Yellowstone Is Over — But These 10 Burning Questions Still Haunt Fans

Yellowstone is a thrilling Neo-Western show that has captivated viewers. Its popularity has allowed this universe to turn into a fantastic franchise. However, maybe because it is such an ambitious project, Yellowstone has a tendency to pursue many storylines and solve very few of them. After the show ended, it became clear to fans that they will never know the answers to several questions about the characters, the setting, and the general plot.

When a TV series builds such a vast world, it isn’t very pleasant if it doesn’t fully commit to giving satisfying answers. Yellowstone seemed to explore many paths, especially trying to acquire a particular aesthetic, but often forgot to see them all the way to the end. The result is a show with many plot holes and unresolved arcs.

We Will Never Know What Happened to Willa Hayes

Willa Hayes Was Played by Karen Pittman

Willa Hayes was the CEO of Market Equities, a powerful and intelligent woman who wanted to purchase the Yellowstone land. She was willing to pay a gigantic amount of money, but in the face of resistance, Hayes had a couple of aces up her sleeve. However, Beth outsmarted the woman, crafting a scandal that got her out of the company.

Willa was an excellent character. A formidable antagonist from the corporate world that didn’t use brute force to inflate her own ego. It would have been interesting for Yellowstone to include her in another story arc. After all, it simply makes no sense that Willa would allow Beth to taint her reputation without trying to get her position at Market Equities back, or at least get revenge on the other woman. But, as happens with many characters on the show, viewers will never know what happened to Willa after her downfall.

The True Identity of Jamie’s Biological Mother

Jamie Was the Biological Son of Garrett and Phyllis Randall

Throughout the course of Yellowstone, it is revealed that Jamie isn’t John’s biological son. John and Evelyn adopted baby Jamie after his father, Garrett Randall, went to prison for killing his mother, Phyllis. Jamie reconnected with his biological father, and he explained that he killed Phyllis when he found her using sex in exchange for drugs and abandoning Jamie. However, John told Jamie that Garrett influenced or even forced Phyllis into that lifestyle.

Since blood relations are such an essential part of Yellowstone, most fans expected a big reveal for Jamie’s biological mother. John Dutton isn’t particularly charitable, and he didn’t even formally adopt Rip. Many people assumed, for example, that Jamie’s mother was surely a Dutton or at least part of Evelyn’s family. However, the show never provides any more details about this character and, with Jamie gone for good, it’s unlikely it ever will.

Where Is Summer Going to End After Her Weird Relationship with John Dutton?

Summer Higgins Was Played by Piper Perabo

Summer is a strange character in that she did nothing to advance the plot nor receive any character development. She was an ecological activist, protesting the ranching in large areas such as the Yellowstone ranch. John Dutton wanted to show her the real thing, probably to change her mind, but ended up having a low-key sexual relationship with her. After Beth tricked her and got her into jail, John freed her and told her she was under house arrest at his house.

When John dies in the final season of Yellowstone, Beth tells her she is free to go, that there is no such thing as house arrest in another person’s house. It seems John lied to Summer so she would stay with him, but it’s also possible that Beth lied to her, as that’s the kind of chaotic evil she was. Either way, viewers will never know if Summer and John had a good relationship, if he technically kidnapped her, and what happened to Summer after her weird interaction with the Duttons.

It Seemed Like Cowboy Was Going To Become a More Important Character

Cowboy Was Played by Steven Williams

Throughout the second season of Yellowstone, a new day worker arrived to help the ranch hands move the cattle. He never says his real name, but he calls himself Cowboy. He was an older character with an air of wisdom but a tough personality. He used to know Walker from a previous job, so the two would talk among themselves, with Walker warning him about the dangerous dynamics at the ranch. A veteran cowboy with a lot of experience, he has plenty of advice for Walker and also great ideas for shenanigans, like the game of “cowboy poker.”

Cowboy was easy to like because he was intelligent, kind, and generally unproblematic. He kept to himself and respected people who were genuine. However, once his day work ended, he simply disappeared from the show. A lot of people expected him to be working undercover or for his character to become more interesting. However, nothing came out of it.

Whatever Happened to the Alleged Dinosaur Bones from the Reservation?

The Dinosaur Bones Should Have Had More Implications in the Battle for Land

In Season 1 of Yellowstone, Tate discovered what appeared to be dinosaur fossils on the Reservation land. He was extremely excited about his discovery and wanted to protect his treasure. However, after a drone caught images of the bones, some treasure hunters stole the dinosaur bones, and the subject was forever forgotten.

