Spoilers for Dutton Ranch episode 5 ahead.
The good news is that we’re moving on from the brutal and bleak culling that was Dutton Ranch episode 4. The bad news? the road to redemption for Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) isn’t exactly straightforward.
Last week on the Yellowstone spinoff, the pair had to kill all of their cattle after the bull they bought at auction in episode 2 was found to be diseased with foot and mouth. It was as grim to watch as it is to read, and it effectively leaves Beth and Rip with nothing but acres of empty land.
Elsewhere, Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind) has effectively been put on house arrest by Beulah (Annette Bening), and is unable to go anywhere without a chaperone. On top of that, Beulah is trying to rekindle a past romance with Everett (Ed Harris), which he surprisingly seems open to.
This week, however, an unexpected truce is about to be formed in episode 5 (now on Paramount+) that could change the shape of Dutton Ranch as we know it.
Rip and Beulah broker a foreman deal for 10 Petal Ranch
Episode 5 begins with Everett bringing Rip to meet Beulah. She’s apparently asked to see him, though son Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba) seems surprised to see the pair turn up relatively unannounced.
In her office, Rip explains that he’s been told everything about 10 Petal ranch’s problems now that stand-in foreman Chet (Hart Denton) is at the helm. Having worked for John Dutton for 25 years at Yellowstone, he’s neither fazed by the idea of helping nor the size of the land.
Beulah says that there’s no better endorsement in the country than John Dutton, claiming that she needs someone who works her land and boys efficiently and quietly. “People in Rio Paloma love to gossip,” she adds, unaware that Rip already knows about dead rancher Wes (Nakoa DeCoite) from episode 1.
Rip starts work the next morning, which goes down with Chet like a sack of spuds. While he routinely complains that jobs he “was getting to” are now being done immediately, the other ranchers have no problem defaulting to Rip’s status.
Beth starts to hatch a plan
Beth, meanwhile, isn’t exactly thrilled that Rip has found work at 10 Petal. She instead offers to find work in Dallas or New York, to which Rip refuses. She has a heart-to-heart with Zachariah (Marc Menchaca), admitting that John would have “loved” him.
She’s got a plan to get Dutton Ranch back on track, but it’s a thin one. Pouring over printouts and articles online, she seems to be digging dirt on what has happened to local land over the past few decades… and some of that might be Beulah’s.
Rip digs up dirt on Wes as Chet gets fired
Once Rip brings the ranchers back to base, Chet is told to “get your paycheck and get the f**k out of here.” None of the other boys stand up for him, which causes Chet to leave in a blaze of fury, slamming the door behind him on his way out.
Rip takes some time out to talk to Austin (Sterlin English), who Chet beat to a bloody pulp in episode 3. He asks who Wes is, with Austin repeating the agreed line among 10 Petal that he suddenly took off in the night. Austin also reveals that Wes’ wife and child have also disappeared.
Carter gets arrested after Dwight dies in a police raid
Meanwhile, Carter has been spending more time with drunk local Dwight (Ray McKinnon), working his land and learning how to do odd jobs. He invites Oreana over to see the illegally kept leopard on Dwight’s property (apologies to anyone who read my episode 4 recap… I don’t know how you can forget an exotic animal knocking about in Texas).
The pair have beers, but just as Oreana gets going, her chaperone whisks her away. “That woman is gonna break your heart into 1000 pieces, and it’s gonna be the best feeling you’ve ever had,” Dwight tells Carter, which feels like a premonition of things to come.
Later on in the episode, Carter is changing a light bulb in the barn when the police suddenly storm the property. Dwight tells Carter that he’ll be okay, but makes a run for it. By the time Carter catches up with him, the police have opened fire, killing Dwight.
Carter is arrested by the same officer who threatened him in episode 3, and is taken to the station. There, he’s told that Dwight was a shady guy, known for thieving and owing a lot of people a lot of money.
When Carter replies that it wasn’t a reason to kill him, the officer makes a thinly-veiled threat — smart boys don’t ask dumb questions, and if Carter is smart, he can leave.
Carter calls Oreana for a ride, who picks him up on the side of the road.
Beth offers Beulah an unexpected deal as Rob-Will returns
Unaware that Carter is in trouble, Beth heads to Beulah’s house. Rip hasn’t come home for dinner as he’s been goaded into sharing a feast with Beulah herself, but that’s not why Beth wants to see her.
Over whisky, the pair discuss how best to preserve legacy, and how Beulah is coping with keeping a calm head while managing a 200-year-old cattle empire. There’s an unusual amount of compliments thrown around until Beth gets to the crux of her point.
Having unearthed reports of 10 Petal land being stolen and surviving a drought that left finances in bad shape (remember those printouts?) Beth says she knows that the ranch is at breaking point. Money is non-existent, and they need to rebrand in order to “survive or die.”
Beth’s offer? Hire her as a brand manager, and she can turn 10 Petal into a “recession-proof household name,” within the next three years. Beulah initially doesn’t agree that the ranch needs to change at all, convinced it will survive. But as she tells Joaquin later, she thinks having both Rip and Beth onboard will be useful. “They have secrets, and I’ve learned that people who have secrets can be useful,” she points out.
Elsewhere, Chet is relaxing with a female friend at home when he gets a knock on the door. It’s Rob-Will (Jai Courtney), who is supposed to be in rehab. The two conspire to get back to where they want to be… at any cost.
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