This 1883 Line May Have Predicted Yellowstone’s Ending, Fans Are Buzzing

Yellowstone season 5 finale concludes its most significant stories with an ending that was previously revealed two years ago. Montana’s Indigenous people finally disrupt the Department of Interior’s pipeline when they successfully displace its pipe in the episode’s opening. Beth and Rip bid farewell to the Yellowstone cowboys, who all have exciting endeavors on the horizon. The finale also wraps up Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III’s story, who died in the Yellowstone season 5, part 2 premiere.

Beth and Jamie’s war in Yellowstone wraps up as well, with the siblings engaging in an intense brawl. When Rip arrives, he holds Jamie for Beth to stab him in cold blood, with John’s daughter successfully avenging his death. However, none of those segments topped the fate of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, which Kayce sold to the Broken Rock Tribe. The perfect ending was pre-ordained in another Taylor Sheridan series, bringing the story full circle for 1883 viewers.

1883 Established The Prophecy About The Fate Of The Dutton Ranch: 1883 Pre-Determined Yellowstone’s Ending

The Yellowstone season 5 finale ending ties to Sheridan’s 1883 Yellowstone prequel series that chronicles the Dutton family’s pioneer journey from Texas to Paradise Valley in Montana. It follows James and Margaret, who travel in a covered wagon with their children, John and Elsa, as they face the horrors of the open wilderness. As the eldest of James and Margaret’s children succumbs to a fatal wound, James seeks a place to buy her, vowing to settle down and stay wherever Elsa’s journey ends. Thus, James Dutton finds the Paradise Valley in Montana. However, James’ settlement has a catch.

With its pre-determined ending, Yellowstone‘s most significant events happened for a reason. Primarily, the series needed to include John Dutton’s death in the Yellowstone season 5, part 2, premiere, which opened Beth and Kayce to making decisions without their father’s influence. While John was alive, his children were motivated to fight for the ranch. After his death, however, Beth and Kayce are free to act on their desires, which include walking away from the ranch or selling it, respectively. Kayce taps into a solution that serves both six-generation Duttons. The solution also fulfills the family’s pre-determined destiny.

John’s death left his children with no choice but to surrender the ranch. Regardless of John’s influence and how it affects their decision, Beth and Kayce can’t afford to pay the massive inheritance tax to keep the ranch after their father dies. Admittedly, Beth and Kayce could have made a fortune dividing the ranch and selling it to private landowners. Instead, Kayce’s solution meets their needs and his father’s desire to keep the ranch whole while following James’ promise. The ending also makes a reality of Thomas Rainwater’s threat to John Dutton from Yellowstone season 1, reflecting the prophecy.

Why Selling The Dutton Ranch Is The Best Way To End Yellowstone: Taylor Sheridan Tells A Complete Western

Selling the Dutton Ranch was the best way to end the series because it gives each character what they need while fulfilling an important notion. James and Margaret Dutton’s journey on their equivalent of the Oregon Trail was part of a westward expansion in the United States that displaced prosperous Indigenous communities, like Spotted Eagle’s Crow people. The settlement of Native land depleted the resources that sustained the Native American way of life, as settlers came into the region and fished their rivers and hunted their buffalo, which they used each part of it to survive off the land sustainably. Yellowstone season 5’s ending, which uplifts Montana’s Indigenous community, is necessary for the series and the American media more generally, which has traditionally misrepresented American Indians.

Moreover, conflict exists between the communities, as shown in the opening scene as Elsa fights Lakota warriors who have surrounded their wagon train and attacked violently. Still, it’s because the Lakota women and children have been raped and killed, and the tracks lead to the Duttons’ wagon train. Thus, Sheridan’s series depicts the complete reality of the American West, empowering the Indigenous people by telling their whole story rather than casting blame. Therefore, Yellowstone season 5’s ending, which uplifts Montana’s Indigenous community, is necessary for the series and the American media more broadly, which has traditionally misrepresented American Indians.