S04.E05: Under a Blanket of Red

[roughing it]

30 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

When I first started watching, I thought Beth was in her 40's, but "intermittent fasting" on whiskey will do that to you. 

She’s a cartoon character. Just way too outrageous to be believable.

[Tatum]

So,  we're almost halfway through the season and exactly nothing has happened, other than the introduction of a bunch of new subplots nobody asked for. Yes, great, Beth got her giant fuck you moment to her old boss. I really don't think he did anything that bad. And firing him as a CEO is not the worst thing that could happen to him and is not going to make him suffer eternally. Beth would kill herself just to give someone else a minor scar. I doubt the satisfaction of that moment would be worth getting into bed with Market Equities long term, but it's Beth, of course she'll come out on top.

Please no more scenes with the Coyote Ugly actress. Her voice is so grating and it's virtually impossible for the actress to not smirk in every scene she's in. I have no idea how she's still getting acting jobs. And naturally John shuts her down with his quinoa comeback, and she's got nothing to say to that. No one is ever allowed to get the last word against Beth or John. I find her so irritating that I can't even enjoy her sacrificial lamb-ness when she comes across Beth in the kitchen next episode.

 

Lloyd, really? Yes, the blond is pretty, and yes, it had probably been a long time before a young hot blond not only fucks you but does so in the bunkhouse in front of a dozen of your colleagues, and that's not likely to happen again, but come on, you barely knew her. Let this grudge go.

 

I'm so disgusted with Beth and Rip keeping the kid in a barn closet, and Rip calling him "Boy". So unnecessary. He's trying really hard and they just treat him like shit. Word to whoever pointed out that Beth is totally treating Carter like the way a spoiled kid treats a dog that's no longer a novelty to her.

 

And I know Rip thinks John Dutton is god and the Dutton Ranch is heaven on earth, and you should be so lucky to not only get to work there but be called to do John's dirty work of bullying and murder that you do it without question, but Walker is not a bad guy because he doesn't want to beat rival ranch hands to death on Rip's say so, or whatever else he refused to do that Rip took so personally. Rip and Beth are awful people. John comes across as a little better, but he has manipulated both of them since a young age and he is directly responsible for how they both turned out as adults. Let's not forget that John has hinted more than once that he does hold Beth responsible for the death of her mother but loves her anyways. That's a hell of a lot to put on someone.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Tatum

[Raja]

16 minutes ago, Tatum said:

So,  we're almost halfway through the season and exactly nothing has happened, other than the introduction of a bunch of new subplots nobody asked for. Yes, great, Beth got her giant fuck moment to her old boss. I really don't think he did anything that bad. And firing him as a CEO is not the worst thing that could happen to him and is not going to make him suffer eternally. Beth would kill herself just to give someone else a minor scar. I doubt the satisfaction of that moment would be worth getting into bed with Market Equities long term, but it's Beth, of course she'll come out on top.

 

That has been the show's template. Normally a big bad comes to town lawyers in tow but then can no longer wait and try to use  force on  the issue. A big battle with the branded men, livestock agents and sometimes Sheriff's deputies keeps that team of corporate raiders at bay and a new team comes to Montana.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Raja

[Tatum]

On 11/29/2021 at 7:23 PM, joliefaire said:

Again, not-coincidentally, Taylor Sheridan was Taylor Kitsch's acting coach back in the day.

Wait, WHAT?? Taylor Sheridan was an acting coach? That is...something I would not have guessed.

 

[mledawn]

57 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Please no more scenes with the Coyote Ugly actress.

Oh wow yes- I was wondering where I had seen her. I have literally never seen the actress in anything else.

31 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Wait, WHAT?? Taylor Sheridan was an acting coach? That is...something I would not have guessed.

This floored me the first time I heard an actor (a different one) admit this but have now logicked it out. Sheridan is a writer, director, and producer. Perhaps he isn’t a great actor, but he seems to know what he wants from them. [shrugs]

[Tatum]

9 minutes ago, mledawn said:

Oh wow yes- I was wondering where I had seen her. I have literally never seen the actress in anything else.

She's been in a fair amount of stuff. She plays the same character in everything. I am not sure why she delivers literally every line with this weird smirk on her face, but she totally does, no matter what the scene calls for. Very strange.

