‘Yellowstone’ Season 3 Episode 7: Who is Jamie's real father Garrett Randall, will he choose him over John?
Spoilers for ‘Yellowstone’ Season 3 Episode 7
There's a storm coming. In the latest episode of ‘Yellowstone’, a major revelation will leave you shaking like a leaf. Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) is adopted. No, we are not kidding. A fan theory that has been the buzz since Season 1, it comes true in episode seven titled ‘The Beating’ and leaves a hole in the heart. In the beginning, Jamie gets ready for work and scans through his meetings when his assistant asks him for a copy of his birth certificate.
"Can it be after the meeting?" Jamie asks, but his assistant says, "It must be on file to ratify your appointment, I think they want it done before the meeting." Jamie heads out to get his documents and his birth certificate from the locker. It takes a lot of time for his documents to be found and it is then that the counter lady tells him: "You didn't tell me you were adopted?" Shocked and startled, Jamie looks at her and says, "I'm not." Thrusting the piece of paper in his hand, she lets him peep at it herself. What does the document really say?
Name: James Michael Randall
Date of birth: May 12, 1978
Time of birth: 15:33
Place of birth: Gallatin, Bozeman
Venue: Bozeman General Hospital
Name of mother: Phyllis Mary Randall
Name of father: Garrett Randall
His first response is: "This isn't me." Looking at his birth certificate in pure disbelief, he is rattled. Then she presents him with another document — the Report of Adoption. In the section where it reads identification of adopting parents, he spots John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) name. And in another block, it has the name of his natural parents. Not just that, in another document, he reads how his natural father, Garrett Randall, executed an affidavit of waiver for adoption.
In a fit of rage, he says, "What the f**k is this?" As he turns over another page, he goes through the column where his permanent legal custody is awarded to John Dutton and Evelyn Dutton. "You were adopted," the counter lady repeats herself again. "And to figure out why your family lied to you, this is what took me time." She hands a brown file in his hand and he recognizes the criminal court record. Jamie opens the file and sees:
The State of Montana Plaintiff vs Garrett Randall the defendant
Case No. 4412341987
Convicted of Murder in the Second-Degree
At a loss of words, he is stupefied and exasperated. His eyes scan through the rest of the document:
Name of offense: Homicide and Assault
Synopsis of the case: "The deceased body of Phyllis Randall was discovered," and "Authorities arrested Garrett Randall..." catch his gaze
"I wouldn't go too hard on your dad on this one," the lady tries to sympathize with him. "I wouldn't want you to know that either." Jamie storms off with a string of riddles in his mind piling up like a heap of books with mere words but no answers in them. Back in his office, when the assistant knocks the door for the meeting, Jamie sternly tells her: "Not now." He gives her the file and tells her to find out if the man has been paroled. "If he has, I want his address, his phone number, his place of employment, everything..." Jamie says.
Confused, miserable and heartbroken, Jamie questions everything and ponders over his life as he looks at his reflection in a Harvard University certificate. "Who the fuck are you?" he mutters to his reflection in the mirror. Of course, Jamie wants answers and who better than John to give him that. As the episode comes to a close, John Dutton is seen frisking through old photographs in an album. Jamie enters. Confronting him about the adoption, he says: "You always preached the truth," and continues, "Are there different rules of judging you? I don't know the truth. I just know lies. I know the lie you told me every day of my life."
"What lie is that, son?" John asks. "That. That's the lie. You call me son and you made me call you father." Looking at the tense situation, John asks him to "sit down." When Jamie tries to misbehave saying, "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore," John retorts, "Then get the fuck out of my house. You can sit in my living room or you can leave it. Those are your options."
Finally, Jamie calms down and takes a seat. John then explains how his mother "never got a chance to love you" and "the woman who loved you and fed you and protected you was my wife and me." He then says, "I protected you, I guided you, I loved you, you can call me whatever you want, Jamie, but I will call you son, because I have earned the right, it is the hardest thing I have ever done."
Jamie has one question: "Did you know him?" John says, "Yeah I knew him." Sketching a picture of his real father, John tells him, "When he married the woman who gave birth to you, we begged her not to do it because we knew. But I guess she thought she could save him. I don't know how to explain the chemistry of attraction, the thing that drives us to kill ourselves."
Then John gives him an option: "You actually have the opportunity to choose." He tells him, "You are a resourceful man so I am sure you can find him and you can look at his black f**king heart, his rotten soul. You can look into his eyes, Jamie and you get to choose. You can choose who you call father," and then says, "God damn, I am tired." "Goodnight, son," he says and walks off. As the melancholic melody strums at your heartstrings, only one question remains: Will Jamie choose John or his real father? Will he betray the Duttons who fed him and took care of him all these years? Paramount Network's ‘Yellowstone’ does it again, it tears your heart apart with the new shocker and leaves you waiting for the next episode.
Will Jamie stay loyal to his father? Well, only time will tell. Until then, we can just wait.
The next episode of ‘Yellowstone’ will air on Sunday at 9/8c only on Paramount Network.