It's difficult to comprehend what 1,000 cubic kilometers of rock would look like. It's even more difficult to imagine it being violently flung into the air. Yet the Yellowstone volcanic system blasted more than twice that amount of rock into the sky about 2 million years ago, and it has generated a number of massive (if somewhat smaller) eruptions since, and there have been even larger eruptions deeper in the past.
All of which might be enough to keep someone nervously watching the seismometers scattered throughout the area. But a new study suggests that there's nothing to worry about in the near future: There's not enough molten material pooled in one place to trigger the sort of violent eruptions that have caused massive disruptions in the past. The study also suggests that the primary focus of activity may be shifting outside of the caldera formed by past eruptions.
Yellowstone is fueled by what's known as a hotspot, where molten material from the Earth's mantle percolates up through the crust. The rock that comes up through the crust is typically basaltic (a definition based on the ratio of elements in its composition) and can erupt directly. This tends to produce relatively gentle eruptions where lava flows across a broad area, generally like you see in Hawaii and Iceland. But this hot material can also melt rock within the crust, producing a material called rhyolite. This is a much more viscous material that does not flow very readily and, instead, can cause explosive eruptions.
© Deb Snelson
Paramount Network
The credits have rolled on the last-ever episode of "Yellowstone," concluding Taylor Sheridan's epic neo-western drama, which, at one point, was the most-watched scripted series in America.
Naturally, the long-awaited finale drew in a huge audience. According to VideoAmp data released by Paramount, the episode, which aired on Sunday, December 15, brought in 11.4 million same-day viewers on Paramount Network and CMT, making it the biggest episode in the series' history.
The supersized episode, which ran for 86 minutes, saw Kevin Costner's character, John Dutton, finally laid to rest after he died in the midseason premiere.
After that, the Dutton land was returned to the Native American community that once owned it, leaving the ranch's residents and workers to follow their own paths.
While the episode tied up many loose ends, it did leave some dangling plot threads and unanswered questions.
From lingering mysteries to lost characters, keep reading to see the six questions we still have about "Yellowstone."
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Beth's (Kelly Reilly) resentment towards her adopted brother Jamie (Wes Bentley) has been a cornerstones of the series since the very beginning.
As audiences discovered in a season three flashback, she had a good reason. When she became pregnant as a teenager, Jamie knowingly ordered a doctor to give her a hysterectomy rather than an abortion, leaving her infertile.
Beth's been haunted by this experience her entire adult life, not least because the baby's father was Rip's (Cole Hauser).
But, by the series finale, Rip is still in the dark about the pain Jamie caused Beth. He seemingly doesn't even know that he got Beth pregnant all those years ago.
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When Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) was introduced in the second episode of season five, she filled the villain-shaped hole left by the death of Jamie's biological father, Garrett Randall (Will Patton).
Working on behalf of Market Equities, she pushed forward with the real estate company's relentless battle to acquire the Dutton land by whatever means necessary.
This included manipulating Jamie into a sexual relationship before convincing him to call for John's impeachment. She took things further by organizing a hit on the Dutton patriarch.
But Sarah got her comeuppance not long after as she was gunned down by the same assassins in an attempt to cover their tracks.
Her demise, while celebrated by audiences, however, leaves lots of questions unanswered, including what her ultimate goal was.
By the end, it was hinted that she had shifted loyalties from Market Equities to Jamie himself. Plus, as Beth found out while digging into Sarah's background, she was using a fake name.
Without a real identity and motivations, Sarah ended up being a poorly drawn antagonist with not much depth who wasn't deserving of such a big storyline.
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Angela Blue Thunder (Q'orianka Kilcher) was introduced in season three as an adversary to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), the chairman of the Broken Rock Reservation.
At the beginning of season five, audiences saw her embark on a plan to supplant Rainwater with younger rival Martin (Martin Sensmeier).
However, Angela and this storyline were nowhere to be seen in the second half of season five.
With this storyline left unfinished, it leads to questions of whether Rainwater will stay in charge of looking after the Yellowstone land following his promise to Kayce (Luke Grimes) to treat it with respect and leave it practically unchanged.
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In the finale, Kayce said the words "I'm free" when tearfully embracing his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) after signing over the ranch to the Broken Rock tribe.
It was an emotional moment, but the reasons Kayce considered the Yellowstone ranch such a huge burden were never fully explained or explored.
Audiences will recall that at one point, John disclosed that he never wanted his grandson Tate (Brecken Merrill) to be born and opposed Kayce's marriage to Monica.
But besides this, audiences never really got a grasp on the tensions and resentments at the core of Kayce and his father's relationship.
Given that in the finale, Kayce bought himself a small herd of cattle to tend to, we understand that it was never the lifestyle that the youngest Dutton son was opposed to, but doing it on the farmland that his father owned.