This storyline faded without any sort of conclusion. First of all, if there were some bones, it’s possible that there were more, but no one thought about looking for them. Were they valuable enough for treasure hunters to be interested in them, so why didn’t they search for more fossils or even take better care of these? The whole arc seems to be a metaphor for property and thievery on the grand scale of the show, but in reality, people truly wanted to know more about the bones. In fact, many fans speculated that they would reveal something about the land in the end, but, alas, there was nothing else.

What Happened to the Forgotten Airplane with the Explosives?

This Might Be the Most Inconsequential but Frustrating Plot Hole in the Series

In Season 2, Episode 9, “Enemies by Monday,” there’s a scene of Kayce planting explosives in a plane owned by the Beck Brothers. It led fans to believe there would be an explosion, deaths, an accident, or something. However, in the end, the Duttons kill both brothers by shooting them when they kidnap Tate, and the plane never appears again. So, the question remains: what happened to the plane?

It’s a ridiculous notion in many ways. Shows are purposeful in the content they create and offer to their audience. In real life, of course, a plan like that might have been discarded; however, on television, if it’s shown, it’s usually utilized. What happens to that plane after the Beck brothers die? Who inherits it? Is it doomed to explode, killing innocent lives eventually? Did Kayce remember to remove the bomb? It’s just too significant a thing, with hundreds of possible weird scenarios, to be forgotten.

Did Beth Ever Know that Rip Retrieved Her Wedding Ring from His Mother’s Grave?

This Might Be Yellowstone’s Most Gruesome Scene & That’s Saying Something

There are big questions about the Yellowstone franchise that need to be answered, but this small one seems to get under people’s skin. As everyone knows, Rip opened his mother’s burial site, and he removed her wedding ring from her finger. All of this to give Beth her mother’s wedding ring, which is probably Rip’s idea of being romantic. However, it’s also pretty gruesome.

The whole situation inspires several questions, though. First, why was Rip’s mother buried with the ring she received from the man who murdered her? Secondly, why would Rip want that as a symbol of his love for Beth? Third, and more importantly, did Beth know her wedding ring was on a cadaver, buried for at least 20 years? It might seem like a small detail, but it’s a whole interaction the fandom dies to see.

Robert Long’s Children Were Never Mentioned Again

It’s As If Robert, His Wife, and His Children Never Existed in the First Place

In case someone forgot, Monica used to have a somewhat big family in the first episode of Yellowstone. She had a brother, a sister-in-law, two nephews, and one niece. The show implies they are all pretty close, as they at least seem to spend a lot of time with Kayce and Monica. However, Kayce kills Robert, and Robert’s wife, Samantha, dies by suicide when she realizes she can’t provide for them. There’s even a scene of Kayce and Monica bathing the kid alongside Tate.

Samantha’s mother, the grandmother of the children, takes them with her away from the Reservation, and the children never appear again. Based on her contempt for the place, it makes sense she wouldn’t visit. However, Monica never speaks of them again, nor about her brother or sister-in-law. It’s like they never existed in the first place. After these children suffered the death of two parents in so little time, the audience truly would like to know if they are doing okay now.

Did the Duttons Sell the Helicopter?

This Is One of the Most Obvious Continuity Errors in the Show

Initially, the Yellowstone Dutton ranch owned a helicopter featuring its logo. John would use it to travel fast to other places, to monitor the land, and in a couple of emergencies to go to the hospital. It was a symbol of the wealth that came with generational riches and a gigantic ranch. It was also one of the many artifacts John used to intimidate people. However, one good day, it disappeared.

Since the family is always trying to find financial solutions to keep the land, a helicopter disappearing is no small thing. It was like the helicopter in Succession; it showcased the social and political position of the Duttons. Whether they lost it, sold it, or broke it, it was an important arc for the show. They likely decided to remove it for budgetary reasons, which is a sign of poor writing, so no one will ever know what happened to the famous helicopter.

Rip’s Identity Issue Is the Show’s Biggest Plot Hole

Apparently, Rip Can Live an Entire Life Without a Driver’s License or Any Document

According to the flashbacks in Yellowstone, Rip escaped from his home after killing his father because he had murdered his brother and mother. John found him hiding in his barn, figured out who he was, and took him to the ranch. Theoretically speaking, Rip is pursued by the police for murder, so he can’t have documentation. He could not legally marry Beth because he lacked identification, a birth certificate, or a Social Security number. Basically, John owned him.

However, Rip is still an essential figure in Montana. Most people know him as John’s right hand. He even has some encounters with the police, like when he killed a bear in self-defense. Strangely, no one has ever asked for an ID. John could have shushed Rip’s situation, but in that situation, he would have gotten him proper documentation. There’s always the possibility that John protected Rip enough for him not to be discovered, but not enough for him to have freedom. It is a detail worth exploring if the Rip and Beth spin-off becomes a reality.