Yellowstone fans were prepared for the absence of Kevin Costner when season 5B finally premiered earlier this month, but they weren’t ready for the show to start playing with a nonlinear timeline.
Since the Paramount Network drama returned on November 10, many viewers have been confused by the time jumps, which have been presented without warning or explanation since that first “six weeks earlier” title card in episode 9.
“I hope not every episode is a before and after death time jump. I be getting confused until the after part comes on,” one perplexed X user tweeted after the November 17 episode. Another fan added, “The unclear time jumping in the new episodes of Yellowstone is kinda annoying lol I get it… but it’s messy.”
The timeline jumping appears to be cocreator Taylor Sheridan’s solution to filming season 5B without Costner, who left the series after completing season 5A while his character John Dutton’s story arc remained unresolved. John’s death was confirmed in the first few minutes of the season 5B premiere, so the flashbacks theoretically fill in the holes about what happened in the days leading up to his murder.
Still, it’s hard to know when each scene is happening, as there have been no further visual or audio cues that make it clear what’s a flashback and what’s not. Keep reading as Us Weekly tries to make sense of it all:
CBS Yellowstone director Christina Voros revealed the secrecy surrounding the final season goes all the way to the top — and she was the “gatekeeper.” “Half the cast doesn’t know what happens,” Voros told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday, November 5, explaining that she and creator Taylor Sheridan decided to keep the final six scripts […]
Episode 9, ‘Desire Is All You Need’
The season 5B premiere begins in the present day of the show, with the Dutton offspring finding out about their dad’s death. Everything before the opening credits happens in this time period. Beth, Kayce and Jamie, are all in Montana, while Rip is in Texas at the Four Sixes with ranch hands Jake, Ryan, Walker and Teeter.
After the credits, most of the rest of the episode takes place in the “before” period, starting six weeks before John’s death. This includes the scene where Beth tries to convince Rip to let her come down to Texas and visit as well as the one where Sarah orders the hit on John.
The end of the episode, however, returns to the present with the scene where Jamie finds out that Sarah is responsible for John’s death. Back at the ranch, Beth and Kayce go through estate paperwork and discuss the possibility that Jamie was behind John’s alleged suicide. The final scene shows Rip arriving home from Texas after Beth’s panicked phone call in the opening moments of the episode.
Kevin Costner shared his thoughts on the way Yellowstone handled his exit from the show in the season 5B premiere — and he has some notes. The Oscar winner, 69, weighed in on the Paramount Network drama’s return during a Monday, November 11, interview on SiriusXM’s The Michael Smerconish Program. Before reacting to the way […]
Episode 10, ‘The Apocalypse of Change’
The second episode of 5B is where things start to get a little messier, especially with respect to Beth and Rip. “The Apocalypse of Change” begins in the “before” period with a check-in on the Texas crew, who have accidentally set up camp on a rattlesnake pit. Beth, meanwhile, is on her way to the Four Sixes against Rip’s wishes. Once she arrives, they spend a romantic night in a hotel in town. (Kayce, meanwhile, is fixing up his new house with Monica and Tate.)
After the hotel scene, the episode returns to the present, where Rip is back in Montana and chatting with Lloyd about John’s death. Beth confronts Summer and later Jamie, becoming fully convinced that Jamie is responsible for the murder. Rip also goes to see Carter, who is worried that John “quit” him. Kayce checks in with Tate too, asking whether he has any interest in taking over the ranch one day.
The rest of the episode occurs in the present timeline, ending with a shot of the Texas crew riding off into the sunrise as they start another day of work at the Four Sixes. While that scene technically could take place in the before period, as Rip also made Ryan wagon boss during his hotel getaway, the somber mood hints that it’s part of the present timeline.
Yellowstone airs on Paramount Network Sundays at 8 p.m. ET.