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Lloyd Pierce (Forrie J. Smith) was the oldest and longest-serving cowboy on the ranch.
The character also had a significant amount of screentime, appearing in every episode of the show but two, according to IMDb.
But in the finale, Lloyd's character wasn't given proper closure. As the cowboys on the ranch disbanded and headed their separate ways, Lloyd was left as the only one without somewhere to go.
While Rip offered him a job on his new ranch, Lloyd declined, stating that he would rather not be a cowboy at all if he couldn't keep working at the Yellowstone ranch.
His decision made sense as so much of Lloyd's life and identity were tied up in the ranch (he was among the men branded for life with the Yellowstone 'Y'). Still, it would've been satisfying to find out what he planned to do next if not cowboying.
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A crucial plot point in season five was that several key "Yellowstone" characters found themselves sent on a secondment to the 6666 ranch – which is a real ranch bought in 2020 by series cocreator Taylor Sheridan.
Elsewhere, Sheridan showed up as the character Travis Wheatley, a horsetrader who essentially saved the Yellowstone ranch from financial ruin by selling off their horses for them.
In fact, almost all of the penultimate episode was dedicated to Beth's trip to Bosque Ranch, which, again, Sheridan owns in real life. In the show, Travis is the proprietor of the ranch.
There seemed to be no concrete reason why these ranches got so much screentime in the last batch of episodes, besides showcasing Sheridan's own ranching empire.
There is a possibility that the scenes and characters introduced in them may show up in a new spinoff series.
Alongside a rumored new series following Beth and Rip, there is the franchise extension "6666" also in the works — but that appears to have been shelved for now.
The series was first announced in early 2021 and originally set to debut in 2023.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2023, Sheridan spoke about the delays in getting "6666" (pronounced "four-sixes") off the ground and said he had told the studio "to be patient."
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It was a blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment in the midseason finale but on top of the news that Jamie had called for an impeachment tribunal, John was given the additional headache of an investigation being launched into whether or not the endangered wolves from the nearby national park were killed on his land.
Like Angela Blue Thunder, this was another storyline that was introduced and then seemingly abandoned when the show returned from it's lengthy midseason hiatus.
Given that John had invited his girlfriend, outspoken animal rights activist Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo), to live with him, it felt at the time that this story arc was going to loom large in the second half of the season.
In the end, it didn't. Audiences didn't hear anything more about the wolves storyline or the coverup operation that John and Rip carried out to hide their bodies again.
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Since the very beginning, Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler's relationship has been considered the beating heart of Paramount Network's "Yellowstone."
The series, co-created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson, wrapped up its fifth and final season on Sunday evening with a supersized episode that saw the ranch at the center of the show returned to the Native American community who once owned the land.
In the end, Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) decided to buy a new, smaller ranch for themselves where they could live together peacefully.
However, it's suspected that it's not the last audiences will see of the pair. Speaking in November, Hauser told The Hollywood Reporter that he felt there was more to explore with Beth and Rip.
"You can go on forever about these two. There's no walls when it comes to them, no limits," he said. "And as long as Taylor wants to write something special, I know Kelly and I would be interested to do it."
Days before the finale aired, Deadline broke the news that Reilly and Hauser would reprise their roles to star in a" Yellowstone" spinoff series, according to sources close to production. The as-of-yet unnamed show, will likely star other actors reprising their roles from the main series, Deadline said.
Network representatives did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
As we anticipate more news on the spinoff, BI looks back on Beth and Rip's unforgettable, passionate, tumultuous, and decades-spanning love story as it played out on "Yellowstone."
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In the show's pilot, which aired in 2018, audiences were introduced to Beth, the only daughter of Montana cattle rancher-turned-governor John Dutton (Kevin Costner), and Rip Wheeler, the ranch's most loyal employee who worked his way up to foreman after first joining as an orphaned teenager.
When the two ran into each other at the ranch's main cabin, it was hinted that they had more than a little history, and it didn't take them long to slide back into old habits.
After a particularly passionate hook-up, it was clear that the two wanted different things: Rip invited Beth to join him at a music festival, to which she responded: "You ruin it every time."
Relive the moment: Season one, episode one.
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Beth appeared to have thought some more about Rip's offer to do more than just sleep together, and the next time she saw him, she suggested a date more suited to her personality.
"You wanna go get drunk and watch some wolves kill an elk in a park?" he asked her.
And so that's exactly what they did. While they both acknowledged that it was far from their first date given their history, which audiences learn went back to their teenage years, it marked the beginning of the rekindling of their relationship.
Relive the moment: Season one, episode two.
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In the season one finale, Beth sabotaged her relationship with Rip by turning a flirtation with ranch newcomer Walker (Ryan Bingham) into a full-blown affair.
