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How 'Yellowstone' writes off Kevin Costner's towering patriarch

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How 'Yellowstone' writes off Kevin Costner's towering patriarch

Finn Little as Carter and Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler.

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(Be warned: This review discusses details of Sunday’s Yellowstone episode, Season 5, Ep. 9, “Desire Is All You Need.”)

It took about five minutes for viewers who showed up for the new episode of Paramount Network’s hit series Yellowstone on Sunday night to learn how they would write off Kevin Costner’s towering patriarch John Dutton.

Early on, police filled the mansion where Dutton was living, as governor of Montana. Viewers couldn’t see Costner, but there was a body shown next to a handgun in a pool of blood. The verdict was obvious: Suicide by gunshot.

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But since fans had seen Dutton’s son Jamie (Wes Bentley) conspiring with his girlfriend in a previous episode to have professionals kill his father, another cause seemed imminently possible. (To be fair, Jamie suspected the elder Dutton might come after him, first.)

Kelly Reilly, as Dutton’s flame-haired, volatile daughter Beth, makes that connection right away, later unleashing a wave of anger-fueled grief likely to earn an Emmy nomination.

The biggest question left: Will Beth and sibling Kayce (Luke Grimes) take vengeance on Jamie?

Still, heady as this western-flavored soap opera seems, it pales in comparison to the real-life drama which required this plot twist in the first place.

Kelsey Asbille as Monica Long Dutton, Brecken Merrill as Tate Dutton, Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton.

Kelsey Asbille as Monica Long Dutton, Brecken Merrill as Tate Dutton, Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton.

Emerson Miller/Paramount

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Clashes between star and showrunner

Sunday night’s Yellowstone episode marked the return of Season 5, which has aired in two parts. The first half premiered way back in November 2022; the writers’ and actors’ strikes of last year created some production delays for Part 2.

But Costner, committed to his self-financed Old West film trilogy Horizon, also reportedly clashed with Yellowstone co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan and network producers. This was like Godzilla versus Kong – an Oscar-winning star of one of the biggest shows on TV pitted against the guy who seems to be creating every original show on Paramount+ that isn’t a Star Trek spinoff or Frasier. (Sheridan talks about the controversy to The Hollywood Reporter here.)

Eventually, Costner confirmed he wouldn’t return for the fifth season’s second half. So it’s small wonder the star’s taciturn family leader was written off in dramatic fashion for this episode, setting the stage for a war within the family over control of the sprawling Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.

Yellowstone has succeeded as a lushly-produced family soap opera centered on the ranch, its cowboys (and cowgirl) and Dutton’s fight to preserve both the homestead and the way of life which maintains it.

On Sunday, that meant uncorking an episode hinting at the future of the show without the patriarch who once was the series’ focal point. A mid-episode time jump six weeks into the past, before Dutton’s death, ensured there wouldn’t be a funeral scene Sunday – exposing another time worn element of the soap opera, stretching out the drama.

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‘Yellowstone’ soars depicting the cowboy life

Instead, we got a heavy dose of the cowboy lifestyle, watching Cole Hauser’s Rip Wheeler lead a crew from the Yellowstone Ranch down to Texas with a load of livestock. Yellowstone is often at its best when it’s showing us a modern version of the cowboy’s life we rarely see on big TV shows – illuminating the lives of working class men and women living lives filled with hard work, endless open skies and a very demanding culture.

Of course, Sheridan can’t resist poking at the people who aren’t a part of that culture – like a moment in Sunday’s episode where Rip lets a well-scrubbed little boy pet the horses he’s shepherding, before telling a young couple with wild hair and scruffy looks to buzz off.

When the couple asks why they can’t pet the horses, too, Rip unloads on them like they cut him off in traffic. “You do it once, and you’re being nice…you do it a second time, and you’re being a petting zoo,” he says angrily. “This ain’t no f***ing petting zoo.”

