilly) made a few new moves in her long-game plan to undercut her nominal overlords at Market Equities (and save her father’s ranch) while playing them like Johnny Cash with a ’63 Gibson Firebird. First, she encouraged them to have the news media removed from the area where construction for an ecologically disruptive airport is in progress, so protesters who were impeding the project could be, ahem, dealt with. Then she tipped off an ejected TV journalist that Something Bad might happen soon, so the reporter should be ready on short notice to cover the tear-gassing and mass arrests. And Beth made damn sure she would know when things turned south for the protesters by having activist Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo) in place on the scene to call her as soon as the local constabulary started with the rough stuff. The next day, just as Beth expected, Market Equities took a serious public relations hit. But that wasn’t enough for Beth: She also made sure The New York Times was aware of the travails of the Montana protesters. Unless corporate boss lady Caroline Warner (Jacki Weaver) is a lot dumber than she seems — and she almost certainly isn’t — Beth probably can’t keep this sabotage campaign going much longer. Or can she?
Takeaway 5
The great French filmmaker Claude Lelouch (A Man and a Woman) often surprises his audiences with “Gotcha” moments where he reveals that the scene we’ve just seen was only a possible plot development, or some character’s wishful fantasy, and not reality after all. And truth to tell, we were afraid that’s just what writer-director Taylor Sheridan pulled this week when, after some initial friction ignited by Beth’s typical prickliness, John ultimately was able to enjoy some warm and bonding moments over dinner in the lodge with his daughter, Rip and Carter (Finn Little). But, wonder of wonders, it really and truly happened. And damned if we weren’t smiling right along with John. Too bad he had to go out and shoot some bandits not so long afterwards. But, hey, whether it be the 19th or the 21st century, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.