Holy cow.
Warning: Spoilers ahead! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched “Dutton Ranch” episode 4, “Start With a Bullet.”
The fourth episode of “Yellowstone” spinoff “Dutton Ranch” takes a devastating turn for Rip (Cole Hauser) and Beth (Kelly Reilly).
The couple has had to start over numerous times, after her father John’s (Kevin Costner) death on “Yellowstone,” then, “Dutton Ranch” began with their previous ranch burning down. Just when they think they’re settled in Texas, they’re forced to execute their entire prized herd of cattle, because it gets ravaged by foot-and-mouth disease.
The actor plays Zachariah, one of Rip’s ranch hands who helps him execute the cattle and build the mass grave for the animals.
Beth refers to the harrowing event as a “funeral.” Her cowboy husband tells Zachariah and his other ranch hand, Azul (J. Villarreal), “This will be one of those days that follow you to the grave. If either of you want to walk [away], I won’t hold it against you.”
Rip, Azul and Zachariah corner all the cows into a pit, where Rip shoots them so that the deadly disease doesn’t spread. Rip tells Beth to go home, but she stays to support him.
As Rip aims his gun at his own animals, he whispers to them, “you don’t deserve this.”
She called it a “huge endeavor” and said they had about 150 head of cattle on the show. “Our animal coordination team did an incredible job keeping the animals safe.”
“Yellowstone” mastermind Taylor Sheridan executive produces the show, but he’s more hands off, as Voros has been overseeing it.
“Taylor is very good at pulling a team of people together that he trusts. He has so many shows happening at once, that the longer you’ve been in the family, the more responsibility you get as you go along,” she explained.
It turns out that Rip and Beth were sabotaged. In an earlier episode, they bought a diseased cow at auction with fudged records incorrectly giving the animal a clean bill of health. That animal spread the illness to their herd, forcing them to execute them all – and functionally kill their new business.
In retaliation, Rip finds the man who sold him the diseased cow and burns his trailer down.
“Dutton Ranch” airs Fridays on Paramount+ and at 8 p.m on Paramount Network.
