'Dutton Ranch' Episode 7 Trailer Breakdown: Is Carter Going To Get Hurt?

[Spoiler Alert] The ending of Dutton Ranch episode 6 made it abundantly clear how dangerous Rob-Will really is, and the sacrifices he’s willing to make to get back what’s rightfully his. In the episode, he sent his best friend, Chet, whom he’d called “the brother he should have had,” to kill his adoptive brother, Joaquin, because Rob-Will doesn’t trust Joaquin at all. I guess Rob-Will suspects that Joaquin is trying to keep him out of his kingdom, so he can inherit the throne himself. Or maybe Rob-Will had a different reason for sending Chet after Joaquin, because no one can really figure out what’s cooking inside his head. But fortunately, we don’t have to wait too long to figure out his true intentions, as the teaser promo for episode 7 reveals that Rob-Will is back home to attend the party Beulah’s throwing to celebrate the 190th anniversary of 10 Petal Ranch, and there he is, Rob-Will, dressed for the occasion, sitting in Beulah’s chair inside her office, which I guess tells you a lot about what he’s actually planning.

If you remember, in the previous episode, while Oreana and Carter were out fishing on the lake, Oreana received a mysterious text, and after that, her demeanor changed completely, and she told Carter that they had to go somewhere. In the teaser, it is Oreana, Beulah’s granddaughter and Rob-Will’s daughter, who accompanies Beulah into her office to confront Rob-Will, and the sly smile painted over Oreana’s face suggests that she’s enjoying her grandmother’s misery. This makes me certain that it was Rob-Will who sent that text to his daughter, to make her a part of his sinister plan, because Oreana and Rob-Will both want the same thing. Rob-Will wants to inherit Beulah’s empire, which he thinks is rightfully his, considering he’s her only biological son, but Beulah doesn’t think Rob-Will’s capable of taking her legacy forward because of his addiction. This is why she wants Oreana to be perfect, so she can take over the family business, but Oreana doesn’t seem interested in running a ranch or turning into another Beulah Jackson, which is why she wants out. So helping her father ascend the throne is Oreana’s only chance to escape her grandmother’s clutches and live the life she really wants to. 

And there’s one more thing that I keep wondering about: in episode 2, Oreana told Beulah that it was she who helped create Rob-Will’s demons, so it could be possible that Rob-Will became an addict because of his own mother, and this might explain why Oreana hates her grandmother so much.

In the teaser, Beulah is quite shocked to see Rob-Will in her seat, and she doesn’t want him there, especially when there’s a party happening under her roof, and she doesn’t want her reckless son to ruin the celebration. Beulah asks him what he’s doing there, and Rob-Will responds by telling her to take a seat, suggesting he wants to lay down his conditions, which she may have to accept if she wants the night to go smoothly. And I think we can already guess what Rob-Will’s demands are gonna be, but as Beulah has made clear so far, she doesn’t want an addict near her empire, so the only question that remains is: will Beulah accept his demands? And what it’s gonna cost her if she doesn’t comply?

In the next scene, we see guests arriving at the Jacksons’ mansion, and Beulah, standing in front of a mic, makes a grand announcement that, as of tonight, she intends to pass the reins of her empire to the next generation. And as she delivers this line, we get cuts of Joaquin, her adoptive son, Beth and Rip, her new business partners, and Oreana and Rob-Will (standing together). So far, we know that Beulah has plans to hand over her business to Oreana, but I think Rob-Will’s sudden arrival at the party will push her to reconsider her decision. I have been covering these teaser breakdowns for the past three weeks now, and the thing I have noticed is that the clips in the teaser are often shuffled around to create a narrative which doesn’t always play out in the episode. So we don’t know if Beulah is going to make this announcement before she encounters Rob-Will in her office or after, because in both cases, the outcome of her speech is gonna be very different. And I won’t be surprised if this announcement is just to introduce Beth and Rip to her guests, and how the two are going to lead her beef business moving forward, which means Beulah doesn’t really mean to announce her literal successor at the party. In this scene, you can also spot Joaquin wearing the “Republic” hat he bought in the previous episode, so it’s likely he purchased this hat either to dress up for the occasion or to impress his mother, though maybe it was both.

