‘Yellowstone’ Fans Think John Dutton’s Still Alive + I Know Why

It’s the Yellowstone conspiracy theory that’s too loud to ignore: John Dutton is still alive, and his death is just a trap set for his fiercest villain.

This is far from the only unusual interpretation of the Season 5 Part 2 premiere from Nov. 10. Last Sunday’s (Nov. 17) episode expanded this alternative universe. Here is a preview of what we’ll discuss during our weekly Yellowstone preview conversation later this week:

I’ll be honest and admit I do not think John Dutton is still alive. I’m taking Kevin Costner at his word that he didn’t show up to film any new scenes for these series-ending episodes. The actor wasn’t coy or cheeky in discussing his involvement — he flat-out said he’s not involved with the show any longer.

Sure, we’d all forgive him for that lie, but it’d be a lie, nonetheless.

On social media and in the comments of our Yellowstone breakdown videos on YouTube, fans have stated that they think John Dutton lives. It was a small but important part of the conversation during this week’s Dutton Rules podcast.

Here’s one comment. Take care of yourself if vivid (and insensitive) descriptions of death by suicide are triggering.

“John Dutton is not dead. Convenient that he blew his brains out, supposedly … can’t truly identify the victim. Its brilliant! Can’t wait to see how this plays out. John Dutton was in the know and maybe Beth too since she was googling who that person was and nothing else came about from it. They staged it.”

Related: Am I the Only One Who Noticed This Huge Yellowstone Plot Hole?

The “Googling” is a reference to a Season 5 Part 1 plot line that finds Beth discovering that Sarah Atwood is not her real name. That’s all but dissolved since, becoming one of those frustrating loose ends a la lug nut boy from the Season 3 finale.

From a plot standpoint, a staged death is intriguing, if only because it recognizes the many evil forces lining up to take out the Dutton family. This would allow Beth, Rip, Kayce, etc., time to hunt and kill the family’s enemies. The problem is, no part of that trio seems to be in on the plan.

The other problem is that if Dutton staged his own death, he did so in cooperation with law enforcement. A series of murders that point back to Beth/Rip/Kayce would not escape police scrutiny.

Still, this person on Reddit makes a compelling case:

“OK there’s one slight chance that this is the biggest fake play ever pulled off. I mean in the bin of tricks of police and law-enforcement there is the ‘there was a conspiracy to kill you, so we’re going to tell everybody that you died in order to trap the would be killers.'”

Here is one final question to consider before totally dismissing this theory. If John Dutton is dead and Kevin Costner is not going to appear in Season 5, then why is his name the first to appear in the show’s opening credits? The very end of this week’s Yellowstone breakdown illustrates that point.

Find the Dutton Rules podcast at Taste of Country or wherever great podcasts are found. Season 5 Episode 11 of Yellowstone airs on Paramount Network on Nov. 24.