Spoilers below for Yellowstone's latest episode, so be warned if you haven't yet watched (probably through your fingers)!
So far during his time in Texas, Jimmy has been bitten by critters while sleeping on the ground, he’s suffered bow legs and chapped thighs, and he’s been spoken to and ordered around like a dimbulb robot (which admittedly isn’t always unjustified, considering his history with listening to good advice). Because it’s Jimmy, he’s been taking it like a champ without much griping, knowing it wouldn’t do any good anyway. But the game-changing episode “Keep the Wolves Close” put him through a horse-related challenge he’d never have expected in a million years, and then potentially put him on the trail to a new romance in the aftermath.
During the episode, Jimmy was tasked with the very legitimate job of collecting stallion sperm through guided masturbation, under the watchful and bemused eye of Kathryn Kelly’s vet tech Emily. Not the kind of meet-cute TV viewers normally get to see, either on Yellowstone or off of it, and Jefferson White gave his new co-star props in talking about that unforgettable sequence during a behind-the-scenes video. In his words:
So Jimmy first meets Emily to help her collect from stallions. . . . It's a very serious, big deal industry. To do all that next to Kathryn is such an incredible gift, 'cause she's an unbelievably talented actor, and she's getting thrown into this world for the first time, too.
This is a show where characters’ first impressions can mean everything, and Emily certainly made her mark by ordering Jimmy to “jack off a horse,” to use the cowboy-in-training’s own language. And it’d be one thing had the character been a no-bullshit professional treating things extremely clinically, but Emily couldn’t stop herself from smirking at Jimmy spinning between shock and discomfort as he embraced the sheath.
Kathryn Kelly even brought up her on-screen reaction in speaking about joining Yellowstone, saying:
Collecting some things from horses is very normal for someone who works on a ranch everyday. It was not normal for me, however. [Laughs.] On the outside, I was trying to keep it together and be like, 'You are used to this. You've seen this a hundred times before.' But on the side was low-key freaking out.
To her point, that scene likely wasn’t a left-field addition to any Yellowstone viewers accustomed to seeing cockstrong horses spreading their moxie. But it’s a different story for the actors, and for the millions of fans who haven’t even wittingly been within a 100-foot radius of an equine’s raging member. This show is a hell of a learning tool, to say the least.
Will Emily And Jimmy Get Romantic Soon?
Yellowstone fans have been quite vocal about Jimmy's love life where Mia is concerned, with many dousing her with blame for convincing an unrecovered Jimmy to go against logic and John's wishes by getting back on a horse, which then bucked him off and caused some pretty major physical injuries. Then, as Jimmy was being sent away to Texas to get his education in cowboying and giving horses handjobs, Mia broke it off with him and held him responsible for going away. So as far as some viewers are concerned, Jimmy would be better off dating a stallion, making Emily's arrival and transparent attraction to Jimmy a celebratory scenario.
While Kathryn Kelly didn't exactly confirm that the 6666 is going to hold Jimmy and Emily's wedding on the grounds or anything, the actress spoke to her character's aggressiveness and spoke of their interaction optimistically.
She just kind of commands the space, which I love. . . . They meet, and it just seems to line up in the right way.
Considering Emily can speak to how dour the dating game has been for her while working at the 6666 ranch, it's safe to say the character is a stalwart employee and isn't going to soon change jobs or anything. So the only thing truly standing in the way of Jimmy and Emily's burgeoning romance is A. Jimmy fucking up and thinking he still needs to be faithful to Mia, B. Mia actually showing up in Texas and fucking things up herself, or C. Jimmy and Emily not having anything in common beyond their work location and close proximity to erect horses. But I can't see the point in introducing her at all if the third option would be true, so I'm putting all my apples in the cart of their love. Or whatever metaphor sounds good.
If a news report comes out this week about Kathryn Kelly joining Paramount+'s upcoming 6666 spinoff, I think we can all agree that would be a positive sign. So keep your eyes open as wide as Jimmy's were in the heat of trying to collect his first specimens.
Yellowstone airs Sunday nights on Paramount Network at 8:00 p.m. ET. Will fans get to see any of the characters from Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's upcoming prequel 1883 masturbating any animals, or even other people?!? Find out when it debuts on Paramount+ and Paramount Network on Sunday, December 19, and check out our 2022 TV schedule to see all the other new shows heading to the small screen.