[tennisgurl]

I'm sorry, how has Rip not already kicked those girls out of the bunkhouse? Is he really that distracted by Beth and the kid that he has totally forgotten his damn job? I also don't buy that Lloyd is so obsessed with this random blond girl that he's willing to throw his entire life away to follow her around, this whole plot is just a big waste of time. I normally have liked the ranch hands hijinks, its often welcome comic relief and I like seeing the day to day goings on of working a ranch, but now it just feels like a big awkward time suck. 

I guess protest girl is going to be John's new love interest, which I find to be pretty awkward given the huge age gap, but Beth did tell him to go out and find some pussy, although a woman about her age is probably not what she was thinking. Of course, Costner has never looked as good as he does now so I kind of get it. I also think its weird how she was all shocked that John would care about the environment, of course he would care, he's a rancher not a developer, and you would think most of her anger would be at big slaughterhouses where cattle are treated horribly, not at ranches where cattle mostly get to roam around in the outdoors before getting killed. The protest was pretty ridiculous in general but I did like John pointing out that people only seem to protest when its animals people think are cute are being endangered. Of course John gets the last word, I hope she isn't around for that long.

I guess Jamie's dad is going to use his new baby to keep him in line, but I hope he doesn't last too long, its clear that the guy is a major scumbag. I wish we had gotten more of that and less of boring plots involving Jimmy and the belt bunnies. Speaking of, this backdoor pilot for Jimmy's show will never end, holy crap. Its like an entire backdoor season to try and get us to watch this stupid spin off, can we just focus on the show we actually want to watch? He isn't even in the same state as Yellowstone anymore, I do not care what he is up to. 

Monica is still around and still useless. I still think Tate needs some serious therapy but at least he's getting out of the house and is doing something other then getting baths from his mom at age twelve. Whenever Monica is engaging in Native American words of wisdom (so most of the time) its really hard not to be reminded that the actress who plays her is about as Native American as Kevin Costner. 

Did anything at all happen this episode? 

Edited December 1, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Tatum]

20 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Monica is still around and still useless. I still think Tate needs some serious therapy but at least he's getting out of the house and is doing something other then getting baths from his mom at age twelve. Whenever Monica is engaging in Native American words of wisdom (so most of the time) its really hard not to be reminded that the actress who plays her is about as Native American as Kevin Costner. 

 

 

Monica is my least favorite character, and on this show, that's saying something. She's just so sanctimonious and even though she's not hurting anyone or actively screwing them over, she's still kind of a bitch in general (always scowling at everyone and biting their heads off when they ask her a question or offer to help her). Is she still a teacher at the reservation school?

 

Taylor Sheridan must really like Kelsey Asbille to risk the political heat of casting her in a Native American role in two different projects, particularly when both are meant to shed light on the mistreatment and marginalization of Native Americans. Although the actress did say she had some Cherokee ties which was later refuted. I think she's an okay actress but Monica is a horribly written character.

[roughing it]

1 hour ago, tennisgurl said:

this backdoor pilot for Jimmy's show will never end, holy crap. Its like an entire backdoor season to try and get us to watch this stupid spin off

One that people have to PAY for, no less...  no thanks

[RedDelicious]

3 hours ago, mledawn said:

Oh wow yes- I was wondering where I had seen her. I have literally never seen the actress in anything else.

When she was sitting there on the curb I was looking around for her gui-tar and electric keyboard.

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, Tatum said:

She's been in a fair amount of stuff.

Covert Affairs (I think that was the name) on USA a few years back, and she was the Rainmaker's mother in the movie Looper.

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The protest was pretty ridiculous in general but I did like John pointing out that people only seem to protest when its animals people think are cute are being endangered.

Probably a better, and more realistic and factual argument would have been the use and overuse of government land leases for large ranches, and at rock bottom prices too.  That could be argued both ways, but it is occurring in real life, but it doesn't have the same gravitas as the killing of livestock for market.

[NeenerNeener]

10 hours ago, Tatum said:

John has hinted more than once that he does hold Beth responsible for the death of her mother but loves her anyways. That's a hell of a lot to put on someone.

