'Dutton Ranch' Episode 2 Recap And Ending Explained: Will Rip Tell Beth About The Dead Body?

The second episode of Dutton Ranch reveals how Rip and Beth ended up buying the Edwards Ranch in Rio Paloma, Texas. Eight days after the devastating wildfire in Dillon, Rip and Beth started considering their options; whether they want to spend the last of their savings rebuilding their ranch or buy an already established ranch to get into the business as quickly as possible. Rip’s friend, Walker (who used to work on the 6666 Ranch and later moved to Yellowstone Ranch), told him about the Edwards Ranch. It was built on five thousand acres of land, with 175 heads of a premium Black Angus herd, owned by Jeanie Edwards. Jeanie was getting on in years, and after the death of her husband, Billy, she hadn’t been able to manage the outfit on her own. However, she didn’t want to sell the property to anyone. She was looking for a rancher who not only understood the value of the land, but swore to protect its soul with their own life. This was why, when a Dutton showed interest in buying her ranch, Jeanie couldn’t refuse. She told Beth that she didn’t know her father, but from what she had read about him, he seemed to be a man who understood stewardship, and she expected the same from his daughter. Well, Jeanie wasn’t wrong, because in the previous episode itself, Beth convinced Everett McKinney to save a wounded mare, as she knew that the animal still had some fight left in it. In the end, Jeanie handed over the property to Beth and Rip, believing the Montana couple would take great care of it, and that was how the Edwards Ranch turned into the Dutton Ranch. Before leaving, Jeanie also told them about Azul Ramos, a local cowboy whom Rip went on to hire as his helping hand. Azul knew almost everyone in the small town, making it easy for Rip to start the work on the ranch quickly. But even though we know that Rip and Beth are going to make the ranch a success in no time, mostly because it’s not their first rodeo, there are other things happening around town that may slow them down. So without any further ado, allow me to talk about them.

Spoiler Alert

Beulah Sends Rob-Will Away

In the previous episode, Rob-Will, son of Beulah Jackson, shot Wes, a cowboy working for the 10 Petals Ranch, in the head, killing him on the spot. And as soon as Beulah found out about the mess, she asked her eldest, Joaquin, to get rid of the evidence so Rob-Will’s actions wouldn’t end up destroying the family name. In episode 2, Rob-Will took Joaquin to the spot where he had buried the body, but to his surprise, the corpse was missing. At the end of episode 1, Rip had come across Wes’ body and hid it in a freezer inside his barn because he didn’t want anyone to find a corpse on his property. So the missing body made Joaquin certain that there was no other way to save his brother and the ranch but to send Rob-Will away until everything cools down. The thing is, Rob-Will was a short-tempered crackhead who would go ballistic on anyone asking too many questions, so the safest bet right now was to keep him out of the way. Also, the brief sequence between the two brothers suggests that Rob-Will and Joaquin don’t like each other much, and I think you can already guess why. In the end, Beulah sent Rob-Will to a rehab in Sedona, though he had already told his brother that he wouldn’t stay there for long. For some reason, Beulah had told her husband about the incident. The show hasn’t yet introduced him either, so for now, we don’t know much about him.

Chet Is The New Foreman

With Beulah’s previous foreman, Rob-Will, gone, Beulah assigned Chet (Rob-Will’s closest associate) the responsibility of looking after the cowboys on her ranch. She strictly asked Chet to put a stop to the rumors and reinstate some sense of law and order in the bunkhouse, so no one would dare talk about Wes again. During her conversation with Chet, Beulah also mentioned that she was aware that Chet was with Rob-Will on the night Wes was murdered, which means if Rob-Will gets arrested, then she will make sure Chet goes down with him. So Chet now has to not only protect the Jackson family legacy, but also has to protect his own future. Chet took her words as gospel and ended up beating Austin Lewis with a branding iron, sending the cowboy to the hospital with a fractured arm and broken ribs. Austin was the same person who had noticed that Wes was missing from his bed in the middle of the night. He knew something was wrong, which was why he had been asking too many questions and making too much noise, so Chet just beat some “sense” into him so Austin would keep his mouth shut and mind his own business. Later, Joaquin told Beulah about the incident, but she didn’t pay much heed to it, because in her playbook, that’s the only way to get the dust to settle fast.

McKinney Helps Beth Find A Slaughterhouse

The Jacksons owned the only lairage in town, so when Beth picked beef with her, she asked her new friend, McKinney, to help her find another slaughterhouse for her steers, and luckily McKinney knew a place in San Antone. So far, the show has established that, like the rest of the town, McKinney doesn’t like “Miss Rio Paloma” either, most likely because Beulah Jackson thinks that she owns the town and everyone living in it. McKinney also had a crush on Jeanie Edwards and did two tours with Billy, so he was quite friendly with the Edwards and tended more animals on their ranch than anyone else. The opening scene had made it abundantly clear that Jeanie didn’t like the Jacksons much, because everything they touched turned soulless, so that’s one more reason McKinney wasn’t friendly with Beulah and her family. Though unlike Beth, McKinney is choosy when it comes to picking his battles. On their way to San Antone, McKinney eventually told Beth about his past. He served in the Navy as a naval aviator for a helicopter attack squadron and earned some medals during his time there. And even though he didn’t like talking about his past, he always wears his “Seawolves” cap, suggesting that he was quite proud of his service to the nation. McKinney finally brought Beth to his friend’s slaughterhouse, where Claudio, the owner, agreed to deliver Beth’s order in two weeks. After that, Beth can finally sell the beef (something she had been researching on the internet in the Yellowstone season 5 finale) under her new outfit.

