'Yellowstone' Fans Fear a Beloved Character Is Leaving

The Yellowstone Season 3 finale left the fates of three Dutton family members hanging in limbo following what appeared to be coordinated assassination attempts, but fans are now fearing the fate of yet another character following a recent social media post from one of the show's actors. As the cast and crew saddle up for Season 4 production, an image shared to Instagram by Cole Hauser left many fans wondering if Jefferson White's Jimmy Hurdstrom could soon be leaving the Paramount Network series.

The speculation was prompted on Oct. 30 when Hauser, who portrays Rip Wheeler, shared an on-set photo featuring numerous cast members. Writing that it was "time to go to work," Hauser shared a photo of six cast members on horseback. White, however, was not among them, leading to a flurry of suspicions from fans in the comments section.

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A post shared by Cole Hauser (@colehauser22)

Responding, one fan asked, "where's Jimmy???" Another person commented, "notice who isn't pictured?? We're gonna have to make 'Jimmy lives or we riot' shirts." While some suggested that perhaps White was the one taking the picture, several fans seemed to agree that his fate was not looking good. Suggesting that Jimmy may not survive Season 4, one viewer wrote, "they are going to kill him off." Another added, "I think it's bad news for Jimmy."

Similar discussions have also been taking place on Reddit, where one person began a thread titled "Thinking back on the season finale, something I noticed about Jimmy." That Yellowstone viewer noted that Jimmy "wasn't wearing his cowboy hat anymore, he was back to his baseball hat." The comments quickly filled with people speculating on the chances White's onscreen counterpart survives, one person writing, "I'm guessing he's out." Another person wrote that while they had noticed it as well, they initially "didn't think much of it." That person noted that White's Instagram posts "leading up to the finale, he mentions about the past week being difficult. Struck me as odd at the time, but now it is kinda making me wonder if his character plot ran its course? Bye- bye Jimmy!"

On Aug. 23, the day that the finale aired, White had shared a number of posts to Instagram reflecting on Season 3. In one post, he thanked fans "so, so much for your generosity and enthusiasm these past ten weeks." He added that he felt "incredibly lucky to be surrounded by this brilliant cast, crew and community." He concluded the post by teasing that he couldn't "tell you what happens next - stick around and find out. It's worth the wait."

While Jimmy was not among the characters – John (Kevin Costner), Beth (Kelly Reilly), and Kayce (Luke Grimes) — targeted in the apparent assassination attempts, he did have a bit of a medical scare. As Looper notes, in the Season 3 finale, Jimmy decided to get back in the saddle and start rodeo riding again, despite having been warned by his doctor not to do so following an injury. As he attempted to wrangle a horse at Yellowstone Ranch, he was thrown from the horse, with season leaving him unconscious on the ground. While this could certainly spell doom for his character, fans will ultimately have to wait to find out if Jimmy survives when Yellowstone returns for Season 4.