While Beth and Rip had never properly defined their relationship, Beth's decision to sleep with Walker left Rip feeling betrayed.
In Beth's eyes, however, she had good reason to stray: Rip had left her ego bruised by assuming that she was sleeping with her male assistant, Jason (David Cleveland Brown). He also refused to pass on some information her father had privately shared with him regarding the future of the ranch.
Beth didn't have feelings for Walker, but was simply using him as a distraction as she dealt with the anger and pain from her argument with Rip.
Relive the moment: Season one, episode nine.
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Beth and Walker's no-strings-attached fling carried on into season two, and it wasn't until halfway through the season that Beth pulled herself out of her self-destructive pattern and apologized to Rip.
But it was already water under the bridge for Rip, who told her he wasn't angry and she needn't ever say sorry to him for anything.
They shared smiles, acknowledging that they were back on track before Rip returned to his duties on the ranch.
Relive the moment: Season two, episode five.
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Teenage Beth (Kylie Rogers) and teenage Rip (Kyle Red Silverstein) were shown initially clashing on the ranch. Beth called Rip, who had recently been welcomed into the ranch by John, her "daddy's new pet," infuriating the orphaned teen.
However, the two couldn't deny their attraction to one another. Beth asked Rip to kiss her. When he replied that he didn't know how, she revealed that she didn't either, and so the two shared their first kiss together.
Relive the moment: Season two, episode five.
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Beth's decision to invite Rip to join her on the rooftop of the Dutton house for a late-night drink together led to a poignant moment between the two.
After Beth joked that Rip has been wearing the same jeans and jacket for years, Rip got vulnerable and revealed that he's spent thousands of dollars on headstones for his mom and brother, who were murdered by his abusive father.
Touched at his gesture, the two stared lovingly into each other's eyes, but before Rip could tell Beth that he loved her, she stopped him.
"Don't say it," Beth requested. "Tell me when it saves me."
That ended up coming sooner than anticipated. Later in the same episode, Beth was brutally attacked by men working on behalf of Malcolm Beck (Neal McDonough). Having managed to call Rip before things turned ugly, Rip managed to save her and kill her assailants.
As he comforted her, Rip uttered those three important words.
Relive the moment: Season two, episode seven.
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After learning that she had gotten pregnant with Rip's baby, Beth asked her older brother Jamie (Dalton Baker) to get her help.
Worried that going to a hospital in the city would draw attention given that she has the Dutton name, Jamie drove Beth to a clinic where he agreed to let a doctor give her a hysterectomy, leaving her infertile for the rest of her life.
Afterward, Beth met with Rip, who asked if her pregnancy test had come back positive. Lying to him, she said it had been negative, hiding from him the abortion — and unbeknownst to her, sterilization — that she had just gone through.
Relive the moment: Season three, episode five.
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Early on in season three, Beth hinted that she would like to one day be Rip's wife.
After speaking to her father, who told her Rip would never propose because he wouldn't be able to bring himself to ask John for his blessing out of respect for the Dutton patriarch, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
She posed the question to Rip on the porch of their cabin with a simple black ring, joking that she knew he wasn't a "diamonds and gold kind of girl."
She's his, Beth said, on one condition: "The only thing I ask is that you outlive me so that I never have to live another day without you."
Rip had a condition of his own, too: They needed to get married on the ranch. A courthouse wedding was out of the question, because there was no record of his existence on file.
Relive the moment: Season three, episode seven.
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While recovering in the hospital from yet another assassination attempt, Beth ran into a kid named Carter (Finn Little) who is all alone in the world. Naturally, the boy reminded Beth of a young Rip, so she decided to invite him to the ranch to find work and give him a roof over his head.
While Rip was initially reluctant to take Carter under his wing, he eventually came around to the idea and the two began treating Carter like the child they never had.
Relive the moment: Season four, episode two.
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In the season four finale, Beth decided to throw together a last-minute wedding outside the Dutton cabin.
It came after she almost bolted, leaving the Yellowstone ranch, her family, and Rip all behind, after feeling immense guilt over the secrets she had kept from Rip over the years.
When Rip convinced her to stay put and keep the promises she had made to him, she decided it was as good a time as ever to make that promise more permanent.
Wearing a white leopard-print coat and a gold dress, Beth and Rip married — with the help of a priest Beth had managed to rope in to officiate. The ceremony took place in front of their nearest and dearest, including Carter.
Relive the moment: Season four, episode 10.
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Season five filled in some more gaps about Rip's early days at the ranch. One flashback showed how Rip got his chest branded with the Yellowstone Y — the indication that you're committed to the ranch forever — after getting into a fight with an older cowboy who had said some less-than-chivalrous things about Beth.
