Nothing on Yellowstone is ever random. At first, the Chinese tourists’ altercation with John seemed pointless.
But by the end of Yellowstone Season 1 Episode 7, two of them were dead, thanks mainly to their own stupidity — leading to a more serious problem when the ranch is already under extra scrutiny, and John is out of commission, at least for now.
[Note: This review is based on the unedited version of the episode available on streaming services. If you watched on CBS, there might be minor differences.]
I’m not sure why a bunch of tourists were interested in John’s land or why they didn’t seem to have any sense. Outsiders on Yellowstone often seem clueless about how life works on the ranch.
But now we’ve got two dead bodies and a bear who it may have been illegal to shoot, and Rip can’t get ahold of anyone to help. Combined with Jenkins’s plan to weaponize the legal system against John, this development pushes us swiftly toward the season-ending cliffhanger.
Meanwhile, things escalated quickly for John. He went from his oncologist being concerned enough to order an endoscopy to doubling over in pain and spitting up blood in the blink of an eye.
Ah, it hurts. You gotta help me here, cause I’m not ready for this. God damn it, I got too much to do.
John
Permalink: Ah, it hurts. You gotta help me here, cause I’m not ready for this. God damn it, I got too…
Added: October 14, 2023
John’s come face to face with his mortality more than once over the last several episodes, but this incident was the most visceral reminder that his days are numbered, not that he’ll go gently into the good night.
John’s battle with cancer throughout the series is one of its more powerful arcs, though with Kevin Costner deciding to call it quits after five seasons, it’s anyone’s guess how his story will eventually end.
The return of his cancer came at the worst possible time. Monica is in the hospital and appears to be suffering from short-term memory loss, and Kayce is depending on him to watch Tate. Jenkins just sued him. That bear’s caused another situation.
John can’t power through this, but he needs to more than ever. When he told God that he had too much to do, he wasn’t exaggerating!
The fight between the cowboys and the bear was the least compelling part of the hour, at least until Rip encountered it and those tourists.
Rip, Walker, and Jimmy were all incompetent. The classic comedy trope of everyone thinking someone else had a gun fell flat; since when is Rip like that?
Jimmy’s fall off the horse and into danger was predictable and annoying. Walker already had enough of him, and I don’t blame him. He’s a constantly aggravating part of the series, and it doesn’t get much better later.
Elsewhere, Beth had a moment before she returned to her usual snarkiness. The flashback of Evelyn and Beth’s subsequent attempt to ride a horse was fascinating on multiple levels.
For the first time, it seemed that Evelyn did have some love for her daughter. Her explanation that she had to be hard on Beth so she wouldn’t forget she was as strong as any man was heartbreaking.
Yellowstone Season 5b – Everything We Know
That likely led to the accident that killed her, traumatizing Beth and making her believe her mother hated her. Evelyn probably went too far and broke Beth.
Yet Beth has absorbed that lesson incredibly well. She’s grown into the ultimate badass woman no one can control or even reason with. She’s hard as nails on the outside and doesn’t care who she hurts to get what she wants, and she keeps her softer side carefully hidden.
That’s Evelyn’s legacy.
Perhaps when she sent Beth to get help after she fell, she wasn’t punishing her as much as toughening her for the last time. Evelyn knew she was dying, and pushing Beth to “fix” the situation would give her the “gift” of being forged by fire.
It certainly puts the flashback of Evelyn’s death on Yellowstone Season 1 Episode 3 in a different light.
Although Beth seemed upset as she remembered her mother’s words, she may have finally processed some things. Her attempt to ride the horse, her allowing Walker to help her, and her genuine happiness when Rip came into the bunkhouse suggested that Beth had changed a tiny bit.
Evelyn’s responsible for Beth’s attitude, but what was with the doctors at the hospital?
Dr. Unger: You need to take a break.
Kayce: I’m staying with my wife.
Dr. Unger: You can come back when there’s someone who can watch him.
Kayce: He’s a kid. He didn’t do anything wrong.
Dr. Unger: Right and wrong aren’t my job. Keeping people safe is.
Permalink: Right and wrong aren’t my job. Keeping people safe is.
Added: October 14, 2023
I understand they needed a safe, peaceful environment at the hospital, but nobody had any empathy.
The nurse didn’t have any idea why a young child might have a tantrum about not being allowed to visit his mom in the ICU, and the staff member who confronted Felix wasn’t much better.
Even Dr. Stafford hated cowboys — and probably indigenous people, too.
Felix held his own, though. I loved when he pointed out to Dr. Stafford that his sage worked!
Brain injuries are tough to deal with, especially when memory is impacted.
The person is, for all practical purposes, not themselves, and Monica’s short-term memory loss is the least of her problems.
Chief Rainwater also displayed a different side when he confronted the kid who shoved Monica onto the sidewalk and then admitted that he wasn’t sure he was making a difference.
This was a far cry from the guy who is busy trying to buy all the land in Bozeman to force John out — and a more likable side of his character.
Your turn, Yellowstone fanatics.
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Yellowstone Season 5 is halfway finished, but CBS is broadcasting an encore presentation of Yellowstone Season 1 on Sundays after 60 Minutes.
