We Asked Yellowstone Fans to Grade Season 5 and WOW!

Season 5 of Yellowstone just wrapped, and it’s not fair to simply say fans have thoughts on how it all ended.

We asked viewers to grade Yellowstone‘s final season, and the responses were well-thought, nuanced and — for the most part — measured. Very few people said something along the lines of, “Show sucks, Taylor Sheridan sucks, Laramie’s hot!”

Instead, we got takes like this:

“Show suffered from having pretty good-to-great villains through its early run and no time to establish a villain to get behind.”

• Season 5 of Yellowstone tied up every loose plot line last Sunday (Dec. 15). A spin-off starring Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser is expected, and while some are referring to that as “Season 6,” it seems likely to have its own name.
• Spoilers are included below. Don’t read past the video if you still want to know what happened to Jamie and the ranch.
• The Dutton Rules podcast team also graded Yellowstone Season 5.

Related: Yellowstone Gave Every Character an Ending, Except for One

An unscientific average grade for Season 5 of Yellowstone is a “C.” Some fans chose to break it down into two parts:

“Season 5 part 1 was fine but part 2 was butchered. I give part 1 a C, part 2, a D,” says @Rockwall69 on YouTube. “Part 2 was full of unanswered plot elements, wasted airtime (looking at you on a horse Taylor Sheridan) and when it did get to tying up plot lines … PREDICTABLE.”

Most people agreed that the final episode was anything but surprising. The “7 Generations Theory” seemed like a mostly likely path for this show, and it proved true.

“A solid B for me,” shares @gottalafoo. “I was hoping the ranch land would be returned to the Native Americans and it happened … Season 5 had too much Taylor S. and 6666 ranch. The killing of Colby was completely unnecessary and most of the other deaths were predictable.”

If there is one character that eludes consensus, it’s Beth Dutton. She (and by extension actor Kelly Reilly) is either one of the best things to happen to American television in the last 25 years, or the worst. For example:

She certainly had her supporters, as well: “The acting of Miss Reilly however, made this episode enjoyable. She will be the one carrying the tension through future episodes,” says @Jeremiahlyleseditor437.

Several people compared the final episode to the Game of Thrones finale in a way that was not flattering. One person said it wasn’t the worst final episode if only because of the way ABC’s Lost ended in 2010. Much of that criticism was aimed at show creator Taylor Sheridan.

“My biggest complaint with Sheridan is he puts too many irons in the fire. Look, write a series, shoot it and edit it. Then start writing the next series. He takes too long to get us from point A to Z,” says @bobcole612.

That opinion leans into some of the continuity problems Yellowstone had. Season 5 found several loose or broken threads, like Sarah Atwood’s real name, that she and Jamie agreed to hire a hitman to kill Beth (not John Dutton) and Angela Blue Thunder vanishing after posing a threat to Chief Rainwater.

“I’m still waiting to see who stole Tate’s dinosaur bones,” says @andrewkim6037, referring to an early season plot line.

“Oh and Beth again taking the beat of an inch of her life and having SUPER heal powers,” states @theBlackLeprechaun.

The Dutton Rules podcast team graded Season 5 in the video above. A deeper conversation can also be heard during next Monday’s (Dec. 23) episode of the podcast.