Another week, another death on Yellowstone. Whose ticket got punched in Sunday’s heartbreaking episode? And how far did Kayce go to ensure that his wouldn’t be next? Read on…
‘HE’S A COWBOY, SUFFERING’S THE JOB’ | We should’ve guessed what was to come when “Counting Coup” started with a cute Colby/Teeter phone call in which the cowboy let slip that he loved his marble-mouthed girlfriend. “I’m two coffees away from having this conversation,” he insisted. But it was too late; Teeter knew damn well that his heart was hers. So of course, later in the episode, tragedy struck. Colby intervened when Carter found himself cornered in a stall by a singularly ornery stud. And though the boy made it out only a little worse for wear, by the time he’d grabbed a rifle and put down the horse, Colby had been kicked — to death.
And that was just part of a singularly s—ty day at the ranch. In other developments, Rip gave Lloyd instructions to prepare the cattle for a dispersal sale. “Uncle Sam wants his pound of flesh,” Rip explained, “and we don’t want to give it to him in land.” He even called Travis to ask him to sell off all of the show horses. Did Rip want to talk to Jimmy, who was working toward becoming a horse trainer? Nah, Rip said, he didn’t have the heart to break it to the younger man that John was gone. That left the task to Travis, who at least was able to reassure Jimmy that he wasn’t firing him.
‘A BOWL OF CEREAL AIN’T COOKING’ | At Jamie’s, Detective Dillard informed Sarah’s lover that she hadn’t been killed in a carjacking; she’d been targeted. Before you could say, “Jamie, don’t,” Jamie had antagonized the detective and made himself look hella shady in the process. Refusing to let the cops examine Sarah’s belongings, the “f—king attorney general” complained that Dillard was treating him like a suspect. “No, I wasn’t,” the detective replied. “But I will now.” While Jamie frantically started shredding papers, Dillard filled in Kayce, whose old army buddy then pointed him in Grant’s direction.
In turn, Kayce gave Beth a fair warning. “This is all going to come to a head real quick,” he said. Well, whatever they did, they couldn’t let Jamie be arrested. If he spent one minute in the hot seat, he’d reveal all of John’s secrets, Beth knew. But she seemed to have an idea of how to handle at least that part of the situation. “The best lies are 90 percent true, and I’m the best f—king liar,” she reminded her brother. “You leave Jamie to me.” (If she doesn’t kill him by the finale, I’ll eat a Stetson!) Later, Kayce placed a call to Mo, saying that he now saw what he had to do — and needed a favor from Rainwater’s right-hand man.
‘ALL I EVER NEED IS TIME AND YOU’ Having heard about Colby, Beth sought out Carter and found him in the tack room. “I fell in love in this room. I got pregnant in this room. And then I told the love of my life that I never wanted to see him again,” she admitted to the boy before calling him honey and encouraging him not to blame himself for what had happened. She even went so far as to suggest that he shouldn’t spend the night there but with his family. “I don’t have a family,” he said. “Sure, you do,” she replied. And holy crap, was that the warmest Beth moment ever or what?!?
Next, knowing full well that Rip would also be beating himself up, Beth poured him a whiskey and lit a fire in the main house. “Now when you throw your whiskey glass in the fire, you get a big fireball,” she told her husband. “You’ll really feel like you did something.” That night, as Kayce packed up to go on a secret mission, he assured Monica of two things. 1. “What I’m doing isn’t best for the ranch; it’s best for you, for us.” 2. He’d be back the following evening. “I can see it now,” he told his wife. “I know what to do. Believe in me.” And what, exactly, was he going to do?
‘HAVE FUN EXPLAINING THIS TO YOUR WIFE’ | The next day, as Grant drove daughter Allie home from a soccer match, Kayce got in the car with them and threatened the little girl at gunpoint. “You should be scared,” he told the kid. “You know what your daddy does for a living?” With that, Kayce proceeded to strike a deal with Grant: He’d leave Grant’s family alone if Grant would leave his alone. Kayce had nothing to worry about, Grant swore; everything was bottled up. Nevertheless, before Kayce got out of the car and was picked up by Mo, he whacked Grant upside the head with his gun, thereby counting coup (taking a piece of his soul).
