Yellowstone’s Season 3 plot twist makes the Dutton family all the more tragic

An ironic Dutton family plot twist revealed in Yellowstone Season 3 makes the family’s potential fate all the more tragic.

With the approach of Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2, the Dutton’s story will soon end. Throughout the Taylor Sheridan show and its various spinoffs, there’s been an emphasis on one core force: the preservation and continuation of the Dutton bloodline.

There’s been some bumps in the road, of course. With a couple of shocking deaths thrown in along the way and several threats to the lives of key family members, it’s never guaranteed that John and his clan will be able to live safe and sound.

But the biggest threat to the family so far as come at the hands of one of their own. Jamie Dutton, who turns on the family and attempts to overthrow John a handful of times throughout the series, actually ended up making the most effective move in ceasing the Dutton name. What’s more, he did it without even realizing it at the time.

When discussing Yellowstone Season 3 Episode 7, ‘The Beating’, in which Jamie uncovers paperwork that reveals he was adopted by John and his wife as a baby, one fan pointed out that this actually puts an ironic spin on the Dutton family tree.

“I just watched the episode where Jamie learns he’s adopted,” the original post said. “I can’t help but wonder how does John feel having to live with the fact that the boy he adopted is responsible for taking away his biological daughter’s chance to have children — and therefore, prolonging their Dutton line. It sucks so bad. Would their life be better if they didn’t adopt Jamie?”

Indeed, a major aspect of the Dutton’s lineage ties to Jamie approving a sterilization procedure on Beth without her knowledge. As a result, Beth can no longer have children. With Jamie adopted and Lee long dead, that means the family line is on the shoulders of Kayce and Monica.

There’s only one heir to the Dutton Ranch, and that’s Tate. For a family that spans an expansive Yellowstone timeline, that’s likely quite a big source of bitterness for John Dutton. The irony in understanding that Jamie, who isn’t even a Dutton himself, had a hand in shrinking down the family’s bloodline, seems rather harsh for a family so obsessed with legacy.

What’s more, Jamie is clearly the black sheep of the family. Throughout his life, he’s been an outsider and mistreated by Beth, and at times, John himself. All this before his history with Beth and her fertility even come to light.

In a sense, Jamie’s past mistake could have been an eerie foreshadowing of his eventual resentment towards the Duttons, and his efforts to end their Montana reign.