'Yellowstone' Season 5 Episode 13 Recap: Who Will Buy The Duttons' Land?

The way I see it, the thirteenth episode of Yellowstone season 5 was the calm before the storm. It wasn’t a very eventful episode, but it did set the stage for season 5’s finale which is finally going to reveal the fate of Yellowstone Ranch and what really happens to those behind John Dutton’s murder. [Spoiler Alert] The main highlight of the episode is the horse auction organized at the Duttons’ ranch, as Beth had been trying to sell off all the assets they owned so that they could settle the debt on the mortgage, which she believes would pay off the inheritance tax. However, in a year or so, they’d have to start selling pieces of land to cover the mortgage, which simply means selling the horses and cattle didn’t really solve anything but just bought them some time to find a solution, if any exists. But you see, the ending of episode 13 suggests that Kayce had already found one, and Beth might not need to spend the 30 million dollars that she earned from the auction. 

Beth Took A Trip To Texas

As the episode began, Rip told Beth that his friend, Travis Wheatley, a horse trainer who used to work for John Dutton, had set up an auction at his residence outside Weatherford to sell off a bunch of horses that belonged to Yellowstone. Now, Beth wanted to attend the show, which was why she quickly booked a flight and flew to Texas to see Travis in action. Beth’s reason for doing so was revealed later in the episode, when she requested Travis to help her sell the rest of the horses at the auction in Montana. On her short trip to Weatherford, Beth learned a little about the horse business. She figured out that a horse is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and that’s why she needed Travis and his fireworks so that she could get the highest bid for each of the horses on her ranch. A little money wouldn’t have made much difference, but at this dire moment, they needed all they could. Travis, after a bit of a fuss, finally agreed to put up his circus in Montana to help his old friend, Rip, and out of gratitude towards his old employer, John Dutton.

Dillard Arrived At Market Equities’ Office

After Sarah Atwood’s murder in the previous episodes, Dillard finally took out a search warrant against Market Equities, as he suspected that their legal attorney, Sarah, might have had something to do with John Dutton’s murder. The episode didn’t reveal if Dillard had found any incriminating evidence against the suspected parties or not, but it did suggest that Beth used the opportunity to pin the blame on her brother, Jamie. I guess she paid the news channel some incentive to run the news that the Montana Attorney General was having an affair with MKT’s counsel, and together they might have planned John’s murder so that their development project could finally move forward. It didn’t take Jamie long to understand that it was his sister who might have leaked the information to the press to soil his name and quickly made a call to Beth to stop defaming him in public. So, as always, Jamie tried to threaten Beth and warned her that he would spill all their secrets, taking the family down with him. And to this, Beth only reminded Jamie that he would only lose if he dared to do anything of that sort.

Jamie Met With James’ Mother

Later that night, Jamie, feeling a bit lonely and out of options, paid a visit to Christina, the mother of his child, Jamie. Now, Christina wasn’t in a mood to help someone like Jamie, yet she decided to do so to save his name from getting pulled into the mess, as she didn’t want her child to suffer the consequences of it. She asked Jamie to call a press conference the next morning and deny all the allegations made against him in the media. She wanted him to announce an official investigation to look into the murders of Sarah and John Dutton, so he didn’t look like the bad guy here. Before Jamie left the house, Christina also gave him a few pointers for the speech he was going to make in the press conference, as she believed that this speech was going to decide Jamie’s fate.

Teeter Has to Move On

In Texas, Teeter found out about the tragic accident that took the life of her boyfriend, Colby Mayfield. She had been grieving throughout the thirteen episodes, which was why Beth finally asked her to not try to fix things. Beth knew that Colby’s untimely death had left a hole in Teeter’s heart, but she couldn’t do anything to fill it. Sooner or later, she’d just have to make peace with the fact that she’d have to spend the rest of her life with that hole inside her, and there’s nothing wrong with it. In the episode, Rip also asked Ryan and others to look for a new outfit for themselves, as Rip didn’t know what would become of Yellowstone ranch, but I don’t think Dutton’s cowboys would be required to find other jobs, as Kayce has a plan that can solve everything around. 

Kayce Came Up With A Plan

It seemed like the horse auction was a success. Back in Texas, Ryan and his mates had sold off all the cattle, which earned the ranch some 15 million dollars, and another 15 million came from the horse sale, making the total amount a little over 30 million dollars. However, before Beth could use the money to pay the debt, Kayce asked her to keep it for now. He had an idea, and if things went as planned, then they wouldn’t have to pay the tax and might be able to keep their family land whole just like their father wanted. Kayce’s plan, as much as I grasped it, was to sell the Yellowstone ranch to a third party in pennies so no one has to pay the taxes. Beth understood Kayce’s business plan and quickly asked the name of the buyer he had in mind. Well, Kayce didn’t share any name at the end of the episode, but it seems pretty clear that he would sell off the land to Thomas Rainwater (here’s why), the man who had approached the siblings after their father’s death and told them that they would love to help them to save the land by any means possible.

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