'Yellowstone' Season 3 Episode 9: What important parenting decision do Monica and Kayce have to take for Tate?
Spoilers for 'Yellowstone' Season 3 Episode 9 'Meaner than Evil'
Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) have never exactly agreed on most decisions when it comes to their son Tate (Brecken Merrill).
So much so that at one point in Season 2, they weren't even living together because Monica disagreed with John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his methods. In the latest episode, Monica is supposed to go to Tate's school for a meeting but she can't because she's sore from her secret mission from the previous episode. That's when Kayce asks her if they should begin homeschooling Tate.
Monica immediately recoils asking him who with teach him. And Kayce says Tate's grandfather John. Monica has never been a fan of John's methods. Be it parenting, running the ranch, or being neighbors of the Indian reservation. That was until Tate was kidnapped by the Beck brothers at the end of Season 2. When he was rescued, Monica moved into the main Dutton House.
This meant that John gets to spend time with his grandson. When the series began, Kayce was living with Monica and Tate on the reservation. At the time, John had to make excuses to visit his grandson and seek permission to spend weekends with him. Fast-forward to this season, which began with John spending the best of his later years with his grandson, and Tate is making memories for a lifetime.
This contrast seems very heartwarming but it also ties to the storyline. With John homeschooling Tate and teaching him the runnings of the ranch, the Duttons are preparing their only heir for the worst. Monica still doesn't fully agree with how John works. She reiterates to Kayce even in this episode that she disagrees with the practice of branding.
But it looks like she eventually gets on board for Tate's homecoming. She tells Kayce that she will talk with John about it and they will work it out. Preparing to take over a trade might work well when beginning young and early. But how long will it be till John has to also get Tate involved in the dirty end of things? Because with Beth (Kelly Reilly) unable to bear children and there being no update on Jamie's (Wes Bentley) son, Tate is John's best bet.
'Yellowstone' airs on Sundays at 9 pm ET/ PT on Paramount Network.