Kevin Costner's John Dutton The One Way Yellowstone Should End Without Killing

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Kevin Costner's John Dutton The One Way Yellowstone Should End Without Killing
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Transcript

00:00 The One Way Yellowstone Should End Without Killing Off Kevin Costner's John Dutton

00:04 With Yellowstone re-airing its first season on CBS amidst a plethora of strike-related

00:08 primetime TV options, the hugely popular Western drama continues to somehow gain millions of

00:14 new viewers who hadn't already tuned in on Paramount Network or streamed with a Peacock

00:18 subscription.

00:19 With all this renewed attention on Kevin Costner's John Dutton and the rest of the Montana-set

00:23 clan, it just makes the wait for the rest of season 5's episodes all the more frustrating.

00:28 Knowing there isn't much of a resolution in sight just yet, but going by what we already

00:32 know, combined with a bit of rumor mill fodder, I think I've come up with the perfect way

00:36 for Yellowstone to officially close out and set up the direct follow-up series without

00:40 fans having to actually see Costner's beloved character die.

00:43 John Dutton likely needs to die for the franchise to continue without Kevin Costner.

00:48 In a perfect world, Yellowstone wouldn't even be at the center of a speculative conversation

00:53 like this and wouldn't have sparked reports of behind-the-scenes chaos between Kevin Costner

00:57 and co-creator Taylor Sheridan.

00:59 But while the goals may have initially been to keep the Dutton family around and mostly

01:03 intact for another few years beyond season 5, the Oscar-winning actor's schedule issues

01:08 and outside projects such as his Horizon films have made it so that he's lost interest

01:12 in keeping the TV saga going year in and year out.

01:15 Which is why Paramount Network immediately gave the green light to a new continuation

01:19 series that's set to pick up right where Yellowstone's narrative ends up, with Matthew

01:23 McConaughey still starring in that project until otherwise reported.

01:27 Though it wouldn't be illogical or impossible for the flagship series to pass the baton

01:30 to its spin-off with John Dutton still walking and talking among the living, that plan lacks

01:35 a certain sense of practicality for all that the characters portrayed by Costar's kohlhauser

01:40 Kelly Riley and Luke Grimes are vital to all the mayhem surrounding the family's ranch.

01:44 This entire narrative is unmistakably tethered to the family patriarch and the same went

01:49 for the prequel 1883 and its between-seasons follow-up 1923.

01:54 And I cannot see another show rising up in its stead and taking over the story without

01:58 John being completely removed from existence, only only has to look at a show like NCIS

02:02 to understand how things could skew negatively if Kevin Costner's character is written

02:06 off the show in a non-fatal way.

02:09 Mark Harmon exited the CBS hit a few years back with his character Leroy Gibbs moving

02:13 to Alaska and since then, many fans have taken every possible moment to voice their wishes

02:18 for Harmon to return on social media and beyond.

02:21 With the show's cast and creatives often getting asked about their former costar, that

02:25 would absolutely happen if Costner bowed out in a way that left the door open for an easy

02:29 return.

02:30 Kevin Costner reportedly wanted a say on how John's story ended.

02:34 During Yellowstone's most hectic BTS period earlier in the year, some of the reports floating

02:38 around claimed Kevin Costner attempted to make demands about how the process would go

02:42 regarding the final episodes that haven't yet filmed.

02:45 It was said that he wanted more money, shorter hours, and the right to have final say on

02:49 Sheridan's scripts.

02:50 The filmmaker is known for his prolific writing as he handles scripting for most of his film

02:55 and TV creations by his lonesome, so it was never very likely that he would allow anyone

02:59 else below his job title to call the shots like that.

03:02 Other reports were more specific in claiming Costner wanted final say mostly over how John

03:06 Dutton's story will conclude.

03:08 That also seems like a stretch, but considering how many stars like The Rock and Vin Diesel

03:12 set up contractual obligations for their fictional characters to always win on-screen fights

03:17 and never get killed off, I can almost believe that Sheridan would at least hear out the

03:21 dancing with wolves that's concerns.

03:23 If I had to guess, I'd think that Costner is largely concerned with not having John

03:27 go out in a way that lacks any sense of character pride.

03:30 He probably doesn't want any low-ranking antagonists to take him out, especially not

03:34 after the coordinated attacks in Season 3's final that left him in the hospital.

03:38 And he likely doesn't want John to die at the hands of Wes Bentley's Jamie or anyone

03:42 else involved with the ranch that doesn't deserve it.

03:45 So that leaves us with presumably no one who counts as being good enough to take down the

03:49 biggest threat in Paradise Valley, except for maybe John himself.

03:52 How Yellowstone should end John's story without killing him off on-screen.

03:56 To circle things back around to the early years, John made it to Season 2 as a colon

04:00 cancer survivor, having had surgery to remove the applicable mass, and it's something

04:04 he's never been quite comfortable talking about.

04:07 So as depressing as it would be all around, I think it might make the most sense for Yellowstone

04:12 to bring John's cancer back during the final episodes, which would signify that true closure

04:16 will need to happen between him and others, and in a way that allows ample enough time

04:20 for such closer to take place before the final credits roll.

04:24 And what's more, bringing all those complicated feelings out while he's still alive would

04:28 justify wrapping things up without viewers having to watch the character taking his last

04:32 breath.

04:33 So I think the smartest way to go would be to end things on the door note that John Dutton

04:36 has a limited time span left, with the character's actual death happening at a time beyond that

04:40 point.

04:41 My next move would be to set up Matthew McConaughey's follow-up drama so that its narrative timeline

04:46 picks up right after John's canonical death, which would allow viewers to grieve with the

04:50 surviving characters without watching the demise play out in full.

04:53 Sure, it's weird for jumping into the heart of the mourning to be the best case scenario

04:57 there, but I think it sounds better than any version of a scene where John ends his tenure

05:02 on this mortal coil.

05:03 And I also think that might be a way to provide closure all around in a way that wouldn't

05:07 require someone to ask Costner to get made up to look like a gunshot victim or a cancer-ridden

05:12 corpse.

05:13 Of course, that theory may not be proven right or wrong for quite a while yet, without any

05:17 sign of when Yellowstone will be returning to production, much less when the episodes

05:21 will actually be finished and ready to air.

05:23 In the meantime, be sure to keep re-watching season 1's rollout on CBS every Sunday night

05:28 after 60 minutes, and head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see what will indeed

05:33 be cropping up on the small screen before the Duttons return.

Kevin Costner's John Dutton The One Way Yellowstone Should End Without Killing

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