How the Horrific Deaths in ‘Yellowstone’ Dramatically Altered the Plot | it with shock you
The Yellowstone season 5 premiere episode closes with a horrific death and a massive blow to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Yellowstone is of course no stranger to sudden deaths, as violence is a common tool among the series’ warring factions. That said, the first death in season 5 still makes a huge and surprising impact.
With Yellowstone season 5 killing off Kayce and Monica’s baby – also named John Dutton – in the first episode, the message is clear: no one in the cast is safe. Moreover, the death of baby John could also foreshadow what’s in store for the future of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. This shocking death in the Yellowstone season 5 premiere could also affect the fight for Paradise Valley in a variety of ways.
Is The Death Of Monica And Kayce’s Baby Why John Wants A Conservation Easement?
Curiously, the biggest twist that follows the death of Kayce and Monica’s baby is John Dutton – now the governor of Montana – seeking a conservation easement for the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. This is an unprecedented move for John, as a conservation easement would technically put the ranch under the care of the state as a protected habitat and ecosystem. Under the terms of a conservation easement, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch would be closed to any and all developments, whether by Market Equities, the Duttons, or the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock. As Beth tells John, they could lose the whole ranch – to which John replied that at least the ranch would still be whole.
Indeed, the decision flips John Dutton’s role as the villain in Yellowstone, and it’s possible that John is seeking a conservation easement precisely because of the unexpected loss of his unborn grandchild. Rather than seeing the ranch get divided up and gathering what remains to pass onto the next generation of Duttons, John realizes here that his legacy only matters if his family remains intact. It’s possible that this sudden loss for the Dutton family inspired John to put the ranch under a conservation easement, a legal maneuver which could spare the Duttons from any more bloody encounters – while ensuring that their gorgeous slice of Montana remains intact as well.
Kayce & Monica’s Baby John Would Have Been A 7th Generation Dutton
Had Yellowstone season 5 not contained this tragic death, the seventh generation of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch would have welcomed its third member with baby John, which could be part of the reason why he died before being born. In Sheridan’s Yellowstone spinoff 1883, it was revealed that ranch founder James Dutton promised to release ownership of their Paradise Valley lands back to its original stewards after seven generations. While magic doesn’t exist in Taylor Sheridan’s Neo-Western universe, the narrative may intentionally play into the idea of this promise holding profound weight both for dramatic effect and to tie the two narratives even closer together.
While Kayce’s visions in Yellowstone season 4 – as Kayce explains – refer to a different “end,” the death of baby John also forces a reexamination of why a wolf followed Kayce and Monica whenever they made love. The wolf was revealed to be Kayce’s animal and spirit protector – but it’s also possible that the wolf took baby John because the Duttons still haven’t returned their land. In any case, the “death of John Dutton” has come, and John’s change of heart is just the beginning of how this shocking death will shift the balance of power in Yellowstone season 5.
