This presents an opportunity for Yellowstone to rebrand the iconic Y. In order for the show to take a new, deep breath of fresh Montana air, here are certain plot points and story beats the creators should consider.
Give John Dutton His Due
Much of the behind-the-scenes drama regarding Yellowstone came from lead actor Kevin Costner’s feud with the producers and showrunner Taylor Sheridan. This resulted in a sudden and definitive social media post from Costner saying he would not be returning, which left the show in a tight spot.
The mid-finale storyline of season 5 left on a cliffhanger surrounding the growing rift between John (Costner) and his adopted son Jamie (Wes Bentley). There has always been tension between those two characters, and John has often treated Jamie like the proverbial “step-child,” which in a sense, is accurate. Perhaps it’s a simple fix to merely have Beth step in to be the new head of the family, and her relationship with Jamie is equally as toxic, but that doesn’t address everything.
John was so ingrained in the show, that regardless of the fact that Costner’s screen time had gone down in years, he remained integral. When the show went to break, John Dutton was Governor of Montana, was working on ensuring the Yellowstone stayed with the family, and was readying an appeal to get Summer (Piper Parabo) out of prison. The series simply cannot kill him off and move on. It needs to tie up these loose ends.
A time jump might solve the issue, and months after his death, it can provide some simple answers. Perhaps he pardoned Summer as one of his final acts as governor, perhaps now Jamie, running basically unopposed has taken the position, and can create some real tension with the family as he is in a position of power. Those are all season 5 issues. Season 6 needs to give both the character and the actor who truly gave this show a piece of himself a proper goodbye.
The solution? Bring Costner back. Not an easy solution, of course, but perhaps it can be achieved for one last episode. This could be a flashback, or a series of flashbacks, where we can see some of these resolutions, so it’s not simply one line of exposition where a character states “One of John’s last requests was…”