Hello out there, all you Yellowstone fans, we’re currently basking in the magic that was the season five premiere last night, and we hope you are too. It was emotional, devastating, yet somehow magical, and that’s the true appeal of the series: going from crying to laughing and plotting trips to the train station alongside the characters within a few moments’ time. With last night’s two-hour season debut, fans found themselves screaming at the television, laughing at the despair of Caroline Warner, and rooting for John Dutton — with hesitation. It’s hard to see the guy as Governor of Montana while knowing it’s a job he never wanted to take. In addition to unpacking all of the drama from the season premiere, we’re looking at an important life lesson Cole Hauser says he learned from Kevin Costner, and perusing the rating game from last night’s new episodes. You know the drill from here: grab your Yellowstone-loving bestie and your drink of choice, and let’s ride in!
Cole Hauser shares the important lesson he learned from Kevin Costner
Speaking to FOX News, Hauser says that Costner taught him something important, and not just in regards to the show. With an actor as talented as Costner on set, those around him have got to be soaking in all of the brilliance they can in his presence.
“What surprised me about Costner is just what kind of human being he is. Before an actor or as a creative soul is just him as a person. He’s from the kind of area in California that I’m from. He’s from Ventura. I’m from Santa Barbara. And getting to know him over the last five years, I mean I’ve learned a lot about just being a gentleman on set and just a class act… He’s got a family. I have three kids, a wonderful wife. And he’s just someone to look up to in my opinion. And then creatively, his storytelling, his want and desire to continue to push the envelope as a… creator… it’s inspiring.”
Hauser isn’t the only one singing Costner’s praises, and it’s evident that anyone who meets the guy finds beauty in the way he carries himself; we’re lucky to be fans of someone both talented and willing to share life lessons with those around him.
Unpacking the emotional season five premiere
The world around him is celebrating, but those closest to him know that this is a sacrifice, not an embodiment of a lifelong dream come true. The thing is, to keep his true lifelong dream, he had to take the job — it’s a double-edged sword in every sense of the word.
So as John was sworn in, the cracks in the surface began to show; yes, it happened that early. He froze as he should have been reciting the words initially spoken to him, and Beth had to remind him to say them back. It felt like John wanted to be anywhere else in the world, and we weren’t the only ones who noticed.
After his swearing-in ceremony, a celebration was held in his honor, and decisive moments of joy took place. We met Lainey Wilson’s Abby for the first time, we saw Shane Smith and the Saints make their Yellowstone debut, and we saw our favorite ranch hands as they cozied up to their partners to dance the afternoon away.
What we didn’t see was Rip Wheeler down there mingling with the community; in fact, we see an excited Beth dance towards him, but the joy ends there. He tells her all he can think about is John losing the ranch in the next ten years, and he turns in early for the night. Talk about a painful moment for both of them.
Another painful (see also: massively heartbreaking) moment of the season premiere took place as Monica was driving to meet an ambulance to take her to Billings. She was having cramps, and they were “getting really bad.” It was too early to have the baby, but it seemed that life was happening anyway.
As Monica and Tate drove towards the hospital, tragedy struck, and an accident occurred. Fans were greeted next by John being told he needed to get to Billings because of an accident; when he arrived, he saw Tate sitting down outside of a hospital room. He told his grandfather that he had a brother, for an hour anyway, and that his name was John. Cue the tears, seriously — we couldn’t stop crying.
Kayce and Monica had to learn how to deal with the direct aftermath of the accident. As they shared a moment on the porch, Monica having been released from the hospital, she asked her husband if he saw this tragedy during his vision quest. Kayce was quick to tell her that he had no idea this was coming, that the “end of us” he saw was a decision he’d have to make, and Kayce would never pick this heartache for them.
Earlier in the episode, fans also got a front-row seat to a beautiful moment between Rip and Beth where he tells her she’s got to find someone else for fighting instead of constantly breaking herself down. Rip loves her more than anything in the world, but he knows she’s only hurting herself as she continues going to war within her own mind.
Fans got their first look at Sarah Atwood too, and if we’re talking about someone for Beth to fight, we’ve got a contestant in her. She’s Caroline Warner’s new secret weapon and someone who already has an eye on Jamie, seeing him as someone who can be broken apart from the family.
Interestingly enough, we all know what happened when someone else tried to turn Jamie against the Duttons, and he’s currently at the Yellowstone train station.
The season five premiere highlights a growing audience
Ratings from the fifth season premiere went live tonight, showing that Yellowstone’s popularity is exactly what we expected: growing and expanding. The family at the series’ heart knows struggle and heartache, but beauty, reprise, and fans can’t get enough.
More than 12 million viewers tuned in to see the next chapter for the Dutton family unfold, and Deadline reports that numbers were up in the critical demographic audiences for the show.
“Viewership went up 52% in adults 18-34 (2.53 Live+Same Day vs. 1.67) compared with the Season 4 premiere, and up 22% in adults 18-49 (3.96 L+SD vs. 3.26). It was also up 13% in adults 25-54 (5.48 L+SD vs. 4.85) and 10% in total viewers (8.8 million vs. 8 million).”
For anyone afraid that the Duttons might be slowing down, we’d set that fear aside: the first two episodes of the season laid the groundwork for an incredible storyline to continue unfolding in front of us, and we can’t wait to see their work.
Here’s to the Dutton family; may they find a bit of peace in the upcoming episodes (please…they all need it).