‘Yellowstone’ Season 5, Episode 12: 5 Things You May Have Missed, From Jimmy’s John Dutton Tribute To A Cowboy’s Death 

We lost another cowboy. Written by Taylor Sheridan and directed by Christina Alexandra Voros, Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12, titled “Counting Coup,” saw the Bunkhouse boys in mourning, Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) incriminating himself after the assassination of Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), and Kayce Dutton ( Luke Grimes) using his military skills to protect his family. The episode begins with a sweet phone call between Teeter (Jen Landon) in Texas and Colby (Denim Richards) in Montana in which Colby accidentally professes his love to her. After he tries to backtrack—typical cowboy not wanting to show any softness—Teeter won’t let him weasel out of his admission. “Fuck you, you love me and you said it,” she cries. Before Tweeter hangs up, she happily tells him, “I love you too.”

In the Bunkhouse, Rip (Cole Hauser) makes plans with Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) to sell as many horses and cattle as they can to help play the taxes on the Yellowstone Ranch. “I got one that can’t go to auction,” says Lloyd, referring to the colt he’s dubbed “The Maneater.” He adds: “Sumbitch needs to be put down.” While this registers with Rip, he is preoccupied with making a call to Travis Wheatley (Taylor Sheridan) who is teaching Jimmy (Jefferson White) how to be a horse trainer. Rip gives Travis the bad news about John Dutton’s death and tasks him with selling off the ranch’s show horses. Travis then delivers the news about John to Jimmy because Rip doesn’t “have the heart” to do so himself. Jimmy is heartbroken, of course, but refuses to take the week off as Travis suggests. “He was a cowboy,” says Jimmy of John. “He wouldn’t want work missed because of him.”

Meanwhile, Detective Dillard (Rory Cochrane) questions Jamie at his home following Sarah”s death. and Jamie reveals that their relationship was “personal.” When Dillard asks to send his man upstairs to collect her things, Jamie is shocked to hear that they suspect that Sarah was “targeted.” Desperate to hide the contracts that are in Sarah’s purse, Jamie puts on his lawyer hat and refuses to let them do their job. Jamie’s actions make Dillard suspicious and he promises to come back with a search warrant.

Back at the Yellowstone, Kayce’s old military buddy Cade (Jake McLaughlin) calls him with the name of the guy (and fellow veteran) responsible for setting up John’s assassination: Grant Horton (Matt Gerald). As Kayce enlists the help of Mo Brings Plenty (Mo Brings Plenty) to protect his family. As Dillard’s investigation intensifies, Beth attempts to keep Jamie quiet about the Dutton’s misdeeds and secrets.

Elsewhere, tragedy strikes at the barn after Carter (Finn Little) goes into “The Maneater’s” stall to fill up his water bucket. Carter is kicked and cornered by the colt. When Colby rushes into the stall to help Carter escape, the colt kicks him in the chest and kills him. The sequence that follows next is devastating: Rip calling Ryan (Ian Bohen) to inform him of Colby’s death, Ryan breaking the news to a heartbroken Teeter, the Bunkhouse boys driving home to Montana, and Beth coming to collect Colby’s personal items for his mother. Beth later comforts the devastated Carter and Rip, albeit in very different ways.

The episode ends with a thrilling sequence. Kayce sneaks up on Grant and his daughter Ally after a soccer game and jumps into the backseat of their car.Holding Ally at gun point, Kayce orders Grant to drive. “You should be scared,” says Kayce to the cowering girl. “Do you know what your daddy does for a living?” Kayce warns Grant not try to eliminate any more of the Duttons and assures him that he will be watching. “You touched me, but I can touch you whenever I want,” growls Kayce. Kayce slams the butt of his gun against Grant’s head before exiting the vehicle. “Where I come from, we call that counting coup,” explains Kayce. “That means I took a piece of your soul, and I’m gonna keep it.”

Let’s break down 5 important moments from the episode that will have repercussions throughout the rest of the season.

