5 Most Important Moments In ‘Yellowstone’ Season 4, Episode 2 (2024)

We’re thankful for many things this November, but right now, we’re most thankful for back-to-back episodes of Yellowstone. The Season 4 premiere felt urgent and fast paced. Viewers barely had a chance to breathe, much less our beloved Duttons. Thankfully, in Episode 2, co-creator/writer Taylor Sheridan and director Stephen Kay let fans to ease back into the drama, allowing connections to build and strengthen between characters (more Rip and Beth scenes please!) while delivering on the high-stakes intrigue, wry humor and cowboy-isms fans have come to expect from the Western saga.

It’s time to break down the 5 most important moments from Episode 2 that will have repercussions throughout the rest of the season.

KAYCE DEFENDS JAMIE FROM BETH’S ACCUSATIONS

Episode 2 opens with a contemplative scene between John (Kevin Costner) and his youngest son, Kayce (Luke Grimes). Soaking their broken bodies in the hot springs on their property, they enjoy a quiet moment together and get to talking. When John shares with Kayce that Beth (Kelly Reilly) believes black sheep Jamie (Wes Bentley) to be responsible for the attacks against the family, Kayce quickly and thoughtfully disagrees.

Kayce points out that the militia that executed the attacks would never work for someone like Jamie whose political ambitions and haughty airs wouldn’t sit right with them. Most importantly, Kayce reminds John that Jamie leased the Yellowstone land to Market Equities to build an airport next to their upscale ski resort, he didn’t sell it. To hammer his point home, Kayce tells John, “He did that to keep the ranch together, and he did that one for you. Killers don’t seek their victims’ approval.”

BETH’S f*ck YOU TO SCHWARTZ & MEYER

After getting fired in Season 3 by Willa Hayes when Market Equities became the majority owners of Schwartz & Meyer and, consequently, of all the land on the north side of the Yellowstone, Beth finally gets her face-to-face showdown with former mentor Bob Schwartz (Michael Nouri) and his lackey Steven (Brad Schmidt) at an upscale bar.

As she orders a double Titos with three olives—a drink Beth says should not to be confused with a martini because martinis “are enjoyed with friends… and these aren’t my friends”—she lays down the law as Steven lamely tries to talk about her severance package. After throwing her drink on Steven, Beth warns Bob to “retire before I take everything you f*cking have.” When he brags about owning the land around the Yellowstone, Beth smugly corrects him, “you co-own the land, Bob. You gotta read the fine print.”

INTRODUCING CAROLINE WARNER

Introduced as “the constant your time adjusts to,” Market Equities CEO Caroline Warner (played by Jacki Weaver, not Sally Struthers) is a force to be reckoned with. Her first test comes when bones and relics are found on the dig site of Market Equities’ development, enabling Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) to file a cease and decease order to stop construction while the Native Heritage Commission and an archaeological team does an investigation.

Upon meeting with Rainwater at the site, Warner makes him an offer that’s hard to refuse: Market Equities will fund the building of the Nation’s newest casino as long as the company has influence over what Rainwater builds so it will also cater to their future ski resort patrons. A partnership between Warner and Rainwater could mean the end of the Yellowstone.

A PREAMBLE TO YELLOWSTONE SPINOFF, 6666

After our favorite ranch hand Jimmy (Jefferson White) betrayed John’s (Kevin Costner) trust (after he paid all his medical bills!) by getting himself thrown off another bronc and partially paralyzed, fans knew a reckoning was coming. And come it did. While John has not forsaken Jimmy—he wears the brand after all—he is sending him away to make a cowboy of out him.

Jimmy will be going with horse trainer Travis Wheatley (played by Sheridan himself) and his team back to his famed Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. This will also be the location of the next Yellowstone spinoff series, 6666.

WELCOME TO THE RANCH, CARTER

Well, it looks like Carter (Finn Little) is going to earn himself a place on the ranch! The Sherriff brings Carter to Beth after he caught him trying to rob a store with a screw driver, and Beth realizes that the Yellowstone is the only place that can help him. While she is willing to take him in, she knows Rip (Cole Hauser) will be a tougher sell, and boy, was she right.

After Carter and Rip butts head in a very fateful car ride back to town, Rip softens a bit, charmed by Carter’s moxie and the realization that Carter is destined for jail if left to his own devices. In an act of kindness inspired by Beth’s desire to have a family of their own, he allows Carter to become the stable boy at the ranch on a trial basis. Let’s see how he fits in.

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