Spoilers below for the latest episode of Yellowstone Season 5, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!
With its latest installment hitting the 2024 Fall TV schedule, Yellowstone went ahead and showed viewers exactly what went down ahead of the premiere’s shocking reveal that John Dutton is dead, and how Kayce convinced the medical examiner it wasn’t a suicide. But the unidentified Kevin Costner stand-in (or lie-in, as it were) wasn’t the only dead body the Dutton family had to deal with by the end of “Three Fifty-Three.”
Let’s talk about the arguably unexpected murder that went down to set up Yellowstone’s eventual endgame, and how its sudden arrival seemingly leaves a previously intriguing plot thread dangling without a resolution.
R.I.P. Sarah Atwood
One of TV’s sleaziest and most questionable relationships has reached a dour and bullet-riddled end, with Dawn Olivieri’s Sarah Atwood being gunned down in her vehicle a minute or so after leaving walking away from her angsty argument with Jamie. The pair of killers who took her out were presumably working for the organization that set up John’s death, considering they only tracked her down after news went public that the investigation into his death was being reopened.
Like so many things in Jamie’s life, Sarah was a loose end that needed dealing with, and though he likely wouldn’t have ever been the one to step up and take her out of the equation, others had no such qualms. As far as viewers know, she’s the only person outside of the killer crew that was aware of the operation’s existence.
As well, it’s presumed that the shadow-ops crew isn’t aware of Jamie’s knowledge and foreknowledge of the situation. Otherwise, those same assassins likely would have taken Sarah and Jamie out in the midst of their slap-fight. That said, one does wonder how Jamie’s proximity to the murder will look when others are made aware, and whether any dots can be connected in that respect. I mean, beyond the ones that Beth has already glued together.
But what about Beth's other research into Sarah's seemingly shady background?
What Happened To "Sarah Atwood" Being A Fake Name?
For all that I've loved Dawn Olivieri's commanding attention in scenes as Sarah, whether or not skimpy undergarments are involved, a big part of why I've been so invested in her story stems from that mysterious reveal back in Episode 504, "Horses in Heaven." As fans will likely remember, that's the ep when Jamie and Sarah have sex in the bathroom of the Deerfield Club.
During their public copulating, Beth rifled through Sarah's purse and took a picture of her driver's license, and then later Googled the Market Equities enforcer's information. However, she was unable to find a "Sarah Atwood" with the same credentials, and Beth came away from that search believing the woman's name was falsified. Obviously, that's also how I came away from that episode.
In fact, it got me theorizing that she was long-conning the Duttons along with others, but having her killed off like this makes me think that theory wouldn't be proven true at this point even if it's what Taylor Sheridan did have in mind. (Which he probably didn't.) But will we get any answers at all here?
I can certainly understand if the behind-the-scenes turmoil and Hollywood strikes made things too erratic for Sheridan to follow through with whatever the original plans were when Beth's Goggle scene was conceived, and that changes were needed once it was clear Kevin Costner wouldn't be back as John Dutton. But I really hope that one of the remaining Season 5 episodes features at least a quick explanation for the name's validity, even if it doesn't turn into anything larger.
At the very least, I'd hope that Beth would see Sarah's name on a news report or something, causing her to shake her head and say something like, "They don't even know what her real name is." And at the most, I'd hope for her to be revealed as Market Equities head honcho Caroline Warner's daughter. Not that it would have much of a plot impact, but still.
Yellowstone’s first episode after its nearly two-year hiatus was its most-watched episode ever, at least when it comes to early viewership windows. Follow-up episodes likely won’t match those giant numbers, since the additional linear airing on CBS definitely helped boost them. But maybe that just means that subsection of the audience will flip over to Paramount Network for the rest of the season.
Stay tuned for more news on the western drama and other upcoming Yellowstone-verse shows such as the spinoff The Madison and more.
