Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise starts simply enough, with a cattle ranching empire fighting to keep what’s theirs. But after a solid season of murder and mayhem, season 2 of the series becomes a no-holds-barred exercise in violence.
Dan Jenkins’ (Danny Huston) attempts to build a business catering to the rich was child’s play compared to the season 2 villain. After surviving a hanging executed by one of John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) children, Jenkins continues his plots. He is undeterred by Dutton’s threats and teams up with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) to build a casino. That is until the Beck Brothers ride into town. The Dutton family may not be above murder, but they adhere to some sort of moral code. Season 2 reveals that the Becks aren’t too concerned with such trivialities.
Who are the Beck brothers?
When Malcolm (Neal McDonough) and Teal Beck (Terry Serpico) first wind up on the doorstep of the large Yellowstone ranch, they appear to be just another Jenkins. They oppose the real estate developer because they see him as a competition. But it only takes a few rough encounters to make it clear that these two don’t fight fair. The biggest indicator of this is how bulldog Beth (Kelly Reilly) deals with people outside of the family.
In season 1, she manipulates Jenkins with ease. She finds committing blackmail is as easy as doing her nails, and has a wonderful time doing it. Her interactions with Malcolm are far more violent, bordering on sexist. The casino developer immediately takes issue with her, disliking that a woman can be so outspoken. He takes pleasure in sending his men to her office to physically assault her. She is close to death until Rip (Cole Hauser) arrives just in time to save her and confess his love. That incident would prove to just be an appetizer to the main course.
The Becks kill Jenkins without hesitation and later collaborate with white supremacists in a plot to kidnap Kayce’s (Luke Grimes) son, Tate (Brecken Merrill). They understand that he is the weakest link in the Dutton chain, the one that John loves above all others. Just a child, Tate is taken easily, and the season finale is a desperate rush to find the boy before it is too late. Kayce and his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) have already been on rocky terrain in their relationship. Monica abhors everything that John is, and doesn’t want her husband to turn into him. But Tate’s kidnapping surprisingly brings them closer together. Kayce promises her that he will kill the Becks and get their son back.
True to his word, Kayce tortures Teal for information about Malcolm before killing him. In a sequence that wouldn’t be out of place in The Punisher, John and Kayce storm where Malcolm is hiding, shooting anyone in their way. John makes it to Malcolm, killing him and finally rescuing Tate. Unlike antiheroic characters like Jenkins or Rainwater, the Becks were a classic show of unrepentant villains.