Which is what makes her tragic, really. A lot of bad things happened to her at a young age, including her father blaming her for her mother's death. Bad things that happen to you before you turn 25 scar you emotionally more than things after that age, and she's had more than her fair share between her mother dying, her teenage pregnancy and her brother taking her to be sterilized. Kayce and Jamie probably have equivalent traumas besides losing Mom when they were too young, because they aren't exactly paragons of emotional stability either.

 

ETA: Piper Perabo is also in The Big Leap on Fox this season, but they just killed her character off. She adds nothing to this particular show and I wish they had cast someone else.

Edited December 1, 2021 by NeenerNeener

[madmax]

On 11/29/2021 at 4:58 PM, blackwing said:

I think it's almost certainly likely that Monica either quit or got fired.  There was the scene where she was so disgusted that all of her students were just playing on their cell phones.  She bitched them out about not caring about history or something like that, and then she just walked off the job, at least for that day.  I think it's quite possible that the university may have interpreted that as a resignation.

She had some line about teaching when they were looking at houses, but I wasn't really paying attention because I just don't care about her.

9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Its like an entire backdoor season to try and get us to watch this stupid spin off, can we just focus on the show we actually want to watch? He isn't even in the same state as Yellowstone anymore, I do not care what he is up to. 

I thought it was just me.  He's in Texas, let it go.  The end of the last episode would have been the perfect segue into the new show, which, yeah, not gonna watch.

This was a very slow episode.  I kept looking at Mr. Max, wondering if anything was going to happen.  I wish they would have dumped the whole Jimmy plot and focused less on Monica & Kayce and showed more of Jamie and his new found family.

[KittyQ]

I think if I were Bob (?), I would wait for a more official notice that Beth was enabled to fire me, and I kind of doubt that closing an office and moving it to Montana can just be done without a lot more bureaucracy. I think even a majority shareholder doesn't get to do whatever the hell they want, just on a whim. I think there would need to be more discussion about the logistics, etc.

Edited December 2, 2021 by KittyQ
Added some clarification.

[Dowel Jones]

One wonders how many of the office staff would actually pick up stakes and move from Denver to Missoula/Bozeman/Helena just to work for Beth in the first place.

[Moose135]

Probably very few, especially considering what happened to at least two of her assistants...

[Tatum]

So, is Beth's former employer a publicly traded company, and Market Equities bought a large percentage of the shares? If so, Beth is a huge bitch to hold this grudge against Bob, because there is nothing he could have done to stop them. In fact, she should be apologizing to him since the fact that the company is under new ownership and management is her fault- she provoked them, not Bob.

 

If they are a privately held company and Bob is the owner and willingly allowed it to be sold to Market Equities, sure, Beth could argue he stabbed her in the back, but he already got his large payout and being eliminated as CEO isn't going to hurt him financially (I mean yeah he won't get a salary, but he already got paid for the value of the company, nothing Beth can do to eliminate that payday). If it's a privately held company and Bob did not own it prior to Market Equities then again, nothing he could have done to prevent the sale.

 

Not much point in getting into the weeds since Yellowstone doesn't really care to realistically depict how contract law and mergers/acquisitions work, but I don't see any way they can write this so Bob is at fault.

6 hours ago, Moose135 said:

Probably very few, especially considering what happened to at least two of her assistants...

You know, I liked Beth for about 2 seconds in season 2 when she plaintively asked John what they were going to tell her murdered assistant's parents (not as far as a cover story, but just genuine sadness that he was collateral damage), and of course John says he doesn't care, he only cares about Beth. And the poor murdered assistant and his devastated family is never mentioned again.

[Joimiaroxeu]

Why was Beth staying with John instead of Rip?

Ugh, Monica. 🤮

A sweat lodge might help Tate but maybe not in a way that'll be good for the Duttons in the long run.

Saddling a horse is hella complicated. I had no idea.

Carter's handsome? Meh, only cute and pudgy IMO. And lol at KC even saying those lines. But perhaps being handsome works if you're only pretending to be a cowboy for Hollywood. 😏

I don't hate the idea of this Summer Higgins person being John's new love interest. At least she beats the "half his age plus 7 years" threshold. Beth probably will not be about it though unless she's the reason Summer came around.

Lloyd, no. You didn't want to be looking at those two shameless exhibitionists. As the saying goes, maybe the best way to get over somebody is to get under someone else.

