The 14 most shocking deaths in Yellowstone ranked, including John Dutton
ParamountA large part of the success of Yellowstone was predicated on the show’s ability to surprise us at every turn, and what’s more surprising than a big, bad, grizzly death scene?
Yellowstone was the result of Taylor Sheridan combining a bunch of tenacious, very dangerous cowboys with a load of villains looking to take away their land. This, inevitably, led to chaos, and with chaos comes death – and lots of it.
Throughout the course of Yellowstone and the various spin-offs, there have been plenty of casualties. Sheridan is definitely not afraid to kill his darlings, with some key Yellowstone characters falling prey over the years.
Now that the flagship series is officially over, we’ve put together a definitive list of the 14 most shocking deaths from the show. Warning: spoilers ahead!
14. Jamie Dutton
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 5, Episode 14
We’re starting with the least shocking major death in Yellowstone: Jamie Dutton. If we were betting men, Jamie would have been our top choice for the character most likely to die by the end of the show, because that guy had it coming. By the end of the series, nobody liked Jamie, he was being blamed for John Dutton’s death, and Beth had essentially promised she would kill him one day. His odds weren’t good at any point during the five-season run.
Well, Beth made good on her promise. For as unexpected as Jamie’s death was, it was still pretty shocking in nature. It all boiled down to him and Beth duking it out in his house, fighting for their lives with a little help from some bear mace, milk, and good old-fashioned fist throwing. But Beth got the better of him when Rip turned up with the assist, stabbing a knife into his stomach. Goodbye Jamie, hello Train Station.
13. Garrett Randall
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 4, Episode 10
As soon as it was revealed Garrett was behind the hit on the Dutton family, it was inevitable he’d have to be dealt with. Unfortunately for Jamie, it’s Beth who uncovers the mystery, and she is more than willing to make her nemesis suffer by forcing him to kill his real dad just as they are starting to connect.
The writing may have been on the wall for Garrett, but the callous nature of Jamie’s execution is still unexpected.
12. Donnie Haskell
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 4, Episode 8
The relationship between the Dutton family and the local sheriff was just a little bit too cozy for comfort, meaning Donnie was always going to be in danger at some point.
The sad thing is, when he eventually meets his demise, he was just trying to enjoy his lunch at his favorite diner. Still, at least he bravely sacrifices himself to stop a gang of thugs robbing the place.
11. Evelyn Dutton
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 1, Episode 3
We barely get to spend any time with the matriarch of the Dutton family tree, but the fallout of her death is felt throughout the entire show. In the third episode of the first season, we see the sequence of events leading to her untimely death, as a young Beth’s apprehension on her horse leads Evelyn to take a fatal fall and end up crushed beneath her own steed.
It may have been a tragic accident, but this brutal moment sparks years of resentment and pain for the whole family, not least of all Beth, who blames herself for her mother’s death.
10. Wade Morrow
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 3, Episode 9
Bad guys rarely come out on top when they face the Duttons. Just ask Wade Morrow… oh wait, you can’t. And why? Well, because he took things too far and riled up the wrong people.
The old cowboy’s long-standing feud with John Dutton came to a gruesome end, with him and his son, Clint, hanged by the ranchers and his Yellowstone brand being ripped from his skin. Ouch!
9. Sarah Nguyên
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 2, Episode 6
Sneaky Sarah laid the perfect trap for Jamie Dutton when she joined his political campaign team, but when the undercover journalist gathered all the dirt she needed on the Duttons and revealed her hand, she had to be snuffed out.
This was Jamie’s first kill, and a very cowardly one at that, as he basically lashed out like a child and then went running to Rip to beg for help in covering up the murder.
8. Sarah Atwood
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 5, Episode 11
Since Sarah Atwood was the one who put the hit out on John Dutton, it was expected that she’d eventually get what was coming to her. The manipulative vixen from Market Equities had her claws out for Jamie and succeeded, all until Season 5 Episode 11, when she was quickly murdered after John’s cause of death was being disputed.
