Spoiler Alert for 1883, 1923, & Yellowstone
This article mentions suicide.
The Dutton family experiences a long list of tragedies inYellowstone,with many shocking deaths marking the Dutton family tree. Many of the family’s heartbreaking tragedies occur with their ongoing fight to maintain control of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. The family’s perils begin in 1883 when they traverse a northwestern trail from Texas to Montana in search of a more satisfying life. The unsavory incidents that theDutton familyfaced inYellowstoneprequel,1883,set them up for more hardships.
Despite James and Margaret Dutton, John Dutton III’s earliest known ancestors, making it to Montana, their daughter experiences a tragic fate. Elsa’s fate is just the first sacrifice of many the family makes for the next 140 years while defending their land, which began with James Dutton’s dream. Only a few Dutton family members escaped the family’s trend, like when John Dutton II passed away of cancer with his head on his son’s shoulder. Likewise,John Dutton IV dies inYellowstoneseason 5, but his namesake ensures Monica that her baby had a perfect life.
9Claire Dutton
Claire Dutton Shot Herself On The Oregon Trail
Claire Dutton’s death was sad, but there was quite a bit of build-up to the moment when the grieving mother shot herself on the Oregon Trail. Claire never even left Texas, where the family’s journey begins. James Dutton’s sister remained sour about the journey as the family prepared to tag along with Thomas and Shea’s wagon train. She sealed her fate as the pioneers camped by the river, throwing a rock at an unruly man who came to water his horse nearby.
…once her daughter is gone, Claire no longer wants to continue on the journey and shoots herself in the head with a pistol.
Claire’s attack started a gunfight, and someone shot her daughter, Mary Abel. The mother remarked as she sat by the river bank after Mary Abel’s death that she had lost six other children. From her perspective, Claire has no choice but to go on the wagon train to Oregon after her husband, Henry, dies, leaving her dependent on her brother. However, once her daughter is gone, Claire no longer wants to continue on the journey and shoots herself in the head with a pistol.
8Jamie Dutton
Beth Predictably Killed Jamie Dutton
While Jamie’s death was a long-awaited epic conclusion to a massiveYellowstonestory, it didn’t necessarily shock its audience. In contrast, fans and critics cited Jamie’s death as universally predictable, and that claim has quite a bit of merit. Jamie Dutton barely had a story inYellowstoneseason 5, part 2, another woeYellowstoneaudiences expressed, and his story primarily dealt with his downfall and threats from his sister that she was going to kill him.
Jamie’s Yellowstone Final Fate Is So Bad, It’s Insulting To Wes Bentley
Yellowstone ends with a definitive send-off to Jamie Dutton, but after five seasons, it’s a less than satisfying way as a swan song for the character.
After Jamie and Beth’s sibling war experienced a lull in the first half of part 2, Sheridan left Jamie’s death for the final episode. After John Dutton III’s funeral, Beth takes off to her brother’s house, refusing to turn the car around when her husband calls. Once inside his home, Beth attacks Jamie, and he fights back. A bloody brawl ensues, with the siblings rolling around on the floor and taking punches. Ultimately, it’s still shocking to watch asBeth stabs Jamie in the abdomenin cold blood.
7James Dutton
James Dutton Dies In A Shootout With Bandits
While it was shocking to watch the seemingly impervious James Dutton take a hit, the pioneer’s death was inevitable. In Sheridan’s1883Yellowstoneprequel, James Dutton helped lead a wagon train of emigrants on the Oregon Trail, and the former farmer and Captain cheated death along the journey more times than he would care to count. Despite many close calls, James survived the journey, settling in the Paradise Valley in Montana and setting up the1883prophecy from theYellowstonefinale.
Similar to James Dutton’s death in shock value, Margaret Dutton died after freezing in a ditch.Elsa Dutton’s narrationin1923confirmed how. While Margaret’s death was a terrible fate, her husband’s death inYellowstoneforeshadowed that Margaret wouldn’t make it, and the franchise never actually shows her death on screen.