After Beth and Rip began their romance as teenagers, Beth decided to make Rip jealous by going on a date with an older cowboy named Rowdy (Kai Caster). When Rip and Rowdy were paired up on a job together, conversation turned to the boss's daughter. A fight ensued after Rowdy said some insulting things about her.
After Rowdy pulled a knife on the teen, Rip hit him around the head with a rock, accidentally killing him.
When he admitted what happened to John (played in flashbacks by Josh Lucas), he was introduced to the concept of the Train Station — the "trash can for everyone who's ever attacked us" that lies in a "jurisdictional dead zone," as John puts it — and asked to never speak of it again. Being privy to the Dutton family's secret meant that Rip was asked to swear loyalty to the ranch, something that he had no hesitation in doing.
Relive the moment: Season five, episode seven.
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Beth and Rip left the Yellowstone ranch for new pastures after the Dutton ranch was given back to the Broken Rock Tribe.
When audiences last saw Beth and Rip at the end of the finale, they were settled into their new home and ranch, miles away from the Yellowstone ranch, along with their adopted son Carter (Finn Little).
Relive the moment: Season five, episode 14.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
In August 2024, the luxury ski town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, got a brand-new, adults-only resort.
With unobstructed views of the Tetons and Snake River Valley, Hotel Yellowstone is located five miles from Downtown Jackson and only welcomes guests aged 21 and up. (It does accommodate adults as young as 18 when accompanied by a guest who is at least 21.)
During a September trip to Jackson Hole, I booked a one-night stay at the resort in a room with a starting rate of $1,600 a night.
After seeing and experiencing my room's thoughtful design and luxury comforts, it was easy to see why the price was so steep.
"Hotel Yellowstone's design pays homage to the American West while seamlessly blending influences of modern design," a representative of Hotel Yellowstone told Business Insider. "The intricate design components pull inspiration from Jackson Hole's history, proximity to national parks, and locale on a wildlife refuge — allowing guests to view Jackson Hole's native animals from the comfort of their suites."
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Perhaps the serenity of the adults-only resort overlooking Grand Teton National Park and Snake Valley is to thank. It was the quietest hotel I'd ever been to.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I thought it epitomized cozy mountain luxury.
"The overall design style can be best described as a harmonious blend of tranquility, serenity, and modern sophistication," the representative said of the rooms.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Each accommodation is 600 square feet, sleeps two, and has a private balcony.
Depending on the view, starting rates range between $900 and $1,600 a night. Some rooms offer views of the mountains, while others are positioned toward the valley. Some showcase the pond on the property, and others combine multiple scenes.
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I booked a room with views of the Teton Range. BI received a media rate for the one-night stay.
Wide, floor-to-ceiling windows stretched across the back wall and a portion of the left wall.
"The color palette for the walls, furniture, and bathroom was thoughtfully chosen to highlight the surrounding landscape and the unparalleled views of the Teton Mountain range," the hotel representative said.
When I took off my shoes, I felt the soft give of the cushy carpet beneath me.
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My room had all the basic amenities you'd expect at a high-end hotel, from an espresso machine to a mini-fridge. A TV hung above a fireplace across from the bed.
I spotted nods to the environment, too. The representative said the floor lamp that resembled antlers came from AntlerWorx, and the furry accent chairs were made from pure New Zealand sheepskin.
"Both pieces showcase natural materials and textures with the Moose Antler lamp serving as a tribute to local wildlife — particularly the seasonal resident moose who frequents the property," they added.
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The balcony was my favorite part of the accommodation. The spacious upper deck had two cushioned lounge chairs and a side table.
The view of the valley dotted with herds beneath the Teton range was one of the most epic I'd ever seen.
Unlike most hotel balconies I've experienced, the space was quiet. Not even cars on the highway were audible from the resort. And I didn't hear one voice the entire time I was out there.
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I'm not typically one for baths, but the Calacatta marble bathroom was spa-like. While warm water filled the large, free-standing tub, I turned on the floor and towel heaters to ensure top-tier comfort upon exiting the bath.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
The bathroom was behind the bed with a sliding door in front of the tub, so I could view the Tetons while bathing.
"The room layout, windows, wall-to-wall sliding doors, and the beautifully crafted boiserie bathroom door enable guests to fully immerse themselves in the stunning views from every angle of the suite," the representative said.
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I always look forward to hotel robes, and this one was more comfortable than most. It was made of thick fabric that felt like soft terry cloth.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
Once I dried off, I jumped onto the cloud-like king-sized bed that felt endless when I cuddled up in the middle.
I grabbed the tablet on the nightstand with smart controls for the room, from mood lighting and curtains to room service.
With a plan to relax for just a bit, I turned on the TV for one episode of Modern Family.
