In the spring of 2023, there is widespread panic about the fate of Yellowstone. Part 1 of Season 5 concluded in midwinter, and production has not resumed for Part 2. Frankly, pardner, I don’t give a damn.
The conclusion of Yellowstone’s Season 4 seemed like a perfect ending to the tale. In the last two episodes of Season 4, tribal elders guide Kayce through a vision quest in which, he tells Monica, “I saw the end of us.” It doesn’t sound like particularly bad news, just a recognition that all things must pass.
The final scene of Season 4 follows the classic Western formula of the hero riding off into the sunset, with the extra symbolism of the aging hero being accompanied by a young boy, implying that a new generation will keep alive the aspirations of the passing generation.
The Season 4 finale contains an actual wedding—Beth and Rip—and a committed relationship—Jimmy and Emily—conforming to the convention that Shakespearean comedies conclude with a wedding or multiple weddings. The final episode of Season 4 also features the mythic tragedy of Jamie assassinating his biological father, conforming to the convention that Shakespearean tragedies end with a death or multiple deaths. So, Yellowstone—a mashup of soap opera, Western, crime thriller and political drama—could have had a mashup ending as both a comedy and a tragedy if the series had stopped at Season 4.