‘Yellowstone’ Season 4: Does John Dutton Die?

Yellowstone’s Season 4 premiere is just hours away, so let’s just get down to it: Does John Dutton die? Kevin Costner’s family patriarch was gunned down at the end of Season 3 as he was being a good Samaritan and helping a woman with a flat tire. The culprit was a person in a run-down van, popping out the back to unleash a flurry of bullets. However, it’s believed to be tied into the wider attacks against the Dutton family that also left John’s kids Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) in danger.

Paramount Network is being extremely secretive about who survives. However, we at least know John at least makes it into the early stages of the season (which you can enjoy as it airs by watching live via FuboTV.). In the teasers for Season 4, John is bloodied and barely hanging on to life. And compared to his children, he seems to have a better chance of receiving medical attention. The trailer implies that Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) discovers John on the side of the road. John is motionless as the man we presume is Rip runs up, but we still think John likely makes it through the assassination attempt.

Aside from clearly showing signs of life, the main reason we think John makes is simple: It’s Kevin Costner. Even though we personally think the show is at the point where it could support itself without Costner’s star power, others might not agree. As with any show about a patriarch and his children squabbling to take over, it seems that his death will eventually happen on Yellowstone. However, we think Season 4 is a bit too soon for that to happen. We bet Paramount Network sees years and years of more Yellowstone episodes, so there is time to knock off John later down the road and see the Dutton siblings squabble for position in the power vacuum. 

So, while it isn’t guaranteed and Costner has been dodging questions, we still believe John Dutton will live once Season 4 premieres on Sunday. But as for Beth, Kaycee and ranchhand Jimmy (Jefferson White)? The jury’s still out. You can watch Yellowstone live on Paramount Network via your cable provider or a service like FuboTV. Past episodes are available to stream on Peacock. Yellowstone’s upcoming spinoffs, such as 1883, will release on Paramount+.