Minutes later, I was fast asleep.
Joey Hadden/Business Insider
I woke up as the sun was setting and promptly headed outside in my robe to catch the end of it.
Once it was dark, I saw something I'd never seen before — and never thought I would see in the US — faint streaks of purple and green glided among the stars. I think it was the northern lights.
I could barely see them myself, but once I took a 30-second exposure on my camera, I was pretty sure I was right.
The northern lights were a massive surprise that made my stay even more meaningful. The quiet, peaceful resort made them even more mesmerizing.
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"Yellowstone" aired its finale this week, putting an end to the cowboy drama that has captured audiences' attention for more than half a decade.
There were twists, turns, and in classic "Yellowstone" style, someone was taken to the "Train Station."
Here's where all the major characters wound up in the series finale of "Yellowstone."
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The fate of the Dutton patriarch (Kevin Costner) was revealed minutes into the season five midseason premiere of "Yellowstone."
John's death occurred off-screen in the bathroom of his governor's house in the Montana capital of Helena.
While it initially appeared that he died by suicide, it emerged that his son Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) and Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), a lawyer who was in a sexual relationship with Jamie, orchestrated a hit.
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Across five seasons, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) earned a reputation as someone who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
She knew as soon as her father died that Jamie was involved in the murder plot, directly or indirectly, and so made it her mission to avenge John's death.
In the series finale, she killed Jamie before Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) dumped him at the "Train Station."
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Rip was initially facing the prospect of being separated from Beth for a year after being asked to take care of cattle down in Texas. But after John died, he promptly returned to the Dutton ranch to be there for his wife.
He stayed there until he and Beth decided to pack up and leave for new pastures. The couple bought a new, smaller ranch in rural Montana and moved there with their adopted son, Carter (Finn Little).
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As the last surviving legitimate son of John Dutton — his older brother Lee (Dave Annable) was killed in season one — Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) had been the frontrunner to inherit the sprawling ranch from his father.
In the finale, he gave up the burden of the ranch and instead chose freedom.
A cowboy at heart, however, he bought some cattle to rear on a small parcel of land he decided to keep for his family.
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Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille) is the granddaughter of the Broken Rock tribe elder Felix Long (Rudy Ramos) and has been married to Kayce since the beginning of the show.
Though their marriage had its ups and downs across the seasons, the finale proved that the most important thing to both of them was family.
The last time audiences saw Monica, she, Kayce, and their son Tate (Brecken Merrill) were pitching in to guide their new herd of cattle home.
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Jamie, who was adopted by the Dutton family as an infant but learned who his biological parents were in season three, spent most of the series swinging wildly between trying to earn John's respect and trying to destroy him.
In the end, Jamie turned against John. Though he wasn't directly involved in John's death, Jamie gave Sarah enough encouragement to go ahead with the murder plot.
While Jamie came to regret this, he paid the ultimate price for his mistake.
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John's wasn't the only death to shake the Dutton ranch. Colby (Denim Richards), a long-serving horse wrangler, was also killed while defending Carter (Finn Little), an inexperienced cowboy, from an out-of-control stallion in the final run of episodes.
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Colby and Teeter (Jen Landon) were one of the show's most unlikely romantic pairings. The short-lived romance between the two ranch hands ended in tragedy when Colby was killed while Teeter was in Texas.
Beth took Teeter under her wing following Colby's death, but Teeter ultimately decided there were too many painful memories in Montana.
She requested a job at Travis' (Taylor Sheridan) ranch down in Texas and made the move.
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Ryan (Ian Bohen), a stalwart of the show, decided he'd had enough of putting his life on hold.
After the ranch was sold, instead of getting another cowboy job, he sought out his ex-girlfriend Abby (Lainey Wilson) at one of her country shows.
The two reconciled and Ryan joked that he'd take a job as one of her road crew so he could stay close to her.
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The chairman of the Broken Rock Reservation, Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), had been fighting with the Duttons over the land surrounding the ranch since season one.
While Rainwater didn't appear much in season five, he returned in a big way in the series finale.
Kayce decided to sell the ranch to the reservation for the same price — $1.25 an acre — that his ancestors bought it for almost 150 years prior.
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Sarah Atwood got her comeuppance not long after the hit on John was carried out.
After Beth convinced her brother that their father wouldn't have killed himself, no matter the circumstances, Kayce paid a visit to the coroner's office and convinced them to reexamine his father's body and change his cause of death to "undetermined."
While the circumstances around Sarah's death weren't fully spelled out, it appeared that she was gunned down by the same assassins in an attempt to cover their tracks.
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Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the series finale of "Yellowstone."
After five seasons and over a year of headline-dominating behind-the-scenes drama, "Yellowstone," Paramount Network's modern-day horse opera, has been put out to pasture.
