Yellowstone Episode 508 Recap: “A Knife and No Coin”

Here are some random thoughts prompted by “A Knife and No Coin,” Episode 508 of Yellowstone. Please keep in mind: There will be scads of spoilers here, so proceed at your own risk.

• • So they’ve been planting bodies in Wyoming and branding Yellowstone cowboys for decades, eh? You know, if this ain’t a damn cult, it’s close enough for the difference not to matter much. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, you understand.

• • Did you note the startled look on Kayce’s face when John hugged him and told him he loved him? Like, maybe, this doesn’t happen — this has never happened — very often? Geez, if this is how John’s treated a biological son he supposedly loved, can you imagine how he’s treated Jamie over the years? No wonder Jamie doesn’t need much pushing along the vengeance trail.

• • Beth snarls: “Don’t touch my Tito’s!” Yet another plug for Tito’s Homemade Vodka. Bet somebody involved with this show got a truckload of that good stuff.

• • It’s only been a matter of time before Jamie told Beth about all the other bodies that have been buried where he disposed of his biological dad’s corpse. Frankly, I’m little surprised Jamie waited this long. And I am very surprised Beth didn’t know about it until now. In any event, her threat to expose Jamie as a killer appears to have been neutralized. But, then again, she has other threats up her sleeve. Remember, this is Beth we’re talking about.

• • Hey! Jimmy is alive and well and enjoying the, ahem, company of Emily at the 6666 Ranch. Guess it won’t be long before Taylor Sheridan gives us the 6666 spinoff series.

• • Are we supposed to think this flirty little Halie gal is just a tad older than Carter? Does that qualify her as a cougar cub?

• • Nice to see Teeter and Colby admit just how much they care for each other. Taylor Sheridan surely wouldn’t let anything happen to threaten their… Oh, wait, never mind. They’re headed for some kind of trouble, aren’t they?

• • The cross-cutting between John and Thomas Rainwater launching the anti-pipeline campaign and Jamie’s launching the impeachment of John was dramatically potent. But it also served as a pointed reminder that we have not seen nearly enough of Rainwater so far this season. The guy should get some more screen time, pronto.

• • Even a cold-blooded operator like Sarah Atwood can be shocked by the hard-core, bare-knuckle in-fighting inside the Dutton clan. At least, that’s the impression I got from her reaction when Jamie told her that, yeah, Beth likely would try to off him. And even though she recovered quickly, and proposed a way for him to maintain plausible deniability if he wanted to “play offense” against Beth — and John — there was just a second or two when you could almost hear Sarah thinking: “Damn! What have I gotten myself into?”

• • So who will make the first move to kill the other one? And will John really, even with strong provocation, be willing to sign Jamie’s death warrant? Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until Summer 2023 to find out.