Review

The Dutton Ranch Season Finale And The Future

What happened to Rip Wheeler, Beth Dutton, and Carter as they left Montana for a fresh start? They encountered a whole new world of chaos.

Paramount+, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commonshttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dutton_RanchLogo(cropped).jpg

Dutton Ranch, the newest ranching adventure story from visionary creator Taylor Sheridan’s world, has rounded out its first season, and what a season it was!

Dutton Ranch reunited Cole Hauser and Kelly Riley from Yellowstone, Beth and Rip, with Carter (Finn Little), their adoptive son. As Yellowstone ended, Beth, the ever-loyal, fierce, and committed woman she is, was making moves to secure her and Rip’s future and give Rip something of his own. Rip Wheeler is the rancher who can tackle anything.

When tragedy strikes their first ranch, and they lose most everything, they move farther south and settle in an area called Rio Paloma, Texas. But their lives aren’t easy, and one would think that, given how their characters are written, they’re not meant to be anything less than the struggle Beth and Rip seem to feed on

Beth and Rip find a new herd, Carter starts school, and their lives move forward, until Rip finds a hint of trouble in the form of a body buried on his land. Rip’s not the only one who wastes little time finding trouble. Early on, Carter decides to play the hero and ends up in the jail cell of a sketchy local sheriff, who we’ll soon see is on the payroll of the local queen rancher, Beullah Jackson.

Right from the beginning, the show’s credibility was there, but when television manages to attract the talents of Annette Bening (Beulla Jackson) and Ed Harris (Everett McKinney), a show like this holds so much more intrigue to prospective viewers. As Yellowstone was, and will forever be, one of the most popular shows on television in the 21st century, continuing Rip and Beth’s story was something fans of the show desperately wanted, and along with that, the fans got a rare treat with two of the greats of our generation.

While Beth and Rip realize the pangs of growing a ranch in the area, they’re going to face off with the Jacksons, including Rob Will (Jai Courtney), and his hostile, addiction-fueled antics, which led to the body on the ranch and the Jacksons’ bigger secrets becoming a problem for all of them.

While the main cast stars are getting ready for the war that’s coming to the area, Carter’s struggling to grow up, accept his new lot in life post-Yellowstone, and find out what kind of a man he could be. We’ll see him develop a relationship with Beulah’s granddaughter, Rob Wills’ daughter, that won’t come without its problems and finds Carter on the outs with more than just his adoptive parents.

Sooner or later, the young generation finds themselves in the thick of the things that made the adults in the world who and what they become, including the sex, booze, and violence that makes television such as this so popular and interesting to watch. As the main story unfolds, we eventually learn of a possible permanent tie that binds between Carter (Finn Little) and Oreana Jackson (Natalile Alyn Lind). But not before Carter faces the police gunning down a friend and mentor in the area, someone he felt comfortable talking to.

As the finale comes around, things really heat up. We learned the secrets of the past, including the tragedy that hit Beullah as she was a young woman, and the harsh decisions she’s had to work to keep buried. We find out the big, successful, legacy-laden ranch Beullah Jackson runs has had its struggles, and led her to getting into bed with even darker forces from her past.

This was one of those that ended in a way that would have left fans blowing up the internet had they not already announced the expected renewal for season two. After watching the finale and the ending’s startling cliffhanger, it would seem that the darker forces surrounding the Duttons in Texas aren’t familiar with who they’re up against.

Check out the show on Paramount+, and get caught up. Sheridans got another hit and keeps making television worth talking about.