Welcome back to the year 1923. Much like Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part III, I travel back to the Wild West with you all every Sunday to forget about cellphones, Twitter rants, and the fact that John Dutton died in his own bathroom. Our friends from a hundred years in the past have no idea what befalls the Dutton family in the future, and they’re all better off for it! Just ask Zane (Brian Geraghty) in episode 4. Though the franchise may occasionally stumble, it’s important to fight another day.
So, despite feeling paralyzed from the waist down last episode, Zane walks again in episode 4. The local Yellowstone doctor drills a hole into his skull and relieves the excess blood that is causing pressure to build inside his head. It’s an amazing procedure—and one that required some convincing prosthetics. Geraghty told me all about his character’s surgery earlier this week, which he said was a welcome addition to “riding horses at cowboy camp and shooting bad guys with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.” You can read the rest of our conversation here.
The scene begins with Jacob (Ford) and Jack (Darren Mann) completing a wooden neck brace for Zane. The ranch manager anxiously asks how long the procedure will take, and the doctor responds, “Don’t know. Never done it.” Then, he takes out the drill. Now, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before, but the drill looks like a massive Allen wrench. My modern brain is so used to electric drills, it’s as if I forgot it was the year 1923.
“What are the chances he wakes up during this?” Jacob asks as the doctor begins drilling. Right on cue, Zane wakes up screaming in pain. The chloroform the doctor gave him didn’t last very long. The gang is somehow able to calm him down and finish the procedure, which goes off without a hitch. If you’ve watched any of The Pitt, it’s gnarly work. “Does it hurt?” Jack asks him. Zane responds, “Hell yeah, he just drilled a hole in my head.” Like magic, Zane stands up. “I thought I’d never walk again,” he says. Then, he turns to Jacob and asks, “Are we going after them for what they’ve done to us?” Naturally, Jacob replies, “We’re going after all of them.”
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Whitfield’s Evil Plan
Elsewhere in Montana, the villainous Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) sets out to convince a gathering of wealthy businessmen to invest in his evil plan. It’s a Yellowstone villain trifecta: destroy the Dutton ranch to build a ski resort, an airport, and a new highway system. “That resort sits in the middle of Yellowstone… That’s Jake Dutton’s land!” Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) reminds him. Yeah, doofus. That’s the whole point, remember?
Later, Banner wrestles the idea of working for such a villain. If he’s to provide for his family by accepting Whitfield’s blood money, it also means that blood is on his hands. His wife reassures him that taking from others is the only way to get ahead—even if he must slaughter every Dutton in Yellowstone himself.
Whitfield also tells Banner about a county on the border of Montana and Wyoming where there’s no population or sheriff. Sounds like the perfect place to dump some bodies. Yellowstone fans will immediately recognize this area as the “Train Station,” where the Duttons toss their foes off the highway after ending their lives. Then, Whitfield tells Banner to dump the body of a woman that he and his mistress were sexually torturing to death. “Consider it practice,” he tells him. Banner, you need to get away from this man.
Trae Patton//Paramount
More Harrison Ford, please!
If I Can Make It There, I’ll Make It Anywhere
Over in New York City, Sheridan does not heed my advice from last week to leave poor Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) alone. A shady thief follows her into the public restroom at Grand Central Station, beats her cold, and steals her money. It’s awful to watch.
Alexandra wakes up mere seconds before her train takes off and she’s forced to jump onto the train just to catch it. “Never seen anyone so desperate to reach Billings,” the conductor reacts. Now is not the time for jokes! She puts her broken shoes back on and walks through the luxury car to her seat. Hasn’t Alex been through enough?
Lauren Smith//Paramount
Teonna Rainwater needs all the allies she can find.
C. Thomas Howell Returns
Last week, Sheridan treated fans to a cameo from a former rodeo star turned actor, C. Thomas Howell. Well, he returns in episode 4 to reward Runs His Horse (Michael Spears), Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), and Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) for their help guiding cattle across the river.
At the cowboy’s rodeo, Teonna finds her “Wanted” sign posted everywhere. Hopefully, Anadarko Marshal Mamie Fossett (Jennifer Carpenter) can catch up to save them before Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) find them.
Elizabeth is pregnant again. Is she John Dutton’s grandmother?
Who Is John Dutton’s Grandfather?
For die-hard Yellowstone fans, John Dutton’s parentage is the last remaining thread in the Dutton family tree. As of 1923 episode 4, there are two leading possibilities. One is Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) and Alexandra. Spencer’s wife is pregnant, and she’s currently on a journey to the family ranch. The other possibility is Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph), Jack’s wife.
Up until now, she was tortured with wolf bites and rabies shots following a miscarriage in season 1. In episode 4, the doctor reveals that she’s pregnant again. The competition for the title of Grandpappy Dutton is back on.
Lauren Smith//Paramount
Spencer Dutton is on quite the journey.
Fear The Tax Collector
Speaking of Spencer, the Dutton family hero is currently stuck delivering the Maceo family’s illegal booze once again. Following Luca’s death, cops arrest Spencer and blackmail him into helping them perform a sting. So, he’s forced to drive the cops to the drop off location in Fort Worth, where the police immediately engage in a shootout with the Texas outfit. Spencer escapes and hitches a ride on a train headed West. However, he’s not alone.
A hobo who calls himself the “Tax Collector” threatens to harm Spencer since he can’t pay “the tax” to ride the train. He’s also accompanied by another sleepy man and a little girl who seems even more devilish than the Collector himself. Spencer’s in trouble. He has no food and no money to bribe them. So, he’s determined to stay awake and clutch his rifle to his chest. “Trains have a way of rattling a man to sleep,” the Tax Collector threatens. “Like a big steel crib swaying to and fro’, I’ve never seen a man who can resist it.”
The Tax Collector is a very cool villain. I wish he stayed alive a little longer, but he’s no match for Spencer. Even when they finally catch Spencer asleep, he shoots the two men and knocks out the little girl. Then, he jumps off the train. Who knows where Spencer is now—or if he’s any closer to finding his way home. Hell, there isn’t even snow on the ground.
Next week, as we head into the second half of the season, we enter the true end game.
