'Yellowstone' Season 2 Episode 2 preview: 'New Beginnings' hints at the upcoming turmoil on the Dutton ranch
Warning: This preview contains spoilers for episode 2
On its opening night, Paramount Network's 'Yellowstone' managed something that a cable television series hasn't in the longest time—the show was renewed for a third season.
In fact, the announcement was made even before the show's premiere.
On the opening night, however, the pilot episode titled 'A Thundering' amassed 2.4 million live and same-day viewers. The show has consistently done well—the first season of 'Yellowstone' averaged 5.1 million total viewers per episode, which made it 2018's most-watched new cable series.
The series follows John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner), a patriarch who controls the largest contiguous ranch in all of America.
The land is constantly under threat from external forces such as land developers and a Native American community from Montana with their own reasons and methods of claiming the Dutton ranch.
John, along with his children Kayce (played by Luke Grimes) and Beth (played by Kelly Reilly), will do everything in their might to save their ranch and preserve their legacy.
'Yellowstone' returns to Paramount Network on Wednesday at 10 pm ET/ PT for its second episode titled 'New Beginnings', which has some explosive developments.
When the first season of the show came to an end, it left us with a cliffhanger: Costner's John Dutton might have cancer.
However, towards the end of the first episode of the next season, it is revealed that Dutton Sr just had an ulcer that ruptured. A veterinarian is then forced to carry out a surgery without anaesthesia because she only has anaesthesia for horses and it wouldn't work on humans.
Having survived the surgery, John Dutton stumbles out of the hospital, more determined than ever to protect his ranch and the legacy of Yellowstone.
With John out, Kayce is finally made in charge of the cowboys.
On his very first day in charge, Kayce gets into a fist-fight with Rip (played by Cole Hauser) because, obviously, there is tension between the two.
The fight sequence is barely two minutes long and ends with Hauser's Rip losing to Kayce, who makes a statement that has perhaps never been made on the Yellowstone ranch ever before: "There is no fighting on this ranch. You wanna fight, come fight me."
On the other hand, John's favourite child Beth starts buying up land to protect the ranch.
While she is at it, she and Rip also reminisce about their relationship—from seeing each other for the first time as young kids and what they have grown up to become.
The second episode doesn't see much of Wes Bentley's Jamie Dutton, who is still being kept at a distance by his father.
Episode three, 'New Beginnings', also shows Monica Dutton embark on a new beginning.
Having joined the university to teach "history of my people", Monica has made up her mind to leave the reservation and move into the accommodation provided by the uni.
What does this mean for her relationship with Kayce?
Despite the two briefly running into each other, we won't be given the answers in this episode.
'Yellowstone' will return to Paramount Network on Wednesdays at 10 pm ET/ PT.