Rip Brings In Another Hand

I think Yellowstone fans might have already guessed that the story of Zachariah Moss looks familiar to Walker’s arc from the original show. Anyway, going by what I picked up from the second episode, Zachariah is a close friend of Azul’s father, Hector, and has served some time behind bars for serious offenses that involved drinking. However, now, he’s sober, and a man of God, or that’s what he told Rip. In episode 2, Azul recommended Zachariah to Rip because he needed more hands on the ranch, and Rip didn’t mind bringing a convicted felon onto his ranch, because he already had experience working with one in the past. So, Rip went to pick up Zachariah after his release from prison, and gave him a place at his ranch. But the thing is, we still don’t know much about Zachariah, and I suppose we’re going to be drip-fed more and more as the show moves forward. However, from the way Zachariah had been talking about Azul’s father, I think it’s safe to trust him for now, and he may end up being Rip’s strongest ally in the inevitable conflict with his rivals, the Jacksons.

Whitney Files A Report

Whitney Ayers, Wes’ wife and the mother of his only child, Colt, got worried about her husband after he went missing for more than 72 hours. Whitney thought Austin, Wes’ closest friend in the bunkhouse, would know something about his disappearance, but Austin was as clueless as everyone else. He tried asking around, but that landed him in the hospital. Joaquin, whom Beulah had given the responsibility of cleaning up his brother’s mess, tried to convince Whitney that Wes eloped with a hooker in the middle of the night, but Whitney refused to believe him. She told him that Wes was a loving father, and he wouldn’t abandon his Colt like that. She knew something bad had happened with Wes, which was why she stormed into the local police station and compelled Sheriff Wade to file a missing person’s report. However, later that night, when Joaquin showed up at her doorstep with an envelope filled with money, trying to bribe her so she would forget about Wes, Whitney became convinced that the Jacksons might have had something to do with her husband’s disappearance, and that they might make her disappear too if she stayed there for too long. As soon as Joaquin left, Whitney started packing up in panic, suggesting that she was going to leave town for her kid’s safety. However, from what we know of Joaquin, I don’t think he would try to harm Whitney or her kid in any way, because he isn’t like his father, which even Rob-Will had underlined at the beginning of the episode. But you never know, Beulah may force Joaquin into silencing the people who are asking too many questions, the same way she manipulated Chet into thrashing Austin.

Oreana And Carter’s Story Is On Hold

In the previous episode, Carter protected Oreana from her boyfriend, Hoyt Boone, who was going to put his hands on her. Later, Oreana exploited her connection with Sheriff Wade and bailed Carter out, and now, in episode 2, she showed up outside his school to say thanks with a crate of beer. The two spent some time together, and were even about to kiss each other, but maybe they thought the timing wasn’t right. Oreana was still in a relationship with Hoyt, and she likely didn’t want to start anything new with anyone before she ended things with him. However, the thing is, Hoyt isn’t exactly the problem here. The real villains in Oreana’s life are her grandmother and her father. So when Carter asked Oreana when he could see her again, Oreana received a text from Beulah and Rob-Will, which ruined the moment completely. She told Carter that she had a boyfriend and drove away. However, we know that she really likes Cater, and she’s definitely gonna cross paths with him again. It’s just that, right now, she’s not in the right state of mind, especially with her grandmother pressuring her to enter the family business so she can one day take her place. It’s likely that Beulah doesn’t consider her sons worthy to take up the mantle, which is why Oreana is her only hope. And this is why things are going to become more complicated when Beulah finds out that her granddaughter is in love with the adopted son of a rival rancher.

Rip Gets Rid Of The Body

In Dutton Ranch episode 2’s ending, Rip drove out of the ranch in the middle of the night to dump Wes’ body into the Goliad mine shaft, which he had spotted while bringing Zachariah to Rio Paloma. Coincidentally, Zachariah had noticed Rip leaving the ranch, but as I mentioned earlier, I think he owes Rip a lot for giving him a job and the opportunity to start over, so he’ll kinda mind his own business and refrain from asking too many questions. The man loves his silence, you see. However, with Beth, it’s gonna be a different story. She noticed that Rip was missing from the bed, and she couldn’t find him anywhere around the house, so when he returns, he will most certainly have to tell Beth the truth about the corpse buried on their property. For now, Rip has dealt with it, but I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of Wes’ body. The thing is, we don’t know if people have been working that mine or not, because if they are, then someone or the other will certainly locate the corpse and alert the authorities, and because Whitney had already filed a missing person’s report, it wouldn’t take Wade long to connect the dots. So the question here is, is Wes’ body going to bring trouble for Rip and Beth, or will they be able to dodge the bullet so that the investigation leads Wade to the real murderer, Rob-Will? Well, we will find out in the next episode, but as for now, if you have any other questions, feel free to drop them in the comments below.

...