Kevin Costner’s Fate in Yellowstone: Was John Dutton Doomed from the Start?

It’s quite possible that if John Dutton (Kevin Costner) hadn’t died in the premiere of Yellowstone season 5, part 2, he would have died in the series finale regardless. Fans were curious how Taylor Sheridan would write Costner out of the show after he didn’t return for the conclusion. Yellowstone season 5, part 2’s premiere got the main question out of the way immediately, revealing that John Dutton had, allegedly, killed himself in the governor’s mansion. While John Dutton’s death was more complex than it seemed, the premiere wasted no time explaining that Yellowstone‘s patriarch was gone.

John Dutton’s death outraged some audience members after Kevin Costner’s controversial Yellowstone exit. Still, it could be that Taylor Sheridan moved on without John Dutton because, in the end, John always needed to die for the executive producer and screenwriter to end his flagship neo-Western story the way he intended. That said, while his fate was brutal, John’s death in Yellowstone season 5 wasn’t far from what Sheridan intended.

It’s Possible Kevin Costner’s John Dutton Would Have Died In Yellowstone’s Finale Anyway

John Dutton Had To Die For Yellowstone’s Intended Ending To Happen

Looking at comments from key creators, it’s pretty clear that John Dutton was always supposed to die in Yellowstone, and it was just a matter of when. That said, it’s possible that John’s death was supposed to happen in Yellowstone‘s finale. All of Taylor Sheridan’s other Yellowstone shows witness the death of a major character in the final episode. For instance, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) dies in the finale of the prequel series 1883, and Alex Dutton’s (Julia Schlaepfer) death marks the end of 1923. John’s passing in Yellowstone’s season finale would have fit that mold.

Executive producer Christina Voros confirmed John Dutton’s death was inevitable in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. When asked about John’s death, Voros said it was always supposed to be part of the conclusion, because Kayce’s (Luke Grimes) solution wouldn’t have been possible without his father’s passing. She said, “Inevitably, at some point, he was going to die,” and, “Even if there had been 17 more seasons with Kevin Costner, eventually in the story that is the saga of Yellowstone, that’s what happens. The patriarch passes and the legacy moves onto his children.”

If John’s death was always planned, but intended for the finale, then, suddenly, Yellowstone season 5, part 2, makes a bit more sense. The finale’s events all orbit John’s death, so it could be that Yellowstone’s finale was always supposed to show John’s fate, and the rest of the season was intended to set up its impact. The final chapter was filled with divisive flashbacks to before John’s death, which could have been the story that Sheridan set out to tell before he decided to move John’s death up to explain Costner’s absence.

What Would Have Happened To Yellowstone If John Dutton Lived

Taylor Sheridan Still Could Have Fulfilled Yellowstone’s Prophecy

While it’s evident that John’s death was part of the story Yellowstone set out to tell, it’s tempting to think about what could have happened if John Dutton lived. If the governor had somehow avoided the attack on his life, he would have continued fighting for the ranch, regardless of whether his adopted son, Jamie (Wes Bentley), the attorney general for Montana, successfully impeached him. If John had survived, perhaps he would have finally listened to Beth (Kelly Reilly), who said the ranch needed to turn a profit and enact her business plans, giving John the capital to continue.

Harrison Ford’s Jacob Dutton in 1923 solved a Dutton Ranch problem that Kevin Costner’s John Dutton never hacked in Yellowstone’s five seasons.

Technically, if John had lived and maintained his claim on the land, the end of Yellowstone season 5 could still have fulfilled Taylor Sheridan’s prophecy in 1883. In a conversation between John’s ancestor, James Dutton (Tim McGraw), and Spotted Eagle (Gil Birmingham), the Crow elder tells Dutton that he can settle the Paradise Valley, but that his people will rise and take it in seven generations, to which James replies they can have it. John’s ranch would have passed to Kayce eventually, then Tate (Brecken Merrill), restoring stewardship of the land to the Crows’ descendants after seven generations.