Why did John Dutton say goodbye to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch?

Yellowstone‘s fifth season drew to a pause at the beginning of 2023, but not before some emotional goodbyes were said as fans were taken on a complex, dramatic, and moving storyline as John Dutton took on his new role as Governor of Montana, leaving behind the life he once knew.

That’s not to say that John was saying goodbye forever; it was more like a temporary farewell, a chapter closing, but not the entire book. Despite how much we may want to wish our worries away and abandon all responsibility, John knew that wasn’t an option for him — mainly because of how much his family depended on him and his new career path. He didn’t take on the role of governor to follow a life’s passion and didn’t swear in publicly because it was the dream to end all dreams; he did it to keep his family together.

How would becoming governor do that, you might ask? Well, you’ve got to be well-versed in the Dutton realm to understand that everything these characters do is calculated and well-thought-out, and even when they act impulsively, it’s usually for a good reason. The Yellowverse is multifaceted, layered, and complex, and it’s full of more intricately woven stories than we could have ever imagined when we first took a journey to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.

So why would John say goodbye to the ranch he loves so much, and what is he hoping comes from the “see you later” he never anticipated saying? As always, we’ve got you covered.

John Dutton: Governor of Montana

First things first: we’ve got to talk about the new job Dutton took, being Montana’s chief executive officer. The title of governor isn’t one that John longed for all his life; he didn’t grow into adulthood dreaming of an office and a fancy title to go along with it. He wasn’t asking for the responsibility of a state and its constituents; he simply wanted to do right by his family and honor the promise he made to his father.

If you’ve not paid attention to the moments we see between a young John Dutton and his dad, we recommend going through the Yellowstone chapters so far and watching all of the clips with a younger version of John (played by Josh Lucas). While John knew that life wasn’t all sunshine and roses for longer than most of us hit that realization, Lucas’ version of the character is less jaded than Costner’s — and for a good reason. We see him in various stages between loving and losing the love of his life, Evelyn Dutton. A loss like that would change anyone on a fundamental level, and it’s one of the turning points for the story Costner’s John is telling.

Before that loss, however, John dealt with the loss of his father, and the last thing he has of him in this world (at least in John’s eyes) is the promise he made to keep their ranch safe — no matter what. Fans know that John is surrounded by his father, never too far from the legacy he left behind, but John himself doesn’t feel that connection. He thinks he has to keep living out that vow, holding onto it with every ounce of strength.

So running for Governor of Montana wasn’t something John did without several pieces of the puzzle coming together. He needed to become governor to keep his namesake safe, to keep the ranch in the hands of those he trusts — a tiny list of people, and to honor what he told his father so many years ago.

He also had to assume the role to ensure that his son, Jamie, would not. Why wouldn’t he want his son to be in office? Wouldn’t it make his life easier that way? Well, as fans of the series know, Jamie and John aren’t in one another’s good graces. As we last see them in the first half of season five, they’re all but signing one another’s death certificates. Jamie wants to ruin John, take what he thinks should be his, and leave the rest of the Dutton family in the dust. To add insult to injury, he also wants to negate anything John has ever done, to turn an entire state against him, and if that doesn’t work — he hopes to rob him of whatever joy he has left.

As John assumed the position of governor, he realized the heavy weight he would soon shoulder, and he also had to become comfortable with the growing target on his back. Those things and more pushed him to say the emotional goodbye to the ranch, albeit not permanently, but it still stung.

Why did John Dutton say goodbye to the Yellowstone?

For many reasons, John bid farewell to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, and his temporary handoff of power is something that changed things for everyone. In his absence, Kayce and Monica would step up as the leaders of the ranch, staying in the main home and assuming the duties of ranch owner while still being husband and wife, mother and father, and a couple dealing with a detrimental loss.