It’s tough to know what they did to earn his anger besides looking like a couple of Gen Z kids on their way back from Coachella.

It’s tempting to call Yellowstone prestige TV for red states — featuring a high-quality elevation of traditionalism and rural lifestyles, while positioning characters from urban centers and each American coast as interlopers and villains. The show’s focus on whiteness deepens that feeling, with almost no Black or Latino characters and Native American storylines often at the edges of the series.

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But, like many of Sheridan’s shows, a significant theme involves resisting modernity and upholding old ways — especially the tradition of Dutton’s family holding onto all the land they’ve controlled for generations — without a lot of sentiment spared for the Native Americans they likely had to push aside to take it over in the first place.

“You know, in 30 years from now, nobody’s going to be doing this,” Rip says, drinking with his cowboys in Texas, railing against a future he imagines will include wind farms across the land and beef imported from Brazil.

(The show even found time for a touching cameo by legendary spurs and horse bit maker Billy Klapper, who died in September at age 87. Sunday’s episode was dedicated to him.)

Ultimately, the core drama at the heart of Sunday’s episode felt more than a bit like a ramped-up, modernized version of Dallas – featuring a wealthy, powerful family at war with itself, as control of the ranch and the state of Montana hang in the balance.

It’s too early to tell if Yellowstone can maintain its momentum without the movie star who helped build its success. But Sunday’s episode revealed bold moves; if Costner’s departure does make the show falter, it’s going to go down – like its characters – fighting hard.

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How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Deidre Hall

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How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Deidre Hall

For half a century, Deidre Hall has taken on every kind of disaster in the drama-packed town of Salem, Ill., as a star of “Days of Our Lives.”

There was the time — actually, it happened twice — when her character, Dr. Marlena Evans, was famously possessed by the devil and even levitated.

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In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

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Or the time a serial killer, who was actually Marlena under hypnosis, seemed to kill several beloved characters. The long-running show’s storylines have become legendary, and in March, while promoting “Hail Mary,” actor Ryan Gosling even gave Hall a shout-out, admitting he was a fan, praising the hard work of soap opera actors and calling her an “OG acting inspiration.”

But Hall’s real life in Santa Monica is much quieter than her character’s, and she likes it that way.

“When I bought my house in Santa Monica, I didn’t realize how great it would be to live near Montana Avenue,” says Hall, 78, about the popular shopping spot. Every day, she walks to the main street with her golden retriever, Riley, and enjoys Pilates, art and good food along the way. “The owners of the Farms Market even keep dog biscuits, so guess where the dog wants to go every time we walk — the Farms, of course,” she says, laughing.

When she isn’t filming the daily soap opera, which airs on Peacock, Hall enjoys raising monarch butterflies, exploring the shops and restaurants on Montana, and hosting movie nights at home with her two sons.

Here’s what a perfect day in L.A. looks like for her.

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This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

7 a.m.: Breakfast and dog walk

I usually kick off my day with a protein shake, feed our golden retriever and take her out for a walk. She’s a phenomenal girl. When we adopted her, her name was Riley, but I did think about naming her after Mrs. Hughes from “Downton Abbey.”

10 a.m.: Church and garden time

After I walk the dog and go to church, I like to spend some time in my yard. I’m not a natural gardener, but I really enjoy it. I started raising monarch butterflies because my identical twin sister, who played my twin on the show, planted a butterfly garden. Monarchs are amazing because they are transitional. Every year, they travel from Mexico to southern New England, but it’s getting harder for them. Their numbers have dropped by about 80%. To help, I plant milkweed, which is what they need to survive. I buy my milkweed from the Staghorn Garden on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica. Julie, who owns the nursery, is delightful and has a wide variety of milkweed. The monarchs always seem to find my garden. Julie was raising some caterpillars too, and she cared a lot about them. We talked about how important it is to help the butterflies. That’s why I do this. Sometimes I get milkweed with eggs already on it, and Julie knows her butterflies are going to a good home.