JIMMY’S NEW CAREER

Jimmy has always been special to John. Jimmy’s grandfather asked John to take Jimmy in after he got in trouble with drugs, and John and Rip gave Jimmy the option of taking the brand or going to jail. Jimmy chose the brand and the rest is history. Though he briefly strayed from the Yellowstone with his brief, injury-plagued rodeo career, Jimmy always had the heart of a cowboy. When John sends him away to the 6666 in Season 4, Episode 3, he tells Jimmy: This isn’t a punishment, Jimmy. It’s an opportunity if you let it be.”

Jimmy clearly took those words to heart. Along with gaining a fiancé, Emily (Kathryn Kelly), Jimmy also gained a new career path: horse trainer. Jimmy knows he’s lucky to have the ornery Travis as his mentor. “Please don’t fire me,” begs Jimmy at one point when Travis takes him aside. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sick of this shit, I hate your fucking guts, but you are one of the best at this.” Earnestly, Jimmy tells him: “I want to be one of the best at this.” A man like Travis can respect a statement like that.

BETH BIDS FAREWELL TO THE DINING ROOM

Monica is making breakfast in the kitchen, when Beth comes to get her coffee. As Monica takes the food off the stove, she asks Beth: “you want this in the dining room?” Beth sits at the kitchen island and settles in. “No, I’m not setting foot in that dining room ever again,” staes Beth with finality.

As fans know, the dining room has always caused Beth a great deal of stress. Beth Dutton famously freaked out in Season 4, Episode 8 when she bristled at the thought of sitting down at the table with her father and brothers as one big happy family, considering all the turmoil they’ve been through. “It’s the stifling, oppressive false fucking fantasy of a family that just doesn’t exist. It never fucking existed,” she famously told Rip. Now that’s John is gone, Beth is free of that room.

CARTER’S FINALLY HOME

After the Colby’s tragic death, Carter naturally feels responsible. “Who else is there to blame?” Carter asks Beth when she comes to see him. “I wasn’t supposed to be in there by myself,” says Carter tearfully. “There’s no one to blame at all,” says Beth firmly. She goes on: “The reality is Colby made a choice. He saw you in trouble and he chose to help you, and I’m sure glad that he did.” As Carter sits with that, Beth urges him to “be with [his] family” instead of “wrestling this alone.” When Carter tells her he doesn’t have a family, Beth swiftly replies, “sure, you do.”

Fans will remember that Beth took Carter in Season 4, Episode 2 after his drug addict father died in the same hospital as John who was being cared for after a previous assassination attempt. Unable to have children after having a botched abortion on the reservation as young woman, Beth sees Carter as the child she and Rip should have had. With her tough but tender approach, Beth will make a man of Carter yet.

REMEMBER EVELYN DUTTON

Kayce and Tate (Brecken Merrill) help move the body of the colt that killed Colby to the field near the Dutton family graveyard. “You gonna bury him here?” asks Tate, referring to John Dutton, his late grandfather. “Yeah, next to my mother,” says Kayce. “That where you want to be buried?” asks Tate. “That’s for you to decide,” replies Kayce. “I just want to be close to you.”

After a heartfelt conversation between father and son, the camera pans to Evelyn’s tombstone. It reads: “Evelyn Dutton, met God here.” Viewers saw Evelyn’s death in Season 1, Episode 3 when she was thrown from her horse and crushed when the animal landed on her. Now, John will be reunited with his beloved Evelyn in the afterlife.

A COWBOY’S DEATH

All cowboys want a good death. In Season 5, Episode 6, John expresses his envy after his friend Emett Walsh (Buck Taylor) dies under the stars during the Dutton’s annual cattle drive. “He just died on the trail, like every cowboy dreams it,” says John wistfully.

John was denied a cowboy’s death, but Colby came close. In sacrificing himself for Carter, his friends note: He died doing “cowboy shit.” As the Bunkhouse boys mourn the loss of one of their own, Ryan also takes comfort in the fact that Colby’s end was “quick” and he “didn’t suffer.” Teeter, wise in her grief, points out: “He’s a cowboy. Suffering’s the job.”

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