The series — which up until its most recent batch of episodes starred Kevin Costner as a rancher contemplating which of his adult children would be the right fit to inherit his sprawling ranch — has become the most-watched scripted series in America since it hit screens in 2018.
In November, stars of the series spoke to Business Insider about the show's "mind-boggling" popularity, which only increased in the last few weeks as the show neared its conclusion.
"I think that there's something very human about it where it's looking forward and backward with the same glance," Kelsey Asbille, said. "I think that's maybe the secret sauce."
Her costar Luke Grimes credited the fact that, in his opinion "Yellowstone" had something that has distinguished it from the other Westerns — Taylor Sheridan, whom he called "the best writer for this genre that has ever existed."
The final episode, which aired on Sunday, clocked in at over 90 minutes and gave audiences the closure they'd been waiting for: John's murder was avenged, and the fate of the ranch was finally revealed.
Here's a recap of how "Yellowstone" concluded.
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The final episode saw John's body released from the coroner's office, meaning that the family could finally hold a funeral for him. Viewers may recall that his body ended up having a second post-mortem examination, which revealed there had been foul play in his death.
Rip (Cole Hauser) and the men from the bunkhouse dug a hole for his coffin in the Dutton graveyard, and Beth (Kelly Reilly) gathered the family — minus Jamie — to give John a small, intimate funeral.
Beth was overcome by emotion at seeing the coffin, but when asked by the preacher if she wanted to say her goodbyes, she returned to her steely self and said: "I will avenge you."
Beth took off from the funeral and headed straight to her adopted brother Jamie's (Wes Bentley) house in Helena.
Having just delivered a speech distancing himself from his involvement in his father's death, he returned home to find Beth hiding in his house.
A brutal and bloody fight between them ensued and, had Rip not got there just in time, Jamie might have choked Beth to death. Although Rip was ready to let loose on Jamie, Beth asked him to stop so that she could be the one to kill him. She then fatally stabbed Jamie in the chest and held his gaze, keeping another promise she once made: that she would be the last thing he would ever see.
Afterward, Rip drove Jamie to the 'Train Station' — in other words, he dumped his body off the side of a cliff. Meanwhile, Beth stayed at the house and called the police, pinning everything on Jamie — her father's murder, Sarah Atwood's hit, and her own close call with death.
Having gotten his sister's approval in the previous episode, Kayce went ahead with his plan to sell the ranch to the Broken Rock Reservation for the same cheap price — $1.25 an acre — that his ancestors bought it for almost 150 years prior.
"Congratulations, you just made the worst land deal since my people sold Manhattan," Chief Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) told him.
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However, Rainwater said there was one distinction: the Yellowstone ranch land will never change in a way that will make it unrecognizable in another 150 years. The tribe will live on the land but never sell it to developers.
As Beth had whispered to John's coffin earlier in the episode, this was perhaps the only way for the ranch to be saved.
"You made me promise not to sell an inch, and I hope you understand that this is me keeping it. There may not be cows on it, but there won't be condos, either. We won," she said.
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With no ranch, the crew of cowboys living in the bunkhouse decided their futures. Teeter (Jennifer Landon) landed a job at Travis's (Taylor Sheridan) ranch alongside her old friend Jimmy (Jefferson White).
Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith), the oldest ranch hand, decided that if he couldn't be a cowboy at the Yellowstone ranch, he'd rather not be a cowboy at all and so retired.
Ryan (Ian Bohen) left the ranch and immediately sought out Abby (Lainey Wilson), the country singer he was previously dating, hoping she would take him back.
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When audiences saw Beth and Rip at the end of the episode, they were settled into their new home and ranch, miles away from the Yellowstone ranch, along with their adopted son Carter (Finn Little).
As Beth had promised, the place was really out in the sticks, miles away from a town, let alone an airport. The closest bar, she told Rip, even turned away tourists if they happened to pass through.
"Sounds like my kind of place," Rip told his wife.
Elsewhere, Kayce, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and their son Tate (Brecken Merrill) had kept a small patch of land for themselves and begun farming their own cattle. Although Rip had offered Kayce the Yellowstone Dutton ranch sign to take with him to his new farm, Kayce declined, stating that he was thinking of starting his own brand.
Ellen Pabst dos Reis/Getty Images
Each year, over 300 million visitors explore the hundreds of parks that make up the US National Park system. These spaces offer unparalleled views of mountains and forests, immersing people in the sights and sounds of nature that are often missing from their everyday lives.
But the national parks are in trouble. "Most of our parks have multiple assaults on them," Chad Lord, senior director of environmental policy and climate change with the National Parks Conservation Association advocacy group, told Business Insider.
