John Dutton faces multiple threats to his land and his heritage. So he goes to the state fair to chill. And, really, who can blame him?
Here are some random thoughts prompted by “The Dream is Not Me,” Episode 507 of Yellowstone. Please keep in mind: There will be scads of spoilers here, so proceed at your own risk.
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- OK, so that is why Rip has always been so loyal to John, and so willing to do anything for him. That explains a lot. Also: Did you note that, even in the years-earlier flashback, they were already talking about taking people to “the train station.” That explains a lot as well.
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- And it looks like all you folks who were worrying — even cringing — because you feared John might eventually do the wild thing with his assistant Lily have nothing to worry about. Unless, of course, she turns out to be, well, flexible.
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- Nice to see Beth finally dropping her well-maintained bitch-on-wheels shtick to have a sympathetic heart-to-heart with someone other than Rip. But even as she confided in Monica, and alluded to how she has first-hand knowledge about losing a child, I couldn’t help thinking: Were we ever told just whose child Beth was carrying years earlier when Jamie arranged for her to have an abortion? Can’t remember, to be honest. But if it turns out that Rip was the father, he ever learns that Jamie… No, on the second thought, I don’t want to go there.
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- Sarah continues to push all the right buttons — among other things — while manipulating Jamie. But to give her credit, she seemed to be spot-on when she reacted to Jamie’s story about how and why John sent him to Harvard Law School in the first place. “He hates me,” the errant adopted son claims, “for the very thing he wanted me to become. No, forced me to become.” That’s not entirely accurate, Sarah responds: “He resents the tool he relies upon the most because he can’t be that tool.” The truth, as they say, hurts.
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- Looks like John will need a bunch of other tools — and a whole lot money — to drive his cattle away from a possible brucellosis outbreak, and keep them grazing in some other location for, oh, I dunno, a year or so. Beth worried that the cost of the endeavor might bankrupt John, but only until she shipped out her trusty laptop and found a place where the cattle could relocate: The 6666 Ranch in Texas. Hey, do you think this might be how Taylor Sheridan leads us into his upcoming 6666 spinoff series?
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- Is it my imagination, or has John gotten a hell of a lot more lax about letting womenfolk take part in the ranching duties?
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- Of course, Summer likely will never be entirely comfortable with the messy details of branding, vaccinating and/or castrating cattle. But her uneasiness triggered the biggest laugh of the night, as Colby and Ryan remarked on her game but awkward efforts. “I feel like I shouldn’t be watching,” Colby said, “but I can’t stop.” Ryan agreed: “It's riveting.”
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- Second biggest laugh: When Summer worried what John’s constituency might think if they saw him with her at the state fair, he brushed aside her concerns: “Try to resist the temptation to jump my bones, and we’ll be all right.” What a sweet-talking guy!
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- Rainwater and Mo joining forces with governor-turned-senator Lynelle Perry to thwart plans for a pipeline on reservation land? Sounds like a potentially potent subplot. Better still, the move might finally get that pesky Angela Blue Thunder out of Rainwater’s hair. And off the tribal council.
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- So Jamie — encouraged by Sarah, of course — wants to begin impeachment proceedings against his father, eh? Well, he may have the law on his side. But, uh, has he forgotten all about those incriminating photos that Beth has been holding over his head? How does he plan to get around that threat? Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait two weeks to find out: The next episode, the midseason finale, isn’t going to air until Jan. 1.