James Dutton makes a homestead after his harrowing journey, but the perils of his dream aren’t over.Yellowstone’s flashbacks to the1883charactersin 1893 and 1894 show James and Margaret’s life after they settle. The flashback that opensYellowstoneseason 4, episode 4, “No Kindness for the Coward,” explains that after a shootout with horse thieves on his land,James dies of a gunshot wound inflicted during the fight. While it was inevitable James would die, his character once seemed invincible to death.
6Emma Dutton
Emma Dutton Shoots Herself After Her Husband’s Death
Emma’s death came out of the blue, but she wasn’t a starring character in the series, and signs that the grieving widow was struggling existed. Emma Dutton is a character in Sheridan’s1923Yellowstoneprequel. She married into the family, tying the knot with John Dutton I, a boy in the1883story who was featured as an adult 40 years later in1923.While she isn’t in a leading role, Emma has a sturdy place alongside Helen Mirren’s Cara Dutton character before her untimely fate.
Emma’s fate is reminiscent of Claire Dutton’s death and Monica Dutton’s sister-in-law, who both took their lives after losing a vital piece of their family.
After her husband’s death,Emma shot herself in the Dutton family’s lodge in1923.Emma’s fate is reminiscent of Claire Dutton’s death and Monica Dutton’s sister-in-law, who both took their lives after losing a vital piece of their family. Sheridan riddles his tales with tragedy, and stories like Emma’s play an unfortunate part. Emma’s death leaves her and John Dutton’s son, Jack, without any parents. Emma Dutton’s death reflects the family’s despair while maintaining their ranch during the Great Depression.
5Elsa Dutton
Elsa Dutton Succumbs To Infection After A Fatal Wound
WhileElsa Dutton’s death in1883is undoubtedly one of, if not the most memorable, the whole point of her demise is rooting for her anyway, despite knowing it’s coming. In the opening scene of1883episode 1,a Lakota warrior shoots Elsa Dutton in the abdomen with an arrow. The scene is a flashforward to the penultimate episode of the series, when the Dutton family is well into their journey, and James, Shea, and Thomas tamper with a horrific crime scene that leads the Lakota warriors to attack their wagon train mistakenly.
While Elsa’s death is heartbreaking, it sets the basis for the entire series, establishingTaylor Sheridan’sYellowstoneprophecy in1883.
Elsa is caught up in the attack, trying to distract the warriors and protect the wagon train by leading some of her assailants in the other direction on horseback. Elsa falls off her horse when struck in the back of the head. When she wakes up and finds the wagon train in shambles, Elsa fights for her life, shooting several warriors before one pierces her liver with a poison arrow. Elsa doesn’t die immediately, but Spotted Eagle confirms in the finale that Elsa will die of her wounds, and she dies in her father’s lap once they arrive in Paradise Valley.
4John Dutton
Banner Creighton Shoots John Dutton In The Eye
John Dutton is a significant character in theYellowstonefranchise. He appeared in each of Sheridan’s established Dutton series at a different stage in his life. In1883,John was just a 5-year-old boy when he made a northwestern journey from Texas to Montana with his family. In1923,John appeared 40 years later as an adult with a wife and child.Yellowstoneflashbacks to 1893 and 1894 also feature the character as a teenager after the family settled in Montana.
Due to his extensive presence in the franchise, John Dutton I’s death was shocking, primarily because the character was previously impervious.
Due to his extensive presence in the franchise, John Dutton I’s death was shocking, primarily because the character was previously impervious. It’s incredible that John I didn’t die as a 5-year-old on the Oregon Trail, surviving shootouts simply by hiding in the family’s wooden clothes bin. After making it through their harrowing journey, it seems cruel that, hungry for revenge,Banner Creighton takes John Dutton out with a shot to the eye(and several blows to his chest) with his machine gun.
