Yellowstone: Who Shot Kevin Costner's John Dutton?

Though "Yellowstone" may not be a series set in the Old West, many staples of that infamous time in American history survive in the neo-western series. There is plenty of violence, dangerous criminals, tough-talking men in cowboy hats, and, of course, every so often, someone gets shot full of holes. This was the case for John Dutton (Kevin Costner) at the tail end of Season 3. When the rancher pulled over to help a woman change her tire, he was ambushed by a van full of men sent to murder him. This led to John seemingly being killed as the Dutton patriarch lay dying on the side of the road.

Of course, the number one question fans had as Season 4 of "Yellowstone" barreled on was who was responsible for the coordinated hits. While suspicion unfairly fell on Jamie (Wes Bentley) yet again, it turned out it was Jamie's biological father, Garrett Randall (Will Patton), who was responsible for the attacks.

Working with a prison connection of his named Terrell Riggins (Bruno Amato), Garrett arranged for the only people who could challenge Jamie's claims on the ranch to be assassinated in a synchronized hit job. However, the Duttons' luck holds out, and John, Beth (Kelly Reilly), and Kayce (Luke Grimes) all survive the attacks.

Jamie Dutton faces quite a bombshell in Season 3 of "Yellowstone" when he finds out that he's adopted. Suddenly, all of the years of cold, outsider treatment that he's received from Beth and John make much more sense, and he begins to resent his adopted family even more.

Still, Jamie was completely unaware of the attacks before they occurred in the Season 3 finale. As for why Garrett tried to pull the trigger on Kayce, Beth, and John, well, that starts to make a bit more sense when you examine who he is. Garrett went to jail for killing his wife in "Yellowstone," and despite his side of things adding more layers to this crime, it's still clear that this is a man who is willing to kill if and when he deems it necessary.

Though Jamie also has this trait, he's not capable of being this cold about it. The adopted Dutton weeps and panics after he accidentally murders a reporter earlier on in the series, and it's fairly obvious that even if Jamie went after Beth and John, he would never go after Kayce, who has always treated him fairly and with love.

All the same, these actions go on to widen the rift between John, Beth, and Jamie until Jamie has finally become the villain that his adopted family said he was in Season 5, Part 1 of "Yellowstone." Whether it will be him behind the next Dutton assassination attempts will remain to be seen when the series returns with Season 5, Part 2, likely in late 2024.