From hotter, drier weather to invasive species to more powerful storms, many of the country's parks are experiencing dramatic changes. For example, warming temperatures are making glaciers disappear from Glacier National Park.
From Alaska to Florida, here are six examples of how the climate crisis is changing national parks.
TJ Hileman/Glacier National Park Archives
Montana's Glacier National Park sprawls over 1,500 miles, encompassing mountains, valleys, and glacial lakes. Even if you've never visited, you might recognize the park's Going-to-the-Sun Road, which was featured in the 1980 movie "The Shining."
Throughout the park, grizzly bears graze on huckleberries. Little rodent-like pikas, lynx, and Harlequin ducks are also adapted to the area's chilly weather.
Lisa McKeon/USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center
The park once held 80 glaciers. In 2015, NPS estimated only 26 were left. Satellites have captured the remaining few as they continue to shrink.
Warming temperatures are driving the glaciers' disappearance, which will impact the plants and animals that live there.
For example, mountain goats rely on snow patches to stay cool during the summer. In the winter, the snow helps keep tiny mouse-like rodents, called pikas, insulated from the bitter cold.
Kent Miller/NPS Photo
Together the Denali National Park and Preserve are larger than New Hampshire, stretching nearly 9,500 square miles of Alaskan terrain. Winter days there are short and cold, with temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The park originally began as a way to protect Dall sheep. Today, an estimated 2,000 big-horned sheep brave the chilly climate. Red foxes, snowshoe hares, and dozens of bird species are also around, in addition to grizzlies, wolves, and moose. Even a small wood frog, the park's only amphibian, can survive the subarctic environment.
WeeBee Aschenbrenner/NPS Photo
In the 1960s, the Pretty Rocks landslide began cracking the road leading to the park. In 2014, the landslide was moving a few inches every year. By 2021, it was moving a few inches per hour. The road is now closed at about its halfway point, cutting off vehicle access to sites like Wonder Lake.
While the annual average temperature of the park was once well below freezing, it's now close to 32 °F, according to NPS. The warmer weather and melting permafrost is making the landslide move more quickly. The road is cut into a rock glacier, "and little bits of climate warming are causing this big kind of slump, and the road is falling off the cliff," said Cassidy Jones, a senior visitation program manager with NPCA.
Marji Lang/LightRocket via Getty Images
At Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, visitors can enjoy over 1,300 square miles of trails, trees, foothills, and lakes. Groves of sequoia trees dominate some parts of the landscape, including the famous General Sherman tree towering almost 275 feet high. With its 100-foot circumference, it's one of the largest trees by volume in the world.
Closer to the ground, vivid flora like Evalyn's jewel flower grow and kingsnakes slither. Gophers, skunks, and squirrels scamper about, along with larger mammals like black bears, mule deer, and mountain lions. The parks span a range of habitats, making it a bird-watcher's paradise.
Joe Suarez/NPS
In 2021, lightning struck several areas, igniting what became the KNP Complex Fire. A year earlier, the Castle Fire also ravaged Sequoia National Park. Fires over those two years killed between 8,400 to 12,000 sequoias. Some of the trees were thousands of years old.
Forest fires aren't uncommon, but the sequoias were already vulnerable after a lengthy drought. A combination of low humidity and high temperatures can be a dangerous combination when fires erupt. "Fires have gotten bigger and hotter," Jones said.
Sequoias have long been able to withstand fires, she said. "It tells you something different is going on in terms of just the way the fire is behaving, in the amplification of fire weather," she said.
William Campbell-Corbis via Getty Images
Covering 3,500 miles, most of it in Wyoming, Yellowstone became the US's first national park in 1872. It's home to Old Faithful, as well as many more geysers and hot springs.
Visitors sometimes have to halt their vehicles for bison crossing the road, and moose, bobcats, badgers, bats, and the many other species that live in the park.
However, warmer temperatures are speeding up snowmelt, changing vegetation, and leading to less water in some areas — all of which will likely force some wildlife to relocate. Every year, pronghorn antelope migrate through the park, a journey that's already risky as they cross over roads and fences. A lack of water and food could alter their path.
Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service via Getty Images
A mix of rain and snowmelt caused severe flooding in June 2022. The rushing water damaged roads, structures, and trails. NPS called it an unprecedented, 500-year flood. While the disaster was rare, warmer temperatures are increasing snowmelt and rain is falling instead of snow. Floods could become more common as the climate continues to change.
George Rose/Getty Images
Along the California-Nevada border, Death Valley draws visitors keen to see the salt flats, sand dunes, and craters. It's 3.4 million acres of wilderness, making it one of the largest national parks in the country. At night, its remote location and aridity make it ideal for stargazing.
The scorching desert climate might not seem hospitable to many kinds of life. Yet jackrabbits, bats, tortoises, and roadrunners have all thrived in the park.
