REVIEW: Yellowstone – Season 4, Episode 7 “Keep the Wolves Close”

Television Reviews

With only three episodes left until the finale, Yellowstone season four has been moving at a much slower pace than its previous seasons, much to the chagrin of a lot of its dedicated fanbase. But it’s all about to pay off. One by one, the loose plot threads that have been dangling separately over the last six episodes are starting to come together, and the final product is shaping up to be quite the work of art.

*SPOILERS*

Episode seven’s big bombshell is two-fold: on her first day as President of the Montana Division for the company Market Equities, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) attends a board meeting wherein the company she works for reveals they have no intention of giving up their goal of taking over the land the Yellowstone ranch sits on for their new airport and neighboring ski resort. Their plans are massive and very destructive; the Yellowstone and the land surrounding it would be lost forever. Beth, who’s been hell-bent on saving the ranch for her father, is finally forced to realize that she is going to lose this battle, and it’s pretty devastating.

Meanwhile, on the ranch, patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner) is pulled aside by his on-again-off-again fling, Governor Perry (Wendy Moniz), who tells him she’s running for Senate, and she wants to endorse his adopted son Jamie (Wes Bentley) for Governor of Montana. Naturally, this news does not sit well with John (or any of us, really; Jamie is THE most hated character on the show, and for good reason: he’s a god-awful, terrible person), and flustered, tells her that HE will run for Governor, asking for her endorsement (which she happily agrees to give him).

At the same time as both of these events are happening, god-awful, terrible person Jamie is at his home playing with his one-year-old son. Overlooking this tender moment is the boy’s mother, Christina (Katherine Cunningham), and his biological father (also a god-awful, terrible person – the apple does not fall far from that tree, let me tell you), Garrett Randall (Will Patton), who conspire to have Jamie run and win the Governor’s race, which will allow him to step out of John Dutton’s shadow, be his own person, and take him down once and for all. They’re confident this will come to pass because current Governor Perry has basically already promised Jamie she’ll endorse him.

Whoops.

Across the country, at the Four Sixes Ranch in Texas, we get to check in on stupid-but-lovable ranch hand Jimmy (Jefferson White). This was a really cool scene because we got a real-life glimpse into what the Four Sixes, which is a real ranch, actually does on a normal basis, including collecting horse semen from their prized stallions to sell. Yes, they showed it all. Yes, it was too much information. And yes, I laughed for a good ten minutes afterwards, thinking of all the poor fans of this show that had NO idea that was a thing that happens and are now probably slightly traumatized. LOLZ all around.

Anyway, moving on:

We get a final reconciliation back at the Yellowstone ranch between cowboys Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) and Walker (Ryan Bingham). The tension between the two characters has been building; in last week’s episode, it all finally came to a head, with Rip (Cole Hauser) forcing Lloyd and Walker to fight in the round pen until they got their problems with each other sorted out. It was a rough episode to watch. This week, Lloyd has finally realized that he has been acting incredibly childish and decided to trade in one of his prized buckles from when he was in the rodeo to a pawn shop, picking up a new guitar for Walker to replace the one he smashed into bits. To most of our disappointments, the female barrel racer that was the cause of all this violence between the two men is still hanging around the bunkhouse despite being told to leave. I think I speak for a lot of us fans when I say I really hope Rip finds out she’s still around and takes her right to the train station, because honestly, she’s way overstayed her welcome at this point, and it’s time for her to GO.

John tells Beth that he’s running for Governor and asks her to help him get out of it, which she promptly denies. This is their best chance to save the ranch, she says, and she’s right. Should John win, he can basically single-handedly stop Market Equities from building anything on the land – whether it’s the Yellowstone itself or the land surrounding it – ever. She promises to help him win, and he agrees to stay in the fight.

With all these little loose ends starting to tie up, we reach the end of the episode and the moment we’ve all been waiting for: the endorsement of John Dutton as Governor. And boy, is it GLORIOUS. We follow Jamie into work, where his receptionist promptly tells him to turn right around and head downstairs because Governor Perry has decided to call a press conference RIGHT NOW, and his presence is requested. He gets all nervous, adjusts his tie, and heads down the stairs with a huge grin on his face. That smile wavers when he spots John and Beth standing on the landing; he’s shocked to see them, but, in a classic Jamie move, he assumes they’re there to support him (oh, Jamie, bless your heart) and thanks them for being there. Governor Perry steps up to the podium where she makes a speech about how she’s running for Senate, and the new governor should be someone who’s going to fight for the Montana way of life, defend its people, etc., etc., etc. Jamie starts to walk down the stairs, ready to accept, when she drops the bomb: there’s no better candidate to protect the ranchers of Montana than John Dutton. OOF. The look on Jamie’s face is priceless, and when I tell you I let out a cheer, I mean it. That man looked like his dog had just died. John doesn’t even look at him before heading down to accept the governor’s endorsement, but Beth has to get the final word in: “This is just the beginning,” she whispers into Jamie’s ear before stepping aside to watch her father’s speech.

“They’ll tell you that the land’s only hope is for them to be its steward. The ugly truth is: they want the land, and if they get it, it will never look like our land again. That is progress in today’s terms. So, if it’s progress you seek, do not vote for me. I am the opposite of progress. I am the wall it bashes against, and I will not be the one who breaks.”

Fade to black, end of episode.

I love this show. This episode was so good, and I cannot wait to see where this all goes. We’ve got three episodes left, and the battle to save the ranch has taken a new turn, and for the first time in a while, it really feels like we can save the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. (Also, raise your hand if you got all emotional when John asked Rip and Beth to move into the lodge with him, because same.)