This article contains spoilers for season five of Yellowstone.
With the first midseason finale in Yellowstone history and a slew of metaphorical fires set up around every corner for the Dutton family, audiences are stuck in a peril unlike any we’ve known before. Wes Bentley promised a new version of Jamie Dutton this season, and he’s delivered it in every sense of the word. The man who often acted out of fear is acting with sheer aggression running through his bloodstream, and he’s got a siren song in his ear this season to help him where courage is concerned.
On the other side of the equation, Beth Dutton discovered a big family secret, and she’s out for blood. John Dutton is being looked at for impeachment, and with half of the ranch hands on their way to Texas, there are spots where the patriarch and landowner can suffer attacks he would usually be immune to. Some of the actresses playing powerful characters this season are talking about everything from the Jamie drama to John Dutton. Lilli Kay, Dawn Olivieri, and Kelly Reilly have a lot to say about everything. You know what to do from here: grab your Yellowstone-loving bestie and drink of choice because we’re riding in.
Kelly Reilly dishes on playing out sibling rivalries with Wes Bentley
Kelly Reilly and Wes Bentley have an on-screen relationship so multifaceted that it’s almost hard to believe they could exist in the same space at all. As teenagers, Reilly’s Beth Dutton saw Bentley’s Jamie Dutton as someone she could trust and call upon when things got hard. When she did ask him for help in a tricky situation, he took something from her without her permission, and that moment sits at the core of everything between them now.
Most of what exists between them now is a deep disdain for one another, hatred even, and there’s no turning back on it now. They’ve entirely passed any line where a semblance of common ground could have stood and moved on to where only hopes for an early death or even plans for one now live. No love, respect, or even kindness is left for one another, and things quickly escalate to a life-or-death scenario in the second half of season five.
Carrying that kind of weight could burden most actors, but Bentley and Reilly carry it with grace. The New York Times shared a quote in a recent piece highlighting Bentley where Reilly notes that there’s a lot of compassion between the two off-screen, and fans are glad to hear it.
“There’s something about his weakness that appalls her. Wes and I have been doing this now together for five years. We know each other quite well, and we take care of one another tremendously. We both have to be quite fearless in those scenes. They’re quite ugly sometimes.”
Sharing the same sentiments as Bentley himself, Reilly notes that you have to try to leave all of that at the door before you head home, and few characters on television know that fight quite like Beth and Jamie Dutton. They’ve both experienced trauma in a way that changes who they are on a fundamental level, and that is a lot to carry for the characters and the talents that breathe life into them.
Luckily, Bentley and Reilly can rely on one another through their tumultuous on-screen relationship as they share a much brighter bond behind the scenes. There’s no love between the siblings on the screen, but an abundance of it exists where it counts.
Dawn Olivieri on Jamie Dutton’s character growth
One of the new characters to Yellowstone is Market Equities’ shiny new toy, Sarah Atwood. She was brought in to wreak havoc on the Dutton family, and she’s been doing so with what almost feels like a wicked spell cast over Jamie Dutton. Knowing exactly what to say to Jamie to further separate him from his family, siren-esque in her movements and tone, she’s got Jamie right where she wants him, but Jamie isn’t a victim caught in her web. He’s a willing participant, grateful she’s unlocked this side of him. While they’re somewhat toxic together on screen, Dawn Olivieri tells the New York Times that behind the scenes, she’s seen a significant change in who Bentley is as a man and an actor.
“I have watched Wes change as a man, even in the short period of time that we’ve worked together. It’s really hard as an actor not to absorb the character that you’re playing. You just become that person. When you’re a really good actor, it’s like you almost can’t even help it. And Wes is a really good actor.”
His talent far surpasses what any other actor would have brought to the table for a character like Jamie Dutton, and it’s because of Bentley that we can reason with the decisions Jamie makes, hate him in one second, and root for him in the next. It’s a complicated set of emotions to be a fan of Yellowstone, even more so to see Jamie in a positive regard, and we’ve all got Bentley to thank for it.
Lilli Kay shares what it’s like to be John Dutton’s assistant
Lilli Kay is a powerhouse of an addition to the fifth season of Yellowstone, and her character is easily one of our favorite new additions. As an assistant to the Governor of Montana, John Dutton, she knew that chaos would likely be in her job description, but she couldn’t have imagined just how much. In the midseason finale of Yellowstone, there was trauma in just about every corner of the world.
Speaking to Deadline, Kay shares that disaster is on the horizon for our favorite Duttons:
“It’s the beginning of the disaster, with John trying to deal with Jamie, who is starting an impeachment process and trying to turn the state against him. There’s some drama with the herd and a potential disease going around with the cattle. It’s sort of like juggling a bunch of disasters that are concurrently exploding in everybody’s face.”
The answer is yes when asked if Clara is all in on John, even after what Jamie is attempting. She knows what’s happening; being on the inside of the Dutton family gives her a window into all of the ups and downs and the moments of truth and lies.
“I think so. She’s been given access to a part of his life, and having seen what she’s seen on the ranch and what his focus is, she wants to stand behind him and is pretty loyal going forward.”
Kay also spoke about the dynamics of who Clara is and what she brings to the table for John, which is just about everything as far as she’s concerned. Starting as his assistant, she’s morphed into so much more. She’s sort of what Rip Wheeler is to John Dutton in a different capacity; she’s his right-hand woman.
“She was his assistant, and now she’s kind of John’s everything. She’s the kind of person that’s wrangling all the political things that he’s dealing with. She’s fairly inexperienced compared to the people that were on his team, so she’s had to step up in ways that she did not expect. But she’s able to do it pretty well.”
Kay’s character is someone fans have taken to quickly, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for Clara as she navigates this chapter for the governor in both his professional and personal life. It’s not every day a personal assistant turned fairy godmother faces attacks from every turn, but we have a feeling she’ll be able to weather the storm.
With Yellowstone pausing its midseason hiatus, you can get all caught up on the first four seasons on Peacock as we prepare for the trip someone will soon be taking to the train station.