One might think that John would have initially taken this matter to his son, Kayce, but he instead asked Monica. He told her that if Tate would inherit the ranch one day, they needed to ensure that it would remain in working order — in addition to keeping it in the family altogether. While John had to step away and take care of business in Helena, he would need Monica and Kayce to run the show.

Monica’s response might have surprised some viewers, but to others, it was another healing moment between the two. Monica told her father-in-law that all he’d ever needed to do was ask them for help. He didn’t need to bark orders or to assume things would go one way or another; she simply wanted him to ask for help, to ask them for help. John smiled, saying that he knew that now and he would go on to speak to Kayce before driving away.

The moment John goes on to share with his son will stick out to viewers for years to come; it is the kind of emotional storytelling Sheridan nails, breathing life into an emotional moment without making a show of it. The thing is, since John already asked Monica for help, his moment with Kayce could be more focused on love, on emotions he wishes he’d shown to his son more often. In fact, John embraced his son in the kind of hug that can heal a broken heart and told him that he loved him.

Kayce wasn’t sure why the moment felt so strong and out of the ordinary, but he soon learned that his father had more on his mind than he could have imagined. He was holding onto these moments for a good reason; it would be a while before he could have more of them.

What does the future of Yellowstone look like?

So what does the future of Yellowstone look like? Right now, that’s all up in the air, because while John’s goodbye was emotional and poignant, what happened next was anything but. Things for Beth Dutton and Jamie didn’t leave off in quite the same atmosphere as that hug and deep conversation that took place at the ranch. Instead, Beth hit Jamie over the head, the two spewed vitriol at one another, and they suddenly realized that the only option for survival for themselves was the downfall of the other.

Okay, so they didn’t just realize that amid their heated conversation, but it smacked them in the face in a way that knowledge hadn’t before. Jamie spilled the beans about a family secret, Beth felt betrayed on a multitude of levels, and we all know that when Beth is pushed into a corner, she comes out stronger. Coming out on top is exactly what Beth set out to do, and as she walked out of her brother’s house, there was only one person she could think about talking to next — their father.

Of course, Jamie had something he needed to say too, and in talking to his lover and confidant, he said that he needed Beth to be removed from the equation, permanently, if things were to ever work in his favor. Across town, Beth was giving the same speech to their father, and someone clearly has more power in this situation than the other. It’s a Beth vs. Jamie showdown, and our bets are on Beth and John. While the family patriarch didn’t exactly say that Jamie needed a trip to the train station, he didn’t shut his daughter down when she brought it up. John usually sees the grey area when it comes to their disagreements, but it’s apparent that we’re well beyond that now.

Everyone in the equation knows that for one Dutton to thrive, another must end up on that one-way train, and it won’t be pretty. Of course, we won’t know what cards are played until the series returns, but you can expect both players to lay their best hands down.

There’s another part of the equation that fans of Yellowstone have been talking about lately: the future of the series as a whole. While Cole Hauser spoke about at least two seasons on the horizon and many stars have shared their excitement for the future, a gossip site shared that tensions on the Yellowstone set were high because of Kevin Costner and that the future may be in doubt. Die-hard fans know the importance of John Dutton to Costner’s heart, and they also know that the rumor mill is always rife where Yellowstone is concerned, but representatives for Costner scoffed at the alleged validity of the rumors, saying that the Yellowstone realm is important to the actor.

Fans might never get a look behind the curtain, but one thing is for sure — the Yellowstone realm must move forward, the show must go on, and we don’t see a future without John making the next steps with Beth.

With Jamie and Beth reaching a boiling point, fans have never seen a situation this volatile within the Yellowverse, and we can’t wait to see who comes out on top. While we’re rooting for our favorite characters to pull out a win, the argument for the opposing side also has some strong support. No matter what happens next, a few things are certain — hearts will be broken, victory will be worn like a medal of honor, and Beth and Rip will continue making us all swoon for seasons to come.

Here’s to love, John’s welcome back to the Yellowstone, and the long black train taking someone to their final resting place.