You know you’re in for a special episode Yellowstone when it opens with young Rip bashing in some cowboy’s skull.
John’s past continues to be at odds with the present as the future of John Dutton’s ranch reaches a significant turning point in The Dream Is Not Me. In this game-changing episode, not only does Beth say how outdated (read: poor) her father’s business model is, but John bitterly admits that she’s right. In season four, for all of John’s antics, pronouncing himself a rock against which progress crashes, it turns out that his pride is doing more to damage his family’s legacy than to save it.
Here’s what happened this week
A shirtless Jamie has arranged a concert for the manipulative Sarah at his place, playing the world’s smallest violin for him and his dad to justify his latest plan to take down John.
All Jamie wants is a little gratitude from the dad he’s about to impeach. After all, it was John who wanted Jamie to become a lawyer, while Jamie dreamed of learning how to run a ranch. Instead, John accepted Jamie to Harvard, where Beth probably wrote the admissions essay. Now Jamie wants respect and praise to become the business tool his father was meant to be. (If you’re looking for your father’s approval, maybe don’t plot to destroy and/or kill him.)
It’s too late to talk about why Jamie the worst; No one will sympathize with this Ivy League patricide lover. Especially when Sarah informs him that her bosses are going to sue her dad for custody, which could bankrupt the state of Montana. This is grounds for impeachment, Sarah argues, and Jamie’s smug, doe-eyed ass takes the bait.
What’s really sad is that all of this happens alongside John, reluctantly, painfully realizing the error of his ways. Or at least the futility of stubbornly clinging to them. Stopping construction of the airport to save Yellowstone becomes his downfall, along with a potential virus in his cattle that could cost John his entire herd. Beth notes that the ranch cannot afford the millions of dollars it would cost or the months it would take to move some of the cows to a new location where they can be cared for. Short on cost-effective options, and keenly aware of Beth’s criticism of how flawed John’s business acumen is, John realizes that maybe he can use his title as governor to make up for his mistakes. But he better do it fast, because Sarah ends up being Jamie’s legal wrecking ball.
This week’s MVP
Jamie’s secretary. We’re surprised, too, but like everyone else on this show, except her boss, she sees through Sarah’s long con. He knows that Sarah is completely bad news and that nothing good can come from hanging out with her. But Jamie is too mute and too high in his new life as a 90s erotic thriller star to hear. But hey, at least he tried.
Burning questions for the next episode
1. How will the flashback of Rip’s murder factor into all of this?
Flashbacks are on Yellowstone tend to pad runtime more than actually advance the story in meaningful ways. The series has already used Rip’s past to find out why the boy is so loyal to John, but this time … something seems different. Why show us such a formative kill in young Rip’s life if it’s not going to bite him and John in the ass soon enough?
2. What will happen to Jamie when Beth finds out about Operation? Impeach Papa John.
Judging by the trailer for the next episode (which doesn’t air until January 1st, by the way), it looks like Beth, or someone who also hates her brother, is giving Jamie a well-deserved kick in the ass. It looks like Jamie is wasting no time in starting impeachment proceedings, which means John and Beth will have to take off the gloves and fight a war on two fronts to save the ranch and stop Jamie. It’s actually three fronts. Don’t forget Sarah. Because he and his evil employers won’t stop until a new Dutto is in office to help them turn Yellowstone into asphalt.
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