Oh geez, Jamie. Looks like your bio-dad expects you to trade him and your baby for the Duttons. Hope you can do the right thing.

My favorite comment from reddit:

Quote

Piper Perabo and Kevin Costner
i am calling it "Dances with Coyote"

[mledawn]

16 minutes ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Saddling a horse is hella complicated. I had no idea.

Yes - and the absurd expectation that the kid was going to immediately retain the information Lloyd was firing at him, and safely saddle a horse for someone else. AS IF.

 

[Crashcourse]

1 hour ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Lloyd, no. You didn't want to be looking at those two shameless exhibitionists. As the saying goes, maybe the best way to get over somebody is to get under someone else.

And that's the question I've had about the bunkhouse guys ever since the show started.  Other than the buckle bunnies and Colby/Teeter I've never seen them with other women.  Do they go out on Saturday night and meet women?  They never show them socializing outside Yellowstone.

[bkathi]

3 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

And that's the question I've had about the bunkhouse guys ever since the show started.  Other than the buckle bunnies and Colby/Teeter I've never seen them with other women.  Do they go out on Saturday night and meet women?  They never show them socializing outside Yellowstone.

Do my dreams count?  Because Ryan rides into them quite often 😚

[Crashcourse]

7 minutes ago, bkathi said:

Do my dreams count?  Because Ryan rides into them quite often 😚

Wait!  He's mine! 😉

Seriously though, I think he's the sexiest Yellowstone guy, and I think Lloyd is a silver fox.  Too bad they hate each other. 

[Tatum]

14 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

And that's the question I've had about the bunkhouse guys ever since the show started.  Other than the buckle bunnies and Colby/Teeter I've never seen them with other women.  Do they go out on Saturday night and meet women?  They never show them socializing outside Yellowstone.

They did go to a bar that one night, when Jimmy ended up mouthing off to some guy and the guy cleaned his clock, and I think also beat up whoever happened to be with him (I think Ryan and Colby?). That was when Rip gathered up the guys and wanted them to beat the rival group to death and Walker said no. I think they do meet women but they probably don't usually bring them back to the bunkhouse. There's no fucking way I would ever go with one of those guys back to the Yellowstone bunkhouse, no matter how foxy I thought he was. I am not sure if the guys are allowed to sleep elsewhere. It seems they work 7 days a week so prob not.

 

Ryan and Lloyd hate each other? Since when?

2 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Wait!  He's mine! 😉

Seriously though, I think he's the sexiest Yellowstone guy, and I think Lloyd is a silver fox.  Too bad they hate each other. 

 

[Crashcourse]

1 minute ago, Tatum said:

They did go to a bar that one night, when Jimmy ended up mouthing off to some guy and the guy cleaned his clock, and I think also beat up whoever happened to be with him (I think Ryan and Colby?). That was when Rip gathered up the guys and wanted them to beat the rival group to death and Walker said no. I think they do meet women but they probably don't usually bring them back to the bunkhouse. There's no fucking way I would ever go with one of those guys back to the Yellowstone bunkhouse, no matter how foxy I thought he was. I am not sure if the guys are allowed to sleep elsewhere. It seems they work 7 days a week so prob not.

Ok, now I remember the bar fight but it seems like none of the guys have any kind of love life, although I guess they couldn't living at Yellowstone 24/7.  I wonder how bunkhouses operate in real life. 

[bkathi]

8 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Wait!  He's mine! 😉

Seriously though, I think he's the sexiest Yellowstone guy, and I think Lloyd is a silver fox.  Too bad they hate each other. 

I meant Ryan the character (Ian Bohen), not Walker.  He kinda creeps me out.  So he is all yours!

[Crashcourse]

3 minutes ago, Tatum said:

Ryan and Lloyd hate each other? Since when?

Oops, I thought the poster meant Ryan Bingham/Walker.  My bad.  

1 minute ago, bkathi said:

I meant Ryan the character (Ian Bohen), not Walker.  He kinda creeps me out.  So he is all yours!

Ok, yeah thanks.  I'll take him! 

[Dowel Jones]

8 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Saddling a horse is hella complicated. I had no idea.

Wikipedia has an in depth article about saddle types (Western Saddles search entry) that makes it a little clearer.  There's also a link there to a saddle retailer - they start at ~$1000 and can run up past $3000, so getting it set correctly on the horse can be important.  To the rider too, I suppose.

