In 2018,Paramountpremiered its Montana-oriented drama series,Yellowstone. The series follows the Dutton family who owns the largest ranch in the state of Montana. Naturally, that brings plenty of conflict from those both in and outside of their family, including members of the neighboring Reservation, jealous cowboys, and developers who hope to purchase the land to build subdivisions and resorts.
TheParamountseries has already run for four seasons, and a fifth has been ordered.Yellowstone’sfifth season will be divided into two parts, both of which will include seven episodes each. Thedivision of its next season into two partsmay mean that there will be twice as big of a threat for the Duttons to handle. With the way season 4 ended, it seems the problems for the Duttons are just getting started. However, no matter how longYellowstoneruns, there is only one villain that remains the vilest.
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Yellowstone’sfirst season introduced the conflict John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and his family has with Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and the Native Reservation. Rainwater hopes to regain the Dutton land that was taken from the Reservation a considerable number of years before.The conflict between themresulted in the loss of John’s eldest son Lee (Dave Annable), who was fatally shot. The debut season ofYellowstonealso introduced Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston) who quickly gets off on the wrong foot with Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) in his attempts to build a subdivision.
Both Rainwater and Dan struggle to overcome the power the Duttons have on their ranch and in the state of Montana. Season 2 would force Rainwater, Dan, and John to work together. Malcolm (Neal McDonough) and Teal (Terry Serpico) Beck would arrive to try and put an end to the casino Rainwater and Danwere working on together. The Becks approached John about uniting their forces to stop them, but he and his family are well aware of the horrid reputation that comes with getting into business with the Becks. The Beck brothers don’t take John’s rejection well and decide to take arms against him and his family.
In seasons 3 and 4, new threats would arrive in Market Equities. Roarke Morris (Josh Holloway) and Willa Hayes (Karen Pittman) would strike against the Duttons first, focusing on outsmarting Beth. Like the Becks, Market Equities result in horrid personal measures to try and overcome the Duttons. They turn to the Morrow father-and-son duo, (enemies from John’s past)to play mind gameswith him. At the same time, Jamie (Wes Bentley) discovers that he was adopted by John as a baby, and he meets Garrett Randall (Will Patton), his birth father, who was convicted of murdering his birth mother. Season 3 ended with the shocking assassination plot on all members of the Dutton family that are shown to be unsuccessful by the start of season 4.
AllYellowstonevillains - big or small - have influenced the direction of the series. However, there is only one pair of criminal masterminds that still hold a presence in the series long after their departure. Malcolm and Teal Beckorchestrated countless plotsthat were designed to hurt the Dutton family on a personal level. They sent men to attack and nearly rape Beth in her office building, murdered Dan Jenkins and his security guard in his home, and kidnaped John’s grandson Tate (Brecken Merrill) off of the Yellowstone Ranch. Tate’s kidnapping not only emotionally scarred his parents Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica (Kelsey Asbille), but has left Tate largely traumatized.
Tate’s difficulties with sleeping are only the tip of the iceberg, as the assassination attempts on the familyat the end of season 3brings his trauma back to the surface. During the attack, he fatally shoots a man who is trying to kill his mother. Knowing what he’s done at such a young age, Tate begins hiding under the bed, growing incredibly distant, and having difficulties carrying on in his once carefree childish manner. The interest he once had in the ranch and learning how to care for his horse Lucky is soon tainted with the trauma he has suffered there. While the Becks were relatively short-lived in their on-screen appearances in season 2, the damage they caused is still largely felt inYellowstonenearly three seasons later.
The longevity for anyYellowstonevillain hasn’t gone well, asnearly all of them have been killed off. The notable exception is Chief Rainwater, who has become more of an ally to John and Kayce than an enemy. Of course, as much as these once bitter enemies are beginning to respect one another on a personal level,Yellowstonehas proven that the obsession over the land and who owns it, will always trump everything else. Even Jaime and Beth, who some have considered villains periodically throughout the series for their lack of remorse for anyone swept up in their collateral damage, have never stooped as low as the Becks have.
It’s hard to know what it would take to become the most formidable opponent of the Dutton family. The death of Lee Dutton didn’t make any of the members of the Reservationthe worst villain of the series, so killing one of them might not get the job done. The lasting impact of the Becks is what makes them such a scary thought, even now. The lack of remorse they felt for any of their actions only amplified how horrible they truly were. The end of season 4 has suggested that the fight between the Duttons and Market Equities is far from over, but it’s difficult to imagine they could do anything to compete with the hold the Becks still have onYellowstone.
