‘Yellowstone’ Season 4: Key Character Dies in Premiere Episode

Yellowstone has had fans on the edge of their seats for over a year as they braced for the fallout from Season 3’s finale cliffhanger. Numerous characters’ lives were in jeopardy, including John Dutton (Kevin Costner), Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) and Jimmy Hurdstram (Jefferson White). Fans were expecting the worst and knew some death just had to happen, and Season 4’s premiere episodes (“Half the Money” and “Phantom Pain”) delivered. Spoilers ahead for Yellowstone Season 4, (if you weren’t already watching via FuboTV or another live service).

When it came to deaths to kick off the season, it wasn’t actually any of the above parties. Instead, there was a vengeance killing as revenge for the Season 3 finale attacks. Towards the end of the two-part premiere, antagonist Roarke Morris (Josh Holloway) met his maker.

It went down in absolutely brutal fashion. Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) is on the warpath, and he attacks Roarke as the Market Equities ex fishes in a stream (mirroring how we first met the businessman in Season 3). Rip wields a venomous snake in a cooler and sicks it on Roarke, with the reptile biting the latter’s face. Roarke succumbs to the bite while frothing at the mouth. Rip says “good riddance,” marking a savage beginning to Season 4.

Holloway, 52, was best known for his roles as Sawyer on Lost and Will Bowman on Colony before crossing paths with the Duttons. His stint is relatively brief, appearing in nine episodes as Market Equities entered the fray in Season 3. Like many of the foes that have dared clash with Duttons, he wasn’t long for this world. 

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+.