[rhygirl720]

57 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Wikipedia has an in depth article about saddle types (Western Saddles search entry) that makes it a little clearer.  There's also a link there to a saddle retailer - they start at ~$1000 and can run up past $3000, so getting it set correctly on the horse can be important.  To the rider too, I suppose.

saddles are fitted to the rider and the horse and yes super important and cutting saddles are very expensive like 3000 and up

Edited December 3, 2021 by rhygirl720

[Cool Breeze]

Piper Perabo is married to the show's executive producer Stephen Kay (ex-Reginald on "GH" for soap fans).  

Got to be weird seeing your wife in bed with Kevin Costner.

[SuprSuprElevated]

On 12/2/2021 at 12:07 PM, Joimiaroxeu said:

Why was Beth staying with John instead of Rip?

That whole scene, while wholly unnecessary, made me more than a little uncomfortable.  Just me?

Edited December 3, 2021 by SuprSuprElevated

[Haleth]

On 12/3/2021 at 3:35 PM, SuprSuprElevated said:

That whole scene, while wholly unnecessary, made me more than a little uncomfortable.  Just me?

Not just you.  It was creepy.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Not a lot of exposition, but profound values were reinforced.

John's biggest mistake, imo, was his belief that the land itself would be satisfying enough to make his life worthwhile and worth living.  He has tragically learned that for us humans, it's about deep and interactive relationships with mutual respect.  We are primarily social creatures so long as survival is basically assured.

Another theme hammered home is the necessity of breaking wills.  Once that is done, really cool things can happen.  Each party then has a chance to grow.  Wills are the ultimate limitation, imo.  We are held back, or prisoner, to emotion and our ability to reason is significantly reduced in service to feeling.  From Carter to Lloyd, it's a crucial dance that never ends.  Even for Jimmie.

I hated, hated, hated the introduction of the environmental ethic.  Dutton is no idealist.  As he mentioned, he's got nothing if the land dies.  

The sweat lodge is a heckuva thing.  Not sure how a boy like Tate is supposed to be part of one, though.  Then again, he was not inside.  So, what's the point, Sheridan?  

Jamie really is a sharp lawyer.  He's hopelessly stoopid, though.  He's gonna twist everything into Son, or Father; Father, or Son?  This, even though in no way are they mutually exclusive. 

It's naive and hokey as all get out, but this show's solution to everything being the ability to ride off on a horse is cute.    

Edited December 5, 2021 by Lonesome Rhodes

[Dowel Jones]

2 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

Another theme hammered home is the necessity of breaking wills.

You had me there, for a moment.  Wait, who died?  Who's fighting over what?  We don't need another subplot.   The rest of the paragraph is perfect.

Edited December 5, 2021 by Dowel Jones

[mledawn]

5 hours ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

The sweat lodge is a heckuva thing.  Not sure how a boy like Tate is supposed to be part of one, though.  Then again, he was not inside.  So, what's the point, Sheridan?

Tate was inside the tent, participating. I was under the impression the sweat was for him, to help him heal from what he experienced. He comes out of the tent after Rainwater.

[mytmo]

I did one sweat and it was incredible and indescribable.  It was truly more than just sweating.  The one I went to was in Madison Wisconsin in February.    

[mythoughtis]

 John did not love Beth in Season 1 - he was all about hating her because her mom died.  Beth did not kill her mom.  Mom got thrown. 
 

then on season 2 ( I think) we see Beth super sexualized a couple years after her mom died. We also see John needs  his daughters business acumen, so all of a sudden he loves her
 

season 3 tells us that Beth  got an abortion.  John apologized for not being the kind of father she could talk to as a teen.  Never has apologized for hating her for her moms deaths 

[Milburn Stone]

On 11/29/2021 at 12:19 PM, MBayGal said:

Did not recognize Barry Corbin!!

I wouldn't have from his appearance, but I knew him instantly from his voice.

[AnnA]

On 3/18/2022 at 10:28 PM, Milburn Stone said:

I wouldn't have from his appearance, but I knew him instantly from his voice.

Same here!  I'm not really interested in Jimmy's Texas storyline so I wasn't even watching at the time.  As soon as I heard his voice I looked up because I wanted to be sure it was him.