

So, with a weight of expectation, Kayce asks what he would like him to do about it, and Emmet euphemistically says, “I don’t know. The man’s riled because his neighbor, a “son-of-a-bitch from calif-f**king-fornia,” has put cattle grids down all along his easement, making transporting his livestock a nightmare and costing him a fortune.

Later in episode 3, he’s visited in his office by Emmett Walsh. Surely a Livestock Commissioner wouldn't outrank a town sheriff? The Livestock Commissioner has a surprising amount of sway over the Yellowstone police, which we saw in episode 1 as he barked orders to the sheriff to pursue his father’s attackers. But we see Kayce abuse and even overestimate his authority in far less high-stakes situations too. The show shakily maintained that Kayce and John were honorable men doing only what necessary to protect their land and their family. There was no intention of taking anyone quietly down to the station: retribution, not