Spoiler Alert: This article previews plot details from the first episode of “Yellowstone” Season 5.
Season 5 of “Yellowstone” is almost here, and the Dutton family has decided to let go of the past and work together to save their ranch. Just kidding! Non-stop drama and villainy return with a political bent, now that patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) has become the nation’s grumpiest ruler. While the time between seasons was bypassed by his election campaign, John apparently won in a landslide – helped by his two politically minded children, the heroic Beth (Kelly Reilly) and the sleazy Jamie (Wes Bentley). Meanwhile, Beth’s husband Rip (Cole Houser) and her other brother Case (Luke Grimes) are involved in cowboying. Yeah-hoo!
Ahead of the blockbuster season premiere, Variety spoke with Reilly, Bentley and Hauser about some of this season’s key strategic moves, how creator Taylor Sheridan’s writing is the show’s soul, and the moments that resonate most with fans.
How will John’s ruler affect your character?
Reilly: Beth thinks that politically, becoming the governor’s father is a necessary evil. Unfortunately, it is evil to save and preserve this land by keeping away the dogs that want it. That’s the only way they can protect it. I think there is actually more to it. I think she’s really proud of him. He’s a fourth generation Montanan – he’s Montana. There’s pride in seeing her father take on that role, and nothing gives Beth more joy than actually bringing it to the enemy, and her father doing that will do that. She is proud of him.
Bentley: Jamie doesn’t have a plan for the first time. He always had a plan, he always had ambitions. He’s out, but he’s always thought that this weird deal his father got him as a lawyer would eventually lead to something like governorship. This would provide some independence and some power of its own. So he’s willing to put all that in. But now that’s gone, and I think he’s just realizing that’s never going to happen. It was never going to happen. It does not have anything. He is full of anger. He wants revenge. He wants something. But I think he realizes that’s not going to happen, so maybe something will come up that helps him out of this mess. But right now it’s over, despite his rage.
Houser: With John becoming governor, Rip stepped into the position of running a ranch. Now he’s the caretaker, not just running the bunkhouse, which was his thing in the past. It basically looks at his full range, and what’s really nice about the way Taylor wrote it this year is that it gives Rip the opportunity to not necessarily fall flat on his face, but to make mistakes. John isn’t there to bounce ideas off of. So throughout the year and season you’ll get to see him learn on his feet how to run this huge ranch with a lot of responsibility.
What would happiness mean to your character?
Hauser: I mean, it’s not the way Taylor writes it. It’s not like it ever was. And I think it would be pretty boring to watch anyway [Rip and Beth] calm down, you know what I mean? What, you put them on a fucking island in Tahiti with two fucking straws in their drinks? It’s not what people want to see. So I think you have to keep it interesting, and Taylor did a great job in five seasons of doing that.
Reilly: I think happiness is something that Taylor leaves in small talk along the way. I think there are moments in this season where you see what that might be like for Beth. Whether he will give it to her, I don’t know. But I think that’s the point: There would be no drama if everyone was happy and there were no rivals and there was no pain and tragedy. We all know these characters exist in this developed world and the stakes are pretty high and there’s a lot to overcome. You know how Beth feels about healing, and I don’t think healing will happen overnight with her. Taylor’s cut the foundation of the river bed pretty heavy with pain and it’s such a big motivation and reason why they do things.
What is the hardest part of playing your character?
Reilly: I think the hardest part of this character for me is keeping her real. Some of the things Taylor has her do and say, I always have to stay attached, it sounds kind of trivial and obvious, an inner world of truth. So I’m always watching, “How can I get back into the character, despite the outrageous things he’s doing?” I’m protective of the writing because it’s so good, and some of it is just pure entertainment and some of it I also have to root it in her and keep it within the realm of something that’s completely true to how she would behave. You can tell that Taylor writes with such freedom as Beth, she doesn’t hold back, and so over the years of playing her now I’ve learned that where it’s really there is pushing it and seeing her in them. moments.
Stay in character [between takes]? No, that would kill me, so I tend to leave her at the end of the day in my outfit and go home. It definitely seeps into my psyche and I think about it a lot. It’s a challenging character and I’m very interested in hitting all those notes and making it real and doing the best job I can. But I try not to take her home. I don’t think my husband would want that.
Bentley: One of the hardest things about playing this character is that it’s against Wes to do that, the specific things that he does. But I really have to push myself aside more than ever to make room for Jamie and his weird choices and decisions. I mean, Jamie always thinks he has the smartest move. He also has a really strong sense of right and wrong, but it’s within him. There isn’t really right and wrong in the world, and right and wrong change depending on what needs to happen at the time. So this moral compass shift is really hard to find, but it’s also very interesting. It’s what fascinates me about him because that’s what’s so complicated about him. What is really right and wrong for him?
How do fans approach you to talk about your character? What is the scene or moment that people bring up the most?
Bentley: Yeah, absolutely, especially where we’re shooting in Montana, everyone feels comfortable with us and knows us pretty well. Sometimes I shop in town and people feel free to yell at me across the store that they hate me, but they have a smile on their face. [Laughs] It’s a lot of fun, or they have suggestions for what Jamie should do, or they have healing things they would help Jamie with. It’s amazing. It’s also fun because they have a lot of passion. They’re really invested in the characters and the outcome, so it’s a great experience.
Hauser: One of the fan favorite moments is the scene with Beth and I sitting on the porch when she gives me a ring — when I say it’s like a nut. I think they actually make such a ring by some famous jewelry company and will sell it.
Reilly: There’s a scene that people really responded to me in Season 2 when Beth is attacked in the office. I think that was a turning point for people who fell in love with the character. She’s not just a hot bitch, she was actually someone who could really fight and defend. There was a price in that—They could kill her, they could rape her, but she would never let them take her power. And it was shocking and empowering for many women. That and the scene in the boutique where she sweeps the store. They love every time Beth destroys something. People love it. It’s kind of enlightening about the American psyche.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