J. Jurado/National Park Service
Extreme heat is nothing new for Death Valley. But in recent years, temperatures regularly soar past 125 degrees Fahrenheit in July. Plus, triple-digits can extend into October, and the nights don't get as cool.
The sizzling weather can be dangerous for visitors and residents, and plants and animals have difficulty coping, too. Some animals may start migrating to cooler climates, but some species may not survive. For example, the extremely rare Devils Home pupfish population, found only in Death Valley, has been in decline since the 1990s.
Google Earth
Located in Southern Florida, the Everglades National Park is a patchwork of unique ecosystems, from mangroves to pinelands. With 1.5 million acres of land, it has space for estuaries, giant cypress trees, and marshy rivers.
With so many habitats, a huge range of species create the delicate web of life that is the Everglades. Dozens of species of lizards and snakes scuttle and slither, while ducks, doves, and nighthawks mingle not far from flamingos. River otters and manatees also swim through different parts of the park.
Google Earth
Elevated temperatures, more-intense hurricanes, and rising sea levels are among the challenges the Everglades face. When salty seawater seeps into the park's coastal landscape, it can harm rare tropical orchids and other vegetation that can't cope with increased salinity.
Cape Sable lies at Florida's southwestern tip. Sea levels have risen at an accelerated pace over the last 100 years, according to NPS. Hurricanes and tropical storms have washed seawater into what was once freshwater marshes and lakes. The incursion threatens not only mangrove forests but wildlife like the Cape Sable seaside sparrow, which is only found in this unique habitat.
Emerson Miller/Paramount Network
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the season five finale of Paramount Network's "Yellowstone."
Season five of "Yellowstone" — also long believed to be the final installment — ended on Sunday, but a recent teaser has fans thinking that there could be more to come.
Since debuting in 2018, "Yellowstone," co-created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson and centered on an aging rancher named John Dutton (Kevin Costner), has become a smash hit for the network.
Episode 12 of season five, part two (also known as 5B) ended with a preview for the penultimate episode of the season.
In the teaser, the announcer said, "Only one episode left until the season finale of 'Yellowstone.'" Fans latched on to the use of "season finale" instead of "series finale," theorizing that the phrase choice was a subtle confirmation that a sixth season is coming despite a cancellation announcement last year.
Here's what we know about the future of "Yellowstone."
Paramount
In May 2023, it was announced that "Yellowstone" would end with season five.
"I think this last batch of episodes leads us to the end of an era," director and executive producer Christina Alexandra Voros recently told Variety of the final three episodes of season five.
"It's impossible to talk about it in any detail without tipping my hat towards things to come," Voros continued. "But I think Taylor has managed to — and I'm really not sure how he's done it, I think it's sort of masterful — bring the ending to something that feels both shocking and fated at the same time. You need to get to the end of the story to fully understand everything that has come before."
Actor Ian Bohen, who plays Ryan, shared similar comments hyping up the season five finale.
"I don't know that any show has finished this strongly, ever," he told Entertainment Tonight in April. "We're expecting to have the best series finale in history. Overconfident maybe, but I think that's what it's going to be."
Sheridan directed the season five finale, titled "Life Is A Promise."
In the finale, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) avenges the death of her father, John, by killing her adoptive brother Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), who was indirectly involved in the patriarch's demise. Then Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) disposed of Jamie's body by throwing it off the side of a cliff.
After Kayce (Luke Grimes) sells the Dutton ranch to the Broken Rock Reservation, rather than developers, Beth and Rip are last seen buying a smaller, secluded ranch in rural Montana and moving there with their adopted son, Carter (Finn Little).
Paramount Network
In August, Puck reported that "Yellowstone" would continue, focusing on Beth and Rip. According to the outlet, Reilly and Hauser would become the new leads of the series after Costner exited. Costner's character was killed off-screen when season 5B premiered in November.
In early November, Hauser told The Hollywood Reporter that he felt there was more to explore with Beth and Rip.
"You can go on forever about these two. There's no walls when it comes to them, no limits," he said. "And as long as Taylor wants to write something special, I know Kelly and I would be interested to do it."
Then Deadline broke the news that, according to sources close to the production, Reilly and Hauser would reprise their roles to star in a "Yellowstone" spinoff series.
According to Deadline, Sheridan is currently developing the new show, which will likely star other actors reprising their roles from the main series.
Paramount has yet to officially announce a sixth season or spinoff starring Reilly and Hauser, and network representatives didn't respond to our requests for comment. But fans of the neo-Western drama have more to look forward to either way.
Sheridan's TV universe, which includes the "Yellowstone" prequel series "1883" and "1923," will expand with an upcoming "Yellowstone" sequel show called "The Madison," starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
