Spoilers below for the recent Season 2 episodes of Yellowstone.
John Dutton has been through a lot on Yellowstone. He has survived cancer and, most recently, another life-threatening shocker. As of the Season 2 premiere, the rancher has a new lease on life, and he has been using it to make massive changes to the hierarchy of the ranch.
But if you find yourself wondering if John Dutton can be content with the way his story ends on Yellowstone, Kevin Costner might not be the best place to look.
It turns out that Kevin Costner is also in the dark about John Dutton’s backstory and where he is headed, which are pretty pivotal pieces of information for any actor to have regarding a character’s overall arc, and what it means for their final rendering. Regarding how much he knows about John's earlier life and where his story is going, Costner said:
I would like to, but I’m not always privy to it, no. Sometimes with [John’s] sons or wife or whatever, that’s been really kept in a creative ball. That’s a more vulnerable way to go through life as an actor.
Viewers do not entirely know everything that has created the family dynamic that they currently see reflected, either. For instance, there seems to be more to what led to the beginnings of Kayce and John’s stormy relationship than what is known.
What is in that ball, creator Taylor Sheridan? I want to know! Yellowstone has given lots of hints of what has gone on between the Duttons through the years, but there's still a lot more unspoken history to sift through. Viewers have thus far seen but glimmers. "Getting to the bottom of everything" should have been on my list of things I wanted to see in Season 2, considering it's everything I want now.
The actor does have a take on it all, though, and he opened up on his character’s trajectory and if John can find solace in it. Offering his take to IndieWire:, Costner said this:
I don’t see that path. If [John] keeps making these same mistakes, people will lose faith in who [he is], even as a character. The show has to watch out for that, but in real life and in real movies, you know what you’ve done, and you just try to do the best you can. If you just keep repeating yourself, then it’s like a friend you want to like, but you don’t respect them.
Agree! This viewer does not like seeing repeated mistakes. John Dutton has been trying to correct course with his adult kids, ever since the show began. However, with a few exceptions, Yellowstone has mainly alluded to the wrongs he has committed.
John Dutton's most strained relationships are with his living sons. He did seem to have a pretty good one with his late son, Lee, but he'ss arguably on the best terms with his daughter, Beth. The dire situation between John and his head legal counsel Jamie is still relatively fresh, but then Jamie’s political aspirations went and got in the way.
Is there more to John Dutton’s backstory with his kids that would explain how things exploded so quickly? Kevin Costner was able to shed light on what John Dutton was thinking with that power move in Yellowstone’s latest episode. Hopefully, he will have more insights for viewers as Season 2 continues.
Already renewed for a third season. Season 3 already has a Lost star on board and it's given a big promotion to one of its current stars before viewers have even gotten through Season 2. How and if these developments play into the current season will be fun to watch and see. All of this and fans have not even seen John Dutton go into beast mode yet!
Yellowstone fans are currently having to endure a week without a new episode of the intense drama. The series is taking a brief break following its first two episodes due to the July 4th holiday. While the thrilling trailer for the rest of the season season is destined to invite loads of speculation, there is nothing like having Kevin Costner weigh in on what's happening.
Stay tuned to see how John Dutton’s story continues. New episodes of Yellowstone will return on Wednesday, June 10 at 10 p.m. ET on the Paramount Network. The cable series to beat in the ratings is part of television’s new array of summer content.
