Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 13: “Give The World Away”

Here are some random thoughts prompted by “Give the World Away,” Season 5, Episode 13 of Yellowstone. Warning: There will be scads of spoilers here so proceed at your own risk.

• • My goodness, but producer Taylor Sheridan certainly had a lot of screen time in this episode. Guess he figured that, hey, this is the second-to-last Season 5 episode — maybe the second-to-last episode, period — and he’d better go for the gusto while he still could.

• • And what an impression he made during that screen time! As Travis Wheatley, horse trainer and dealer par excellence, he got to ride steeds like a rodeo champ (which, of course, Travis is), play strip poker with a gaggle of cuties, trick some naïve customers into bidding way too much during a horse auction — while having some of his employees pose as rival bidders — and ultimately impress Beth, who was visiting the 6666 Ranch to ask for his help with her own auction back at Yellowstone Ranch.

• • Mind you, Beth’s first impression was a great deal less than favorable: “He’s probably the most arrogant man I have ever met in my entire life.”  But hey, she wound up conceding Travis really was a hell of a horseman. And she appeared grateful — begrudgingly — when he didn’t demand that she disrobe during their own strip poker game.

• • But wait, there’s more: Sheridan didn’t even have to be on camera to indicate what a swell guy Travis is. Back home at the Yellowstone Ranch, Beth asked Rip how he bonded with Travis in the first place, and he explained (while grinning wide at the memory) that Travis, then a stranger, covered his back in a long-ago bar fight that left both of them bloodied and bruised. Rest assured, that really impressed Beth.

• • And why did Beth want help from Travis? Because she and Rip are in the middle of what can only be described as a distress sale, auctioning off cattle and horses in order to pay back taxes and hold on to Yellowstone. Beth is nothing if not pragmatic: “We’re just buying time.” But don’t worry: Although their stock may be depleted, Rip promised Lloyd that he’d still have a job as a Yellowstone ranch hand. Which, not surprisingly, came as a great relief to the grizzled cowboy: “I’ve been here 43 years.”

• • Chief Thomas Rainwater is deeply troubled by the progress of Market Equities construction crews on what once was considered Native land — but fears his hands are tied. “There’s nothing I can do to stop it,” he told Mo. “Nothing legal, anyway.” Is this a none-too-subtle hint that he has some extralegal tricks up his sleeve to spring in next week’s season finale? And speaking of extralegal activities: Do you think you think Chief Rainwater knows about Mo serving as Kayce’s getaway driver after Kayce “convinced” the murder-for-hire contractor who arranged John’s death to leave the rest of his family alone?

• • Remember last week when we noted that Kevin Costner still gets top billing in the opening credits even though John Dutton remains very seriously dead. Well, in this episode, he made a fleeting appearance — in a photograph during a TV newscast covering the announcement that John’s death was no longer officially considered a suicide. Market Equities lawyer Ellis Steele (John Emmett Tracey) just happened to be watching the newscast, along with a bunch of other corporate types in the company boardroom, and had an immediate epiphany: “I need to consider the possibility that Sarah Atwood was involved. Or at least had knowledge.” Well, d’oh! The words were barely out of his mouth when the cops showed up to seize evidence from Atwood’s office. Of course, she wasn’t there to object because she, too, is no longer among the living.

• • Jamie is terrified that his indirect role in John’s murder will be revealed — but not nearly as terrified that Beth will drop a dime on him. So he attempted to threaten her: “You destroy me, you destroy yourself. You destroy the entire family. You soil our name in perpetuity.” Silly boy: He should have known by now that Beth doesn’t threaten so easily. After being reminded of that fact, Jamie made one of his rare smart decisions: He sought legal guidance from Christina (Katherine Cunningham), his former campaign advisor and, arguably more important, baby mama for his young son.

• • Christina was nothing if not blunt: “Jamie, you are the definition of complicit… The only reason I am helping you is because we share a child. And your legacy is that child.”  And will her legacy  be helping Jamie avoid jail time? Maybe. She certainly primed us for a reversal of fortune when she counseled Jamie to give a speech in which he would claim, among other things, that Sarah Atwood was his lover  — but he knew nothing about her plan to kill John. “This speech,” Christina said, “will determine the course of your life.” One way or another. Remember: Next week’s episode is the season (if not the series) finale. Anything can happen.