Yellowstone’s season finales are all connected, with one spooky exception

Every Yellowstone season finale has one thing in common, but the one time it doesn’t happen signifies a huge piece of foreshadowing.

Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 is fast approaching, with new episodes set to arrive in November. Upon rewatch of the main Yellowstone timeline, there’s one common thread found in each of the finale episodes for every season of the Taylor Sheridan show, with one notable exception.

In each Yellowstone season finale, Kevin Costner’s John Dutton is the last character seen on screen. This is consistent for Seasons 1-4, but not for the finale of Season 5 Part 1, in which the last shot is of the ranch’s barn, complete with the Y logo. John is nowhere to be found.

This recurring element might have gone over the heads of casual viewers of the Western series, but what makes this even more interesting is the fact that Season 5’s lack of John in the season finale unknowingly foreshadowed the show’s eventual fate.

Since the episode aired, Kevin Costner made the announcement that he was leaving Yellowstone, and subsequently, the show itself was canceled.

Whether you believe in omens or not, it can’t be denied that breaking tradition and not including John Dutton in the last moment of what would be Kevin Costner’s last season of the show is extremely coincidental.

The first season finale sees John wandering off onto the property after talking to Beth, while the second has him crying while standing on the Dutton’s patio. The third gave fans a cliffhanger, with John slumped on the side of the road after being shot. By Season 4, the last shot was of John and Carter riding away on their horses.

Indeed, being the show’s protagonist (and with Costner being the leading member of the Yellowstone cast), it’s not surprising that he was the central focus of the show. His appearance in the final shots of each final episode was always very likely, in that sense.

This makes it all the more strange to know that fans ended up losing out on what could have been the traditional last shot of him in the entire show. As time goes on, the possibility of Costner returning to Yellowstone becomes smaller, and as such, the Season 5 Part 1 finale will always remain a ghostly reminder.