‘Yellowstone' Season 3 Episode 5 Review: Will John's plan with Rainwater help him win the deadly power struggle?
Spoilers for 'Yellowstone' Season 3 Episode 5 'Cowboys and Dreamers'
Generations of the Dutton family have worked hard to protect their land and their own from outsiders, from "transplants", as Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) had once called them. The fights are deadly to say the least and so far, we've only been gearing up for the battle that is to come in Season 3 — a battle far deadlier and far more brutal than that of Season 2.
So far, we're only seeing each party prepare for the fight — meticulously arranging their pieces on the chessboard. John Dutton (Kevin Costner) has placed his eldest (surviving) son Jamie (Wes Bentley) as the attorney General. Beth (Kelly Reilly) is working relentlessly to tank Roarke Morris' (Josh Holloway) stocks. And Kayce is the new livestock commissioner. In the latest episode, he also has a new ally. Well, not-so-new since they worked together in the previous season as well. Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) visits John with his confidante Mo (Mo Brings Plenty). They must discuss their new problem that refuses to go away. "An insulting and wickedly ironic revenue stream for an Indian nation," Rainwater tells John about the casino. "It is a means to an end," he adds.
Even though they have had differences in the past (throwback to Season 1 when the two of them were embroiled in a vicious power struggle), they agree to once again join forces. "We can have our fight later but we won't have anything to fight over if they build a city here," Rainwater says. And so, the two agree to let Beth and Angela Blue Thunder (Q'orianka Kilcher) join forces to keep the 'transplants' away. We are very eager to see how this turns out. So far, the Paramount hit show hasn't seen anyone with the drive and power like Beth. We expect Angela to be the rightful match.
Angela is described as "a woman with pain in her past and unadulterated fury in her present". That is pretty much how we would also describe Beth. We are keen to see how they will together halt Roarke's plans and dreams for an airport. The episode began on a cold open — a flashback that finally reveals what went wrong between Beth and Jamie, and why they share the highly tense rapport that they do. We must point out that we are very pleased to finally see Beth and Rip (Cole Hauser) move forward at a steady pace. After two seasons, their relationship is out there — undeterred in the face of adversity.
The episode also confirms our longstanding belief that Kayce is the rightful successor to John Dutton as he goes out of his way, taking risks for the right reasons. Also, who is Wade Morrow? And what kind of a threatening message did he send John Dutton via Rip?
'Yellowstone' airs on Sundays at 9 pm ET/ PT on Paramount Network.