Yellowstone Theory: Rip Kills Jamie After A Shocking Revelation

The stage is set for "Yellowstone" to take its bow with Season 5, Part 2, but fans aren't expecting much of a happy ending. Things have only gotten darker for the Duttons over the years, and their ever-growing wealth of dirty secrets has pretty much ensured that no character is escaping the show unscathed. In fact, we reckon that the resolution of a certain plot thread may lead to the death of one key character: Wes Bentley's Jamie Dutton.

One of the most shocking "Yellowstone" reveals came by way of a flashback sequence in Season 3, Episode 5. In the episode, a teenage Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) seeks Jamie's assistance in getting an abortion after she becomes pregnant with Rip Wheeler's (Cole Hauser) child. In a disturbing twist, Jamie convinces Beth's doctor to give her a non-consensual hysterectomy, rendering her infertile for the rest of her life.

While the audience has long known about this dark event from Beth's past, Rip is still none the wiser. It would be surprising to see the show end without addressing this conflict one last time, especially because the fallout could be quite a compelling way to end several characters' stories. Perhaps Rip finally learns the truth about what Jamie did to Beth and kills him — either purposefully or accidentally — in a fit of rage. While Jamie would finally face karmic justice, it would come at the cost of Rip and Beth's relationship being irrevocably damaged — exactly the sort of tragedy "Yellowstone" relishes putting its characters through.

While the idea of Rip killing Jamie over what he did to Beth is still just a theory at the moment, there's evidence to support that Beth's past may be what ultimately topples her relationship with Rip in the final episodes of "Yellowstone."

In an interview with Kelly Reilly on the "Yellowstone" Season 5, Part 1 DVD and Blu-ray release (subsequently shared by Insider), the actor noted that while Beth and Rip have worked through so much together for the sake of their relationship, there are still some significant secrets between the two. "Beth is haunted by her past," she explained. "She has a lot of regrets and she has a lot of secrets that he doesn't know."

Reilly particularly singled out Beth's traumatic history with Jamie as a critical storyline that may be "coming home to roost" in the series' final episodes, with Rip finally learning what happened all those years ago. "He doesn't know any of that, and she's protecting him," the actor said. "So there's a weighted burden in her heart that she cannot share with him. He's trying to reassure her and love her, but he doesn't know the truth."

As for Wes Bentley, he's pretty confident that Jamie already thinks of himself as a dead man. Whether his actual death comes at the hands of Rip or not is a question that "Yellowstone" fans will have to wait until the final episodes for an answer to.