'Yellowstone' season 2 episode 7 review: Jamie Dutton struggles with himself as Beth's meeting with the Beck brothers ends on a dangerous note
What an episode!
We have never been at the edge of our seats, gasping and biting our nails as we have during the seventh episode of Paramount's flagship show 'Yellowstone'.
Spoilers for the season 2 episode 7 of 'Yellowstone'
The seventh episode, titled 'Resurrection Day', for one, is a complete rollercoaster ride. Going by the title alone, our first impression was that the episode was going to be about redemptions – specifically, Jamie's (played by Wes Bentley) redemption after his deeds from the previous episode.
In 'Blood the Boy', Jamie ends up murdering Sarah, the reporter he gave a damning interview to after she refuses to modify her story.
Jamie's actions could easily be hidden under the facade of fear and desperation. Dearest sister Beth (played by Kelly Reilly), however, points out in 'Resurrection Day' that Jamie has never asked himself the question "who am I as a man?" instead, he was always consumed by "what kind of a man does the world think I am?" This very question makes Jamie.
On the brink of suicide, Jamie takes one of the Dutton rifles but is intercepted by John (played by Kevin Costner). He doesn't want his son dead. And so, Jamie looks for a fresh start on the ranch.
In the meanwhile, Kayce (played by Luke Grimes) and Monica (played by Kelsey Asbille) finally patch up. We have been waiting for this moment for the longest time. The couple made up, had some passionate sex, and then Monica moved into the Dutton house – the couple moved into John's room, who instead, moves into his oldest son Lee's cabin.
But this is not the highlight of the episode.
The seventh episode shows us the Beck brothers in their truest element. All this time since we were introduced to them, we were told the Beck brothers do not stop at anything to get what they want. And here we see it. It begins with Malcolm Beck (played by Neal McDonough) make a visit to Beth's office. He tells her a little story about a real estate hotshot who decided to "play dirty" with him. His intimidation falls flat because our Beth has a story to tell too. You can catch a sneak peek here:
But that is not to say that she doesn't get the message. Back at the house, she tells John how men like the Beck brothers want to be feared. And she is not going to give them that. So after he quietly walks out of her office, Malcolm sends two hitmen. In a (very) gruesome sequence – one from which Beth is indeed lucky enough to walk out alive – the hitmen beat her black and blue.
Beth knows this is a game of power and fear for the brothers, so even at her (physical) weakest, she is going to play it to win it. It is in the last few crucial moments that she is saved by Rip (played by Cole Hauser), who kills the hitmen. Right here is why we will never quit admiring Beth's character. In the face of death, Kelly Reilly's Beth is awe-inspiring in her resilience – she refused to give them the satisfaction of her being scared. She springs up in self-defense, shouts, yells, demeans, insults, even incites, but doesn't surrender.
Kayce promises to take care of this – we will let you watch this out because it is an absolute treat! We hope to see Kayce emerge assertive in the coming episodes. He is growing into the role that his father has for him at the ranch and frankly, we now know it is only Kayce who is fit for the job.
Oh, as a quick sidebar, the Beth brothers also canceled Dan Jenkin's (played by Danny Huston) liquor license.
'Resurrection Day' is about the Duttons starting their quest to keep what is theirs. It even ends with the promise that they will. And we know they will – there might be ups and downs, but they will. It remains to be seen how though.
'Yellowstone' airs Wednesdays at 10 pm PT/ET.