While Yellowstone fans might be facing a later air date for the series finale with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, that does not stop fans from questioning what the show’s final moments will hold for their favorite characters.
It was previously talked about during an interview with Wes Bentley, who plays Jamie Dutton, that the cast does not know what is in store for their characters, and of course, fans are weighing in on how they think the show will wrap…the theories are endless right now.
Luke Grimes, who stars as Kayce Dutton, confirmed that they still have not started filming the second half of season five to People Magazine, confirming that we could be looking at a 2024 air date for the second half of the season.
“We have not (started filming) because of the writer’s strike. I think we would be if it weren’t for that.
But that takes precedence over everything. They got to get that all sorted, and then we’ll be getting after it.”
Earlier this month, before the strike, People had asked the actor if he could hint at the future of Kayce.
“Here’s the thing with ‘Yellowstone’ and my character: hope doesn’t happen.
I just learned to take it as it comes, and that’s it.”
While some might disagree, there is no hope in Kayce’s character; the fact is that he has been through many trials and tribulations throughout all of the seasons. From having his youngest son Tate kidnapped, mending a relationship with his father, fighting for a loving yet complex relationship with his wife, serving as livestock commissioner, and many other plot lines… Kayce has done it all.
And throughout it all, Kayce has had many heroic moments giving hope to other characters.
Which, I think, in turn… gives him hope.
While he waits for filming to resume, Grimes embodied the Yellowstone way of life on and off the screen when he and his wife bought a ranch out in Big Sky Country two years ago.
His music career is keeping him busy and out of harm’s way for violating any SAG strike guidelines.
He has been pumping out new music and most recently took the stage at Under The Big Sky Festival, drawing a heck of a crowd.
While I am sure we all wish the hit Western TV show would return to our screens soon, I love that we can enjoy the characters we have fallen in love with in new lights. At least we can all stream Grimes and Ryan Bingham’s new music while we wait for their return once the strike concludes.
Luke Grimes embodies the cowboy of Kayce Dutton on and off the screen.
“Hold On”
Shop the Yellowstone Collection from Whiskey Riff Shop
The Dutton Family Tree
1883:
James Dutton
The original patriarch of the Dutton Family, James (Tim McGraw) was a farmer from Tennessee who took his family out west in search of a new life. The husband of Margaret Dutton and father of Elsa, John and Spencer, he chose to establish the modern day Dutton Ranch where his daughter Elsa passed away.
Margaret Dutton
The original matriarch of the Dutton Family, Margaret (Faith Hill) is married to James Dutton and the mother of Elsa, John and Spencer Dutton.
Elsa Dutton
Elsa (Isabel May) was the eldest child of James and Margaret Dutton. She also serves as the narrator of both 1883 and 1923. She was going to marry a cowboy named Ennis, however, he was killed on the journey West. She vowed to return to a Comanche warrior named Sam once her family reached its destination, however she was killed in an attack on the wagon train. The Dutton Ranch property was established where she died, and she was the first to be buried there.
John Dutton
John Dutton (Audie Rick in 1883, James Badge Dale in 1923) is the son of James and Margaret Dutton, brother to Elsa and Spencer. He was just a young boy during the events of 1883, however in 1923, he works alongside his uncle Jacob on the Dutton Ranch. He is married to Emma Dutton, and they have at least one son, Jack.
Claire Dutton
Claire (Dawn Olivieri) is James Dutton’s sister, who joins the journey west with her daughter Mary Abel. A widow, she kills herself once her daughter is killed on the trail.
1923
Jacob Dutton
Jacob (Harrison Ford) is the brother of James Dutton, who becomes the leader of the family once James passes away. He and his wife, Cara Dutton, work to run the ranch with their nephews, John and Spencer, and John’s son Jack.
Cara Dutton
Cara (Helen Mirren) is the wife of Jacob Dutton. A hard-nosed Irish immigrant, she becomes the matriarch of the Dutton family in 1923, following the passing of Margaret and James.
Spencer Dutton
Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) is the second son of James and Margaret Dutton. Born after the Duttons settled in Montana (and the death of his sister, Elsa), Spencer is a WWI vet who spends time hunting in Africa before returning back to Montana to work the ranch.
Emma Dutton
Emma (Marley Shelton) is the wife of John Dutton Sr. and the mother of Jack Dutton.
Jack Dutton
Jack (Darren Mann) works on the Dutton Ranch alongside his father, John Dutton Sr. and great-uncle, Jacob Dutton. He is engaged to Elizabeth Strafford, the daughter of another notable rancher.
My suspicion is that Jack may be the father of John Dutton II since the “II” title is generally used when the child is named after another relative, not the father.