Then we see Everett McKinney, Beulah’s date for the party, standing with Carter, Oreana’s date, telling him, “The second you’ve had enough, just walk away. Find a quiet place.” I think McKinney’s giving Carter some dating advice, possibly drawing from his own past experience with Beulah, as both these men are dating (or in McKinney’s case, have dated) a Jackson. Or maybe McKinney is just giving Carter some general life advice, so that Carter won’t let people or circumstances bother him too much. We know that the lad’s been struggling quite a bit, and it will be for the best if he can share his problems with someone like McKinney, who has seen more of life than anyone else in that room.

In the next shot, we see a group of men wearing navy blue outfits (probably from a different ranch than 10 Petal) entering a pub, with one of them pointing at someone sitting inside the same bar. I think these men came looking for one of the cowboys from 10 Petal Ranch, and one can also spot Austin in the background. However, Rip’s hands, Zach and Azul, ended up becoming a part of this bar fight, likely in order to protect their new friends or workmates, whatever you want to call them. In the previous episode, Rip brought Zach and Azul to work on 10 Petal, and the two had befriended a few decent cowboys from there, so probably Zach and Azul started throwing punches at the men to help their new workmates. Next, we see Rip, Beth, and Carter dressed for the grand party, and riding their horses towards Beulah’s mansion together as a family. In the next shot, Rip is charging towards someone, with Beth following him in the background. It seems like Rob-Will pulled one of his dirty tricks or created a scene at the party, forcing Rip to either handle the situation or throw another punch at him to bring him to his senses.

And then we have Joaquin, standing in front of Beulah, and he looks really hurt. Did Beulah remind him again that he’s not her “real” son? Well, this scene can have multiple meanings, depending on when it’s happening. If it takes place before Beulah makes the announcement, then Joaquin may be trying to win his mother’s validation, but he doesn’t get any, which breaks his heart. But if this scene happens after the announcement, then we can understand why Joaquin was hurt, because Beulah certainly didn’t choose him as her successor, and we already know the reason. And here comes the most shocking shot of the entire teaser: someone throwing Beulah’s family heirloom (the taxidermied longhorn head, which her ancestor stole) onto the ground. It’s a very fast cut, so I can’t figure out the face of the person smashing the longhorn’s head, but from the color of their hat, it seems like it’s Carter, and this could explain why Rip looks so angry in the previous shot. He’s possibly charging towards Carter to stop him from making a fool of himself and everyone else, but the important question here is: why is Carter doing it (if he’s really Carter)? I think it may be part of Rob-Will and Oreana’s plan, with them having brought in Carter to achieve their sinister goal. Maybe Rob-Will and Oreana do want to ruin Beulah’s celebration, as they know that if there’s anything Beulah loves more than herself, it’s her reputation, and destroying her image in front of her guests is the best revenge they can get. Though I think it will be really stupid of Carter if he gets involved with this crooked lot, but if he does, then it will only solidify my belief that Oreana has never been a good influence on Carter. A second possibility is that Carter reacts to something someone tells him at the party. Maybe it’s Beulah, Rob-Will, or someone else entirely who provokes the kid, calling him a “bastard,” which makes Carter lose his mind. And coincidentally, this outburst happens shortly after McKinney tells Carter to “just walk away.” Also, I think someone gets badly hurt in episode 7, as in the main trailer of the show, there’s a shot of an air ambulance taking off from Beulah’s property, with Beth’s back facing the camera in the foreground. In this shot, Beth’s wearing the same dress she wears in the Jacksons’ party, which tells me that a tragedy takes place during the celebration, and if I am not reaching too far, then it may have something to do with Carter and Rob-Will.

Next, we see a silhouette of a person (most likely a woman), firing a gun at someone who is either lying down or sitting in front of her. And from the looks of it, it seems like this armed person is inside a camper van, which makes me believe that one of Beulah’s men, or a hitman hired by Joaquin, has tracked down Wes’ missing wife, Whitney Ayers, and shot her dead to tie up the loose ends. Because other than Whitney, there’s no one else on the Jacksons’ hitlist who would be living inside a camper van. And in the final scene of the teaser, we see Carter, near the bar area, with a half-empty glass sitting in front of him. And when did this scene actually take place, before someone offended him or after? Oreana walks up to him and asks him if he’s having fun, but Carter seems annoyed, and gives a sarcastic reply, so it may be possible that Carter and Oreana had some kind of argument before this scene. And maybe Carter lost control of himself because of Oreana? Well, the way Carter replies to Oreana implies that things are not quite right between them, and to find out what exactly causes this, we have to tune in to the episode. With that said, these are my thoughts and theories on the teaser of Dutton Ranch episode 7, and if you have anything else to add, please feel free to drop in the comments below.