3Evelyn Dutton
Evelyn Dutton Dies After Falling Off Her Horse
Of all the Dutton deaths, Evelyn Dutton’s is one of the least violent but most disconcerting. Evelyn Dutton is John III’s wife. She is long gone by the timeYellowstonekicks off but appears in flashbacks inYellowstoneseason 1, episodes 3 and 7. Evelyn’s presence in episode 3, “No Good Horses,” is a particularly somber occasion, parallel to the modern-day timeline where Beth and the Dutton family are mourning the anniversary of Evelyn’s death.
What Happened To Evelyn Dutton On Yellowstone? Her Death & Complicated Relationship With Beth Explained
Evelyn Dutton’s death looms large over her family — particularly her daughter Beth — in Yellowstone. But was her death really Beth’s fault?
When horseback riding with her children in a flashback to 1997, Beth and Evelyn have an altercation just before the Dutton matriarch’s death. Evelyn chides Beth, who is fearful on horseback and struggles to control her steed. As Beth’s horse loses its composure, her mother’s horse joins the panic, the steed bucks her off, andEvelyn’s spine snaps as the mother falls to the groundand lands on her back. Hearing Evelyn’s spine break was chilling, even though it was long confirmed that she didn’t survive.
2Lee Dutton
Monica’s Brother Shot Lee Dutton
Lee Dutton’s death was one of the most shocking of the franchise because we had no context for how perilous the Dutton family’s journey inYellowstonewould become. The Dutton family has experienced their fair share of tragedies, butLee’s death in theYellowstonepremiere kicks that off. The eldest Dutton son never made it home after John III confronts the Broken Rock Reservation with a convoy of cowboys and livestock agents to reclaim his cattle.
John Dutton’s Yellowstone Funeral References Its First Big Death
John Dutton’s funeral is emotionally tied to the inaugural Yellowstone death, highlighting the tragedies of the family throughout the show’s run.
Lee Dutton’s death inYellowstoneseason 1, episode 1, is especially shocking because John III’s son is positioned as a main character when the series begins. Lee’s brother becomes all the more vital to the series, and his father, afterKayce witnesses his brother-in-law, Roger Long, shoot Lee. Lee’s death was a clear message of the tragedy and death that would plague the series after. It’s the first death in a string of modern tragedies that afflict the Dutton family tree as they fight for their ranch.
1John Dutton III
Grant Horton Orchestrates John Dutton III’s Murder
WhileKevin Costner’s exit fromYellowstonewas announced well before the season 5, part 2 premiere, howYellowstonewould resolve John Dutton’s fate was a mystery. After the leading cast member didn’t join the cast ofYellowstoneseason 5, part 2, to close the series, a buzz about howYellowstonewould continue without Costner’s character emerged, andYellowstoneseason 5, part 2, wasted no time explaining how the Dutton patriarch would factor into the back half of the fifth season.
Yellowstone Season 5 Ending Proves Taylor Sheridan That Kevin Costner Still Has The Last Laugh
The ending of Yellowstone proves that although it is able to continue past his exit, Kevin Costner is still the core of the Taylor Sheridan show.
TheYellowstoneseason 5, part 2, premiere opened with John Dutton III’s death. While it initially looks like John’s cause of death was suicide as his children arrive at the crime scene, Kayce’s efforts to reopen the investigation into John’s death pay off. When the state reopens the investigation, John Dutton’s death is investigated as a murder. Still, Kayce doesn’t wait for the state to solve the case before intervening, uncovering thatGrant Horton was hired to murder John Dutton. Despite knowing Costner wouldn’t return toYellowstone,John’s death was possibly the most shocking of all.
Yellowstone
Yellowstoneis a neo-Western drama series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, centered on the Dutton family and their fight to protect the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch from various adversaries, including land developers and nearby reservations. Premiering in 2018 on Paramount Network, the show has been praised for its depiction of power struggles, family loyalty, and rural conflicts. It has expanded into a franchise with spin-offs such as1883and1923, and an upcoming sequel series is in development.