This is just a guess, but my hunch is that John Dutton won’t survive 1923, and Jack will name his first born son after his late father… John Dutton II. The other option is that Spencer has a son who then goes on to father John II.
Elizabeth Strafford-Dutton
Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) is Jack’s fiancée. The two end up postponing their wedding briefly, but are planning on marrying very soon. There is also a suspicion that she might already be pregnant.
Yellowstone
John Dutton III
The modern day leader of the Dutton family and the current Governor of Montana. He is the father of Lee Dutton, Beth Dutton and Kayce Dutton, and the adoptive father of Jamie Dutton.
Evelyn Dutton
Evelyn (Gretchen Mol) is the wife of John Dutton III who passed away in a horseback riding accident when her children were young. She is the mother of Lee, Beth and Kayce Dutton.
Lee Dutton
Lee (Dave Annable) is the oldest son of John and Evelyn Dutton. The heir to the Dutton Ranch, Lee was killed by Robert Long (Monica’s brother) after an argument broke out over stolen cattle.
Beth Dutton
Beth (Kelly Reilly) is the daughter of John Dutton III and wife of Rip Wheeler, her father’s ranch foreman and right-hand man. Unable to have children of her own, her and Rip have taken in teenage Carter.
Rip Wheeler
Rip (Cole Hauser) is the Yellowstone foreman and right-hand man of John Dutton III. He came to the Dutton Ranch as an orphaned teenager after he killed his own father (who killed his mother and brother). Teenage sweethearts, he eventually marries John’s daughter, Beth Dutton.
Kayce Dutton
Kayce (Luke Grimes) is the youngest of the Dutton siblings, and a former Navy SEAL. He’s married to Monica Dutton and the father of Tate Dutton and John Dutton IV (deceased).
Monica Dutton
Monica (Kelsea Asbille) was raised on the Broken Rock Reservation. She is married to Kayce Dutton and the mother of Tate Dutton and John Dutton IV.
Tate Dutton
Tate (Brecken Merrill) is the oldest son of Kayce and Monica Dutton, the eldest of the 7th generation of Duttons.
John Dutton IV
John Dutton IV is the second son of Kayce and Monica Dutton, who tragically only lived a few hours following complications from an early birth and a car accident.
Jamie Dutton
Jamie (Wes Bentley) is the adopted son of John Dutton III and the black sheep of the Dutton family.
Christina
Christina is Jamie’s ex assistant and the mother of his child.
James Dutton Jr.
The son of Jamie Dutton and his ex-girlfriend Christina, Jamie finds out he has a son after the birth.
1923 is available to stream… NOW.
7 Generations
In that 1893 flashback from Yellowstone Season 4, we see that James has two sons with him, John Sr. (who will be a major character in 1923) and Spencer… Generation Two.
They should be in their forties or so by the time 1923 rolls around and will have children of their own (Generation Three), and John Sr. and Spencer might even have young grandchildren (people got married pretty young back then), so that’s Generation Four.
Now, here’s where it get’s interesting… John Dutton III (born sometime in the 1950s) of Yellowstone would be Generation Five, which means Kayce, Jamie (adopted), the late Lee Dutton, and Beth Dutton would all be Generation Six, and young Tate would be Generation 7.
And that’s exactly what Tim McGraw himself has confirmed.
Tim says he plays the great-great-grandfather of John Dutton in the bonus Blu-ray content:
“I play John Dutton’s great-great-grandfather. Our family is the first to discover Yellowstone and settle it. And in doing that, we are the first to really defend it and fight people off, and try to establish it and then survive.
J.D.’s the patriarch of the family. He’s the guy that had the balls, I guess, to set out and take his family across the country and head up to Montana, and sorta settle this unknown land, this untamed land up there, and turn it into something.”
Of course, which generation of Dutton has implications for the show because in the Season Finale of 1883, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) is on the verge of death and her father, James Dutton (Tim McGraw) needs to find a place to bury her because wherever they bury her body is where the Dutton family is going to settle.
So Spotted Eagle, a Crow elder, recommends a spot called the Paradise Valley.
But, there’s a catch… the Duttons can’t have it forever.
“Yes, Paradise. Good name. But you know this: that in seven generations, my people will rise up and take it back from you.”
To which James says:
“In seven generations, you can have it.”
Doesn’t bode well for the Dutton family in Yellowstone Season 5, does it?
If you’re looking for the entire Yellowstone soundtrack, complete through every episode of Season 5 so far, then look no further.
Our Yellowstone: The Soundtrack Playlist, featuring every song from every episode, updated in real time, every Sunday night.
