Critic’s Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
2.5
What might be Yellowstone’s penultimate episode should have been incredibly emotional. [Note: The show is advertising next week’s as a season finale, though previous news had stated this would be the final season.]
Throughout Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 13, the ranch that was supposed to be the Dutton family’s legacy is one step away from being sold to the highest bidder, and Beth seems helpless to stop it.
This should be a heartbreaking and depressing potential end to a series that once had my heart, yet I feel nothing except maybe annoyed by how much time this story wasted.
Beth Should Not Be Going Down Without More Of A Fight
How this entire “losing the ranch because of taxes” story has gone down has been severely disappointing.
In five years, have any of us ever known Beth to back down from a fight, no matter how clear it was to everybody that she’d lost?
Beth seduces rich businessmen and spits them out, and that’s only one of the fights she’s had to save the ranch, to save her father’s legacy, to save her father embarrassment…
The story this season SHOULD have been Beth unhinged and refusing to give up the fight for the ranch.
We were supposed to have an all-out war between Beth and Jamie, but Yellowstone only seems to remember that for one scene per episode and then tells every story but that one.
It’s a real shame because that phone confrontation between Beth and Jamie was exciting, only to yet again be followed up with nothing important.
If Beth were fighting a losing battle to hold onto the ranch, that would be a compelling story, but that’s not what we’re getting.
Instead, the potential next-to-last episode of the series spent more time on Travis’ ridiculous antics than on the actual fight for the ranch.
Travis’ behavior in Texas was mostly gross, and these scenes did nothing to enhance the final episode.
That time could have been spent actually fighting for the ranch (or trying to) or Beth having the epic fight with Jamie we were promised at the beginning of Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 12, which still hasn’t materialized.
When Jamie and Beth had that fight over the phone, I was thrilled, even though it took five episodes to get to this point.
Then Yellowstone broke my heart all over again by having virtually no follow-up to it. Jamie went to see his ex-girlfriend, who advised him to pretend he didn’t know Sarah was behind John’s murder and investigate it thoroughly, while Beth wasted time with Travis.
The Beth scenes annoyed me more.
Jamie is an idiot who is in way over his head and needs to get his before the series ends, though I have little hope of that.
People want the war between Jamie and Beth and for John’s death to be avenged, but instead, we get nonsense like 20 minutes of Travis trying to get Beth to play strip poker (or whatever game that was).
Beth’s reaction was again out of character. Since when does she do anything she doesn’t want to, including undressing for scum like Travis?
That nonsense felt self-indulgent. We didn’t need 20 minutes of Taylor Sheridan demonstrating his ability to play an obnoxious character.
Nor did we need that long story Rip told when Beth asked him why he’s friends with Travis.
I wasn’t even listening to half of it; that’s how little I cared about this backstory.
Maybe if this wasn’t so close to the potential end of the series, I would have been more patient, but as it was, it felt like Yellowstone was just spinning its wheels.
There was no need for filler. We have serious stories to get to, ones that have been neglected all season long.
That was more time wasted that could have been used to make a memorable episode of Yellowstone.
There Were A Few Strong Moments During Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 13, But Little Followup
Most of this episode was a giant waste of time. Even the tribute to Colby and John was rushed so the auctioneer could get back to the auction.
(It looks like John will get a real funeral during the season finale, but still. That tiny tribute was almost worse than no tribute at all.)
Still, it wasn’t all bad. There were several moments that could have led somewhere if only some of Travis’ antics had been cut to make room.
I’ve already pointed out that Jamie and Beth’s war should be a much more prominent story than it is, but it bears repeating.
Their argument this time was particularly strong, with Jamie trying to blackmail Beth and Beth reminding him that, unlike her, he doesn’t have the stones to do anything but talk.
That was vintage Jamie and Beth. Why the hell was it the only scene in their “war” this week?
Another scene I’d have liked more followup to: Monica and Kayce’s conversation.
Kayce: All we gotta do is walk away from this place.
Monica: Is that what we’re doing? Walking away from this place?
Kayce: I’ve been trying to do just that my whole life.
Monica has never wanted any part of the ranch or the dirty dealings associated with it. Kayce’s desire for him and Tate to have some sort of relationship with John has been a sore spot throughout their marriage.
Thus, their story deserves more than a couple of lines on Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 13, especially considering how little Monica has to do.
She’s mostly stood around offering Beth coffee or asking Beth what SHE is going to do.
Monica has always been a strong woman who doesn’t want Kayce to drag their son down into a life of questionable morals, but she’s barely visible this season, which is not cool.
Has Yellowstone Lost Its Way Since John’s Death?
It’s tempting to blame all the wrong turns this show has taken since Kevin Costner left solely on Costner’s absence.
However, this season likely would have had the story about losing the ranch regardless, and it might not have been written any differently.
In any case, John Dutton is gone, and Beth is only giving lip service to caring because she’s not doing anything to fight for the ranch or for his legacy.
I was more intrigued by Rainwater’s plans than anything else on Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 13, and sadly, there’s no time to build anything around that.
Over to you, Yellowstone fanatics.
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Yellowstone’s series finale will air on the Paramount Network on December 15, 2024 at 8/7c.
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