Well, Sarah, that’s what you get for getting involved with dangerous figures. Although her death was somewhat expected, it was still brutal. As a couple pulled up alongside her car at a stop sign, she was efficiently shot in the head and chest, killing her instantly, all while Jamie was listening on the phone.
7. Dan Jenkins
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 2, Episode 10
Any great villain deserves a great death, and Dan Jenkins got just that. Funnily enough, for all the trouble he caused for the Duttons, Jenkins was actually collaborating with his former foes when he met his maker.
Turns out, teaming up with the Duttons and angering the Beck Brothers was a mistake, and it resulted in a bullet in the head for Dan Jenkins. He may not have been a nice guy, but you have to feel sorry for him, just a little bit.
6. Emmett Walsh
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 5, Episode 6
Just thinking about this death brings a tear to our eyes. In what is arguably the best Yellowstone episode of them all – “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow and You” – John Dutton and his ranchers are on an adventure out in the mountains, doing what they do best: cowboy stuff. The trip takes a turn for the worse, however, when John’s oldest friend, Emmett, passes away in his sleep.
Fear not, though, as it’s a truly beautiful death: Emmett dies in his sleep, under the stars, with his best friend next to him. What is heartbreaking, however, is when John has to return to the ranch and give Emmett’s wife the sad news.
5. Elsa Dutton
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 1, Episode 10 (1883)
This one may not be from the main timeline, but we couldn’t talk about Yellowstone deaths without mentioning the demise of Elsa Dutton in 1883. The star of the prequel series is one of the best characters Taylor Sheridan has ever created; she goes on an incredible journey, both physically and spiritually, but ultimately, her pilgrimage is cut short.
The tragic thing is, Elsa’s death is all part of a big misunderstanding, when a Native American tribe’s misplaced revenge mission sees her end up with an arrow through the stomach.
4. Lee Dutton
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 1, Episode 1
Taylor Sheridan was not messing around when he delivered the pilot episode of Yellowstone, ending that debut with the shocking death of John’s firstborn, Lee Dutton.
Things turn deadly when the Dutton clan come to blows with the Broken Rock Reservation police, and the heir to the Yellowstone throne falls at the first hurdle when he is shot by Monica’s brother, Robert.
3. Roarke Morris
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 4, Episode 1
We challenge you to find a more ridiculously entertaining death than seeing someone get a very angry rattlesnake thrown at their face. Josh Holloway may not have spent all that long in the Yellowstone cast, but there can be no better way to go out.
Kudos to Rip Wheeler for always keeping things fresh and exciting with his methods of wiping out his enemies.
2. Colby Mayfield
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 5, Episode 12
Oh man, oh man. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who could have predicted poor Colby’s demise, and for good reason. The man never had any reason to be killed off. In fact, most of the ranch hands are just trying to do their jobs, only ever serving as collateral damage to the Duttons’ misdeeds. Because of this, a brutal death – especially Colby’s – never really seemed to be on the cards.
Colby’s had a bad encounter with a horse before (alongside Teeter), but it’s a terrible twist of fate that he would later be kicked to death in Season 5 Episode 12. And the fact that it happened while Colby was trying to help Carter is simply a testament to his time on the show: he was a good hand and a good friend. Goodbye Colby, we’ll miss you.
1. John Dutton
ParamountEpisode of death: Season 5, Episode 9
Oh, John. Let’s face it: you had it coming. Despite being the show’s leading man, death was always on the cards for John the moment Kevin Costner announced he was leaving the show. The question wasn’t if, it was how. And when Season 5 Episode 9 opened with the sight of a Kevin Costner body double laying on the cold bathroom floor with a gunshot to the head…well, that was that.
John’s death was a murder made to look like a suicide, so his loss will reverberate throughout every other soul on the Dutton ranch until he is avenged. In this way, John remains the driving force of the show and a reminder that legacy continues long after you’re gone. JD, we salute you.
To find out how Yellowstone ended, you can revisit ends with our finale recap and ending explained. Otherwise, check out what’s to come with other Yellowstone spinoffs like 6666 and The Madison.