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1 p.m.: Walk to Montana Avenue for some lunch

I live near Montana and love taking long walks, going to Pilates and trying out the great restaurants nearby, like R+D Kitchen and La La Land. I’m a big fan of the waffles at the Courtyard Kitchen. Just a few days ago, I had a chicken salad on raisin bread with an Arnold Palmer, and it was delicious. It is right on Montana and has a nice outdoor seating area. It’s one of my favorite spots. La La Land always has a long line in the morning, which is perfect if you want coffee. They serve coffee, doughnuts, croissants and avocado toast. There’s plenty of outdoor seating, and you can even bring your dog.

2 p.m.: Peek inside a clock shop

There’s a small clock shop on Montana Avenue that’s closed on Sundays, but if you walk by, you’ll see all kinds of clocks — standing, table and wall clocks. The owner is great at fixing them. Once, I bought a wall clock from MacKenzie-Childs, but it didn’t work. And I was really upset because it matched everything else on my countertop. I brought it to the owner and said, “I love this, but I can’t make it work.” He fixed it right away. His name is John, but I call him Geppetto. And we all know why. He really does have a magic touch.

2:30 p.m.: Visit a neighborhood art gallery

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Ten Women Gallery is run by 10 artists, all of whom show their work there. I was drawn to some watercolors there, bought a few cards and spoke with one of the artists. She told me, “You seem to love watercolors,” and mentioned that the artist who painted them, Pamela Harnois, lives in Los Angeles and teaches nearby. I got Pamela’s name and found out she taught at the Brentwood Art School. I was so inspired by her gift that I started taking private lessons with her on Saturdays. That gallery is where I discovered my love for watercolor painting.

3 p.m.: Grab some ice cream at Rori’s

The other day, my longtime girlfriend wanted to get ice cream and told me, “We are walking to Rori’s Artisanal Creamery.” It’s a small shop on Montana near Lincoln. They make everything themselves, using local ingredients from grass-fed cows with no added hormones. The place is family-owned and probably has the healthiest ice cream you’ll find. They switch up their flavors often, but my favorite is the salted caramel.

6 p.m.: Family dinner and movie night at home

R+D Kitchen is always packed, so my sons, who are 31 and 33, do the cooking. They come over, and together we make salads and cook dinner. There’s a neighborhood grocery store called the Farms, off Montana, a small family-run place that has everything we need. Everyone knows each other there, and people bring their dogs. We try to have movie night every Sunday. Sometimes the day changes, but we always make sure to have one night a week where we cook a meal and sit down as a family. Keeping that tradition has become really important to us. My sons are great cooks, which is funny because they definitely didn’t get that from me. [Laughs]

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9 p.m.: Take Riley for one last walk and visit neighbors

After dinner, I take my dog for a walk. It’s a great way to meet neighbors. We always go around the same block. We’ve met so many people, and since she’s a golden retriever, she loves meeting everyone.

10 p.m.: News, knitting and bedtime

I am a news junkie, so I usually watch whatever is on the news before I go to bed. I have a long-standing passion for knitting. Lately, though, the news would make me drop a stitch.

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Iris van Herpen Reaches for the Stars

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For Iris van Herpen, couture is a laboratory as much as a runway. Our chief fashion critic, Vanessa Friedman, takes us inside this Dutch designer’s latest Paris show — from sci-fi-inspired gowns to an audacious attempt at a dress made of charged plasma.

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The BoF Podcast | Decoding Paris Haute Couture: Wonder, Restraint and the Call of the Void

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The BoF Podcast | Decoding Paris Haute Couture: Wonder, Restraint and the Call of the Void
Amidst a record-breaking heatwave, top brands and independent designers soldiered on, showcasing the creative obsessions and aesthetic shifts that defined the haute couture Autumn/Winter 2026 season. Imran Amed and Tim Blanks break it all down.
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