‘Yellowstone’ Kills Another Beloved Character as Final Season Lurches On

Yellowstone isn’t pulling any punches in Season 5. Another character is getting killed off on the heels of Sarah Atwood’s (Dawn Olivieri) violent assassination. And this character people actually liked! Spoiler-filled recap ahead for Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12, “Counting Coup.”

I should have known things were gonna head south when the opening scene of this episode is Colby (Denim Richards) and Teeter (Jennifer Landon) being so freakin’ cute it was practically a rom-com. But for now, the extent of the cowboys’ worries is the future of Dutton Ranch after John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) murder – because Rip (Cole Hauser) warns them they’re in full damage control mode. Also, no one told Jimmy yet that John had died? They don’t have the news down at Bosque Ranch, apparently.

Are Jamie’s Days Numbered?

It’s only after the opening credits that we find Jamie exactly where we left him last week as he listened on the phone to Sarah being murdered by the same sketchy group she hired to off John. Police are treating this murder like a carjacking, but Dillard isn’t buying it. He tells a very nervous Jamie basically to watch his back. And that he does — shredding all of Sarah’s sensitive documents the moment they leave.

Back at Dutton Ranch, Kayce (Luke Grimes) is learning about Sarah’s death for the first time – and together he and Dillard (Rory Cochrane) are connecting the dots between Jamie, Sarah and the airport project. Kayce’s old military buddy is coming through, too, he’s got intel on Grant, the hitman Sarah hired, and when I say intel I mean his home address.

Meanwhile, Beth is eager to take Jamie to the train station herself. She knows police are honing in on him, but she’s worried about what he’ll say about their family when he’s cornered.

Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12 Death and Ending, Explained

With that kind of ominously hanging in the air, we’re getting all the cuteness with Teeter and Colby that kicked off the episode ripped off like a band-aid. When Carter tries to enter the stable of a wild horse at the ranch, the horse flips out, and when Colby rushes in to protect the teen, it completely tramples him — killing the cowboy.

I feel like Colby deserved more, this scene of Ryan and Teeter finding out he died was heartbreaking. Carter and Rip both blame themselves for Colby’s death, but Beth comforts them as only she can.

Meanwhile, Kayce is going full badass, he tells his family and Mo that the ranch is no longer his home before packing a bag and heading off to confront Grant. It turns out the hitman is a soccer dad, which is kind of ironic but certainly not great leverage when Kayce points a gun at his daughter. Kayce, who references “counting coup” during the hold-up, ultimately lets Grant live, but not without a pistol whip and reassurance that no one else will be coming after his family.

As he exits the car, Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) picks up Kayce, and a “counting coup” reference comes up again. It’s also the title of the episode. So it might be important moving forward. But I don’t know; l I’m too busy mourning Colby still!

This article was adapted from the latest episode of PopCulture Social Call, streaming weekdays on PopCulture.com’s YouTube channel. You can now watch this episode, which is embedded in the above article.