What’s the story behind that unexpected ‘Yellowstone’ departure?’ All the possibilities and behind-the-scenes drama explained

Warning: The following article contains Yellowstone season 5 episode 12 spoilers.

Yellowstone character Colby, played by Denim Richards, bit the dust in season 5 part 2 of the western. But why?! It’s a fair question, as none of us foresaw his death or the strange, horse-related, way it came about. If you’re worried the actor was affected by the showrunner Taylor Sheridan’s reported beef with runaway lead Kevin Costner, we at least have some good news on that front.

Why Denim Richards left Yellowstone

There’s no evidence Richards chose to leave Yellowstone on his own accord. It would be a bit of a strange move, despite Costner’s desire to break away and subsequent character death. After all, season 5 would be late in the game to make the decision, and it’s a majorly successful series.

Richards posted twice in the aftermath of the Nov. 11, 2024, episode. One Instagram video featured Colby’s cowboy hat with some choice sobbing emojis, and the other was a photo of his on-set chair, with his items strewn around it.

Neither post had an inciteful caption or displayed anything other than love and respect for his role. He wrote, “grateful,” on one post and “absolutely heartbroken” on the other, indicating it wasn’t his choice to be killed off or otherwise abandon the show’s final frontier.

It looks as if Colby’s death was done for narrative purposes, rather than part of the behind-the-scenes drama that plagued and delayed the final season of Yellowstone proper. Honestly, it’s better that the series’ events happen organically, rather than being influenced by yet another real-life departure, so this wasn’t the worst outcome (for us… anyway).

What happened to Colby?

The episode, “Counting Coup,” saw Colby bring in a Mexican client who wanted to buy Rip Wheeler’s feisty horse named Man-Eater. Later, he sees the result of a huge mistake made by Carter, who snuck into Man Eater’s stall to refill an empty bucket.

He failed his stealth check roll, to say the least. Man Eater doesn’t take the intrusion kindly and becomes agitated. Sensing danger, Colby bravely enters to try and distract the horse to allow Carter to escape.

Unfortunately, Colby gets attacked, kicked, and stomped on multiple times near the chest, which isn’t somewhere you want to be injured by anything that carries lots of force. Carter looks for a rifle in a panic, but Colby eventually succumbs to his injuries and dies.

The ranch hand’s death impacts Teeter in particular, especially considering their love confession at the start of the episode. The narrative weight of it again points to the death being done for thematic, emotional reasons. After his death, Teeter laments about how life as a ranch hand is “suffering,” and the audience losing a character who has been so reliable and present showed the inherent danger in their line of work.

Moreover, things are generally falling apart. Colby’s loss further applies pressure on the financial and personal strain on the Dutton ranch. Things are supposed to feel overwhelming as a result — and oh boy do they. With only two remaining episodes to follow, the dominos will continue to fall.