As much as “Yellowstone” is a show about a family trying to defend their land, it’s also a series with quite a bit of murder in it. Fitting of the wild west, but make it modern for this drama.
Jamie Becomes a Murderer in ‘Yellowstone’ Season 2
With that being said, think back to “Yellowstone” Season 2, Episode 6. The title of this episode is “Blood the Boy.” It’s the “Yellowstone” episode where Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) commits cold-blooded murder. Now, we know that his brother, Kayce (Luke Grimes), has anger issues. But apparently, Jamie has an underlying hot temper as well. Could this be a case of nature versus nurture, since Jamie is adopted? Anyways, we digress.
Back to Jamie and the shocking murder of the reporter, Sarah Nguyen (Michaela Conlin). Wes Bentley’s “Yellowstone” character is billed as someone that has it together. He’s a lawyer with fancy clothes and is running for a big title with the Montana government. However, things start to unravel for Jamie when his father, John (Kevin Costner), disapproves of his campaign to take the Montana Attorney General seat.
Jamie starts on this downward spiral mid-way through “Yellowstone” season 2. He thinks he’s losing his future, and so he wants to get back at this father. The shunned son agrees to do an interview with a reporter. Enter Sarah Nguyen. However, this doesn’t end well for either of them.
Jamie realizes that he bit the hand that feeds, and goes back to John and the ranch. However, there’s still one thing that he has to deal with. That’s trying to convince Sarah not to publish the story of Dutton family secrets that he so willingly spilled to her.
He confronts the reporter and tries to persuade her from publishing the story. However, his efforts fail and Jamie’s anger gets the best of him. He shoves Sarah against her rental car and knocks her unconscious. Jamie continues to spiral out of control and ends up strangling her to death.
Jamie, Rip, and Walker Cover Up the Murder
It’s then that Jamie realizes he’s lost all control. He doesn’t know what to do next. However, he does know this his family has a long history of covering up murders. So who does he consult on this? Rip Wheeler.
Cole Hauser’s “Yellowstone” character, Rip Wheeler, is seemingly the go-to when it comes to “handling things.” Rip enlists the help of a fellow ranch hand and adversary, Walker.
Rip decides that the best way to deal with the reporter’s body is to make it look like a kayaking accident. She does have a kayak on the top of her car, after all, so it could seem logical. Rip, Jamie and Walker work together in this scenario and they think they’ve created a fail-proof plan.
Was the Cover-Up a Mistake? Would There Have Been a Better Option?
However, about a day later, there are reports on the news that Sarah’s body was found, in what the reporters say is a kayaking accident. The storyline is left there, dangling to be picked up again in a future “Yellowstone” season or episode.
But did Rip, Jamie, and Walker make the mistake of how they handled the out-of-state reporter’s death? Why didn’t they just take her to the”Yellowstone” train station? No one knows where this morbid drop is. There’s been the notion that dozens were dropped off the cliff to never be found.
So why not Sarah Nguyen? Is it because she’s a “somebody” and people would come looking for her? “Yellowstone” did establish that she has a partner, who would question her disappearance.
Maybe Rip, Jamie, and Walker’s thought process was if they make it look like an accident, it wouldn’t spark an actual investigation. Unlike if they dropped her off at the “Yellowstone” train station and that this scenario gives some closure.
Either way, fans are anxiously waiting for the fourth season of “Yellowstone” that premieres this summer.