Yellowstone ending defined: How finale lays groundwork for brand new Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler spin-off

Paramount Network’s Yellowstone came to a close on Sunday with an epic two-hour finale that not only brought the show to its conclusion but set up a new spin-off.

After months of rumors, the network finally confirmed a spin-off series following Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser).

The report from Deadline last week revealed that Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan is working on the story and that it will be set in present-day and likely feature other cast members from Yellowstone as well. 

Now that the Yellowstone finale has aired, which left many fans divided, fans may get a much clearer picture of what to expect from this show.

The finale revealed Kayce’s grand plan, selling off the million-acre Yellowstone-Dutton ranch to the Broken Rock indian tribe for the price of land back when his ancestors acquired the land in 1883: $1.25 an acre – a cheap $1.1 million price tag for the largest cattle ranch in the country.

Kayce kept the East Camp plot of land for his family, while Beth and Rip relocated to a new ranch outside of Dillon, Montana, which is where the spin-off will certainly pick up.

Paramount Network’s Yellowstone came to a close on Sunday with an epic two-hour finale that not only brought the show to its conclusion but set up a new spin-off.

After months of rumors, the network finally confirmed a spin-off series following Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser)

The new ranch came into play early on in the finale, when Beth asked Rip to look at a listing for a ranch that spans over 27,000 acres.

She tells him they could run ‘600 pairs’ of cattle’ with ‘irrigated hay meadows, little house, big barn.’

Beth asked Rip if he could, ‘make a living’ there and he said they won’t get rich but they could, ‘pay the bills,’ as Beth insisted she would ‘worry about the rich part.’

He said he could make something like that work, when she revealed that she bought it this morning, which stunned Rip since he still didn’t know at the time that Kayce was selling the Yellowstone ranch.

After the ranch was emptied out, Kayce ran into Rip one last time, as he and Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) were taking down the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch sign.

Kayce told Rip they plan on running 300 pairs of cattle, as Rip says that’s a lot of work for just him and his son, insisting he can give him a call any time he needs help, which could set up Kayce appearing in the spin-off. 

Fans got a glimpse at Beth and Rip’s new ranch too in the finale’s last few scenes, with Beth watching Rip and Carter herd their own cattle. 

While both Beth and Rip seemed to be at peace at the end of the show, the heart of any good drama series is conflict, and there could be plenty waiting for Beth and Rip.

The new ranch came into play early on in the finale, when Beth asked Rip to look at a listing for a ranch that spans over 27,000 acres

Beth asked Rip if he could, ‘make a living’ there and he said they won’t get rich but they could, ‘pay the bills,’ as Beth insisted she would ‘worry about the rich part’

Fans got a glimpse at Beth and Rip’s new ranch too in the finale’s last few scenes, with Beth watching Rip and Carter herd their own cattle.

While they seem now to have gotten away with it, Beth killed her brother Jamie Dutton and had Rip dispose of the body in the same spot the Dutton family has used for years. 

It was explained earlier in the show’s run that the spot – just off the border of Montana and Wyoming – rests in a jurisdictional blind spot, in a county with no population, courts or even a single person residing within 100 miles.

Rip and Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) had no trouble disposing of Jamie’s body and destroying his car, but given how high a profile he has as the state’s Attorney General, it’s possible that a widespread search is conducted and possibly his body and every other body disposed in the ‘train station’ is found.

While there likely is no forensic evidence tying anyone to those bodies, it likely wouldn’t take long, if those bodies were discovered, to find that they all had some ties to the Dutton family.

Another possible source for conflict could simply be the amount of power wielded by John Dutton during his time, which likely created plenty of enemies.

While John is no longer among the living, it’s possible any number of those enemies could find an axe to grind against Rip and Beth, even though they’re just living their best life.

Then again, given Beth’s typically volatile nature towards practically anyone, it likely wouldn’t be too difficult for her to make some enemies on her own.

As far as returning guest stars are concerned, Rip did extend an invite to Lloyd, though he insisted he wouldn’t want to be a cowboy anywhere except the Yellowstone, though he still could turn up at some point.

While they seem now to have gotten away with it, Beth killed her brother Jamie Dutton and had Rip dispose of the body in the same spot the Dutton family has used for years

Some of the cowboys caught on at local ranches, it seemed, though some went to Texas like Ryan (Ian Bohen) and Teeter (Jennifer Landon).

It’s possible they could run into Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) or Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) on their former land, if Beth chooses to visit her family’s gravestones.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this spin-off, though, would be to see how creator Taylor Sheridan would tell these stories focused on just Beth and Rip instead of handling such a massive ensemble of players.

While Paramount has given the green light for the show, it remains to see when it will go into production