Everyone grieves in their own way.
Yellowstone’s midseason return shocked fans. More than 16 million viewers watched the hit Western unceremoniously kill off its lead character, John Dutton (Kevin Costner). None were too pleased with what they saw. Now audiences are progressing through the five stages of grief. Most fans have reached acceptance. Costner even stated himself that he didn’t film anything for Yellowstone’s final episodes. Other fans remain in denial. For a growing base of theorizers on Reddit, hope still exists. They believe that John Dutton is alive.
According to the theories, the character faked his own death to protect his family. Season 5, episode 9, opened with law enforcement finding John Dutton dead in his bathroom. The police ruled his death a suicide, but the episode later reveals that he was assassinated. Many viewers also suspect Costner is simply playing coy for the media so that he doesn’t give away his return for the finale. Sounds a little too far-fetched, no? Let’s see what Yellowstone loyalists are saying.
“Maybe the reason they made it look like a suicide was a way for John Dutton to subliminally tell people who actually knew him that he was still alive,” one theorizer wrote. “Because anyone who actually knew him would know that he’d never kill himself.” They also suggest that “the entire Costner/Sheridan drama was made up, or at least resolved, to where Costner was able to film for an episode or two.” Then John could “go out in a blaze of glory!”
Another theorist agreed. “The whole entire crime scene with John’s body in the bathroom, blood and brains spewed about, crime scene investigators, forensics, all the law enforcement everywhere is completely staged,” Reddit user Annawinstonbear wrote. “I understand that Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan and everyone involved have said that Kevin’s not returning in any shape or form. What if it’s the greatest hoax in Hollywood and Kevin shows up, albeit briefly, in the finale? I know I’m probably wrong… but it’d be cool, wouldn’t it?”
Paramount
Yes, it would be very cool. Sadly, the case for John Dutton’s faked death seems nearly impossible. I don’t think Costner would lie about moving on from the show, especially since his feuds with Sheridan and the Paramount Network led Yellowstone to kill off his character in the first place. There’s a 0.01 percent chance we’re wrong, but I wouldn’t watch Yellowstone with the hope that John Dutton will return.
“People don’t want it to be true,” Yellowstone director Christina Voros told EW after John’s fateful episode. “There were a lot of people who were outraged that John was killed—and you’re supposed to be outraged he was killed. The characters are outraged that he’s killed. So in a strange way, it is the point. You are not supposed to be okay with it.”
Still, I sympathize with Yellowstone fans. We should have seen John Dutton ride off in a blaze of glory. This is clearly not the ending that Sheridan originally wanted. It’s clearly not the ending that fans wanted, either.
