Yellowstone fan theory explains most difficult relationship on show

One Yellowstone fan theory has proven very popular, and it explains one of the show’s most difficult character dynamics.

Jamie Dutton is one of the most polarizing Yellowstone characters by a mile. Many fans of the Taylor Sheridan show are willing to defend the black sheep of the Dutton family, while plenty of others see him as an obstacle. An outsider, an annoyance.

But one thing everyone can agree on is that there should be answers for Jamie’s behavior. Viewers already got handed the twist of his adoption in Season 3, and there was a flashback that explained his hateful relationship with Beth. But another character who’s often at odds with Jamie is his adopted father, John Dutton.

Thankfully, because there’s a theory for everything in Yellowstone, there’s a very popular explanation as to why John can’t stand Jamie, and it all has to do with a twist in the Dutton family tree.

“John’s ‘reason’ may stem from Jamie’s alleged adoption,” one user wrote on Reddit. “A popular theory is that Jamie is a blood Dutton (even if not John’s bio son) and has a claim to the ranch that supersedes John’s. That would explain why he treats him the way he does and acts like he’s going to ruin the ranch.”

Indeed, this theory goes back years. From the beginning, fans suspected that Jamie’s adoption scandal was a red herring, and that there is actually a biological connection between him and the Duttons. Opinions vary on how this could be, but a popular one is that John once had an affair with Jamie’s biological mother.

“I’ve been thinking that maybe John IS Jamie’s biological father after all — from an affair with Jamie’s mother. Garrett perhaps believes that Jamie is his. It never occurred to him that his wife may have cheated on him with John!” one fan theorized.

“John had an affair with Jamie’s mom while married to Evelyn. She gave birth to Jamie and ‘knew’ he was a Dutton,” another wrote. “She may even had known from John that his great grandfather was James Dutton, hence the namesake. I think that Garrett Randall found out that Jamie wasn’t his bio son. Phyllis may have fessed up that Jamie was John’s son. So Garrett kills his wife and now has it out for the Duttons.”

A third added: “Jamie’s mom worked on the ranch, became friends with John and his wife. John had an affair with her and she was gone. She married Garrett and everyone assumed it was his kid, even John.”

“It would be cool if John was really Jamie’s biological dad. And that Garrett killed his wife because he found out that she was cheating on him with John,” said one comment.

Here’s hoping there’ll be more Jamie lore in Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2!