Yellowstone Fans Think The Duttons Should Have Invested Heavily In This

Paramount Network's smash hit drama Yellowstone is, at its heart, the story of an intense turf war. If you boil it down, the narrative contains the same machinations of a Medieval clash of kings, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. But just because the scope of the story has been reduced to fit 21st century America, that doesn't mean the stakes aren't extremely high for the characters involved. Both the Duttons and their adversaries have proven time and time again that they are willing to go to extraordinary lengths to achieve their goals.

Case in point: the finale of the show's third season. The battle between the Duttons and the corporate forces of Market Equities seems to end with the Duttons claiming the upper hand. However, the victory is short lived, as John (Kevin Costner), Beth (Kelly Reilly), and Kayce (Luke Grimes) Dutton are all targeted in what appears to be a coordinated assassination attempt in the finale's final moments. Worse still for the Duttons is the fact that while Market Equities seems like the most logical perpetrator of the attack, they actually have enemies hiding everywhere.

Seeing the political battles boil over into actual violence raises a very important question: What's going on with the Duttons' security? After all, the attacks at the end of season 3 are far from the first time that the Duttons faced a very serious threat to their family. And yet, they're rarely seen with a security detail and the Dutton Ranch seems to rely on the Bunkhouse boys for protection.

While the Duttons have been able to defend themselves in the past (for the most part), some fans have been wondering for a while now why the family doesn't invest in better security.

The season 3 finale isn't the only time the Duttons have faced a serious coordinated attack on their family. In fact, in the season 2 finale the family's feud with the Beck brothers is amped up to a startling degree when the casino magnate villains orchestrate the kidnapping of Monica and Kayce's young son Tate (Brecken Merrill).

Ultimately, they are able to retrieve the child, but at the time, it left fans wondering why it was allowed to happen in the first place. After all, the war between the Duttons and the Beck brothers had been raging for a while, and it was already clear that both sides were very comfortable with resorting to violence.

So, why then were the kidnappers able to so easily nab Tate from the Yellowstone Ranch? On the season 2 finale's episode discussion thread user u/shadowlovesme wrote, "All these multimillion dollar homes and nobody locks their doors or has security system armed."

Some users pointed out that everyone should learn from the mistake of Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston), who was murdered in his home, thanks in part to his own terrible security. One user bemoaned, "he has ONE bodyguard? One? Maybe should have had a team." Meanwhile, u/bell37 admonished Jenkins for not taking threats against him seriously, which should also serve as a warning to the Duttons: "He's had multiple people break into his house this season (with the intent to harm him)."

Unfortunately for the Duttons, they didn't heed the warning, despite continuing to make enemies of dangerous people. But there's no time like the present to do so, because going into season 4, the family has a full roster of formidable adversaries nipping at their heels.

As John, Beth, and Kayce all face potentially deadly attacks in the season 3 finale, the show also sets up a whodunit of sorts by displaying the possible motives of a variety of the family's enemies. Willa Hays (Karen Pittman) and Roarke Carter (Josh Holloway) of Market Equities were ready to ramp up their campaign against the Duttons, while black sheep Jamie (Wes Bentley) appears to have fully turned on his adopted family after meeting his biological father. And that's before we even mention the ruthless Angela Blue Thunder (Q'orianka Kilcher), who revealed that just because she is allied with the Duttons against Market Equities, doesn't mean she doesn't have plans for them in the future.

In a Reddit thread thread entitled "#WHODIDIT?: My take on the possible suspects for the triple attack against Duttons ... " user u/Adapikachu went down the list of the possible assassination attempt perpetrators. They made a case for each suspect, but ultimately came to a singular conclusion: "Angela Blue Thunder is pretty possible ... the dialogue in the car after the meeting is scary if you think how it went ... 'You have an opportunity to free that land of him. And it will look like everyone but you who did it' ... maybe she planned everything, behind Thomas' back ... MY BET IS ON HER."

Commenters went back and forth on the possibilities, with u/fenbaldwin putting their money on Market Equities, arguing, "A triple hit would definitely up their game," and other users casting suspicion on the sinister influence Jamie's biological father has had on him.

Whether it was Angela Blue Thunder, or the Market Equities duo, or even brother Jamie, for the sake of the Duttons, let's hope they invest in some beefed up security protocols heading into season 4.