Yellowstone fans are starting to question whether John Dutton and Rip Wheeler’s hiring process for the ranch is in their best interest.
As we know, there is no application process to become a ranch hand at the Yellowstone, no formal interview or resume submission. If John and Rip pick someone to become an employee, they likely were going down a bad road already.
That’s how we met Jimmy Hurdstrom and Walker – two ranchhands with a criminal past and a chance to receive the Dutton ranch brand. And while Jimmy has turned out to be a loyal and essential member of the bunkhouse, fans aren’t so sure that Walker will meet the same fate.
Walker has already had his fair share of scraps on the Dutton ranch. He and Lloyd have beaten each other bloody over a romantic interest, and Rip has made it pretty clear he’s not Walker’s biggest fan, either. With how much trouble Walker has already caused, some fans wonder if these hiring practices will come back to haunt John and the rest of his crew.
“Do you think Walker has any real loyalty to Yellowstone?” one Yellowstone watcher wrote on Reddit. “He seems nomadic, shady and self serving. But not a really bad man so far. Can’t blame him for wanting women after getting out of prison, both Beth and Laramie pursued him.”
“The second chance thing with criminals, it seems so risky to pick men up as they are released from prison. I think the Duttons find out a lot about them before they pick the new ranch hand or cowboy out, probably through Sheriff Haskell. Or maybe not and they just take the risk.”
‘Yellowstone’ Fans Might Be Calling the Wrong Characters ‘Shady’
Don’t get us wrong – Walker doesn’t get the Outsider seal of approval just yet. However, if we’re going to talk about “shady” characters, we have to look at the Duttons and Rip, too. After all, no one comes back from the Train Station.
One fan broke down the questionable actions of our favorite Yellowstone characters, emphasizing that Walker would be in good company if he really is shady.
“Rip murders people whenever John tells him to, or because Rip doesn’t like them,” the fan wrote. “Lloyd used to have Rip’s job and is the same. Kayce’s a good guy at heart but also shoots first and asks questions later. Jamie wanted to serve the ranch, wants to be more important, and looks out for himself so he’s killed twice now. Beth will screw over anyone who spites her or if she thinks it’ll protect her dad; she’s not out there murdering people except in self-defense but she’s definitely not opposed to it.”
As several other Yellowstone fans pointed out, Walker’s main motivation is to stay out of prison. So, any action that he does take is to ensure this fate. This might mean he isn’t deserving of the Dutton ranch brand, but, as we know, there’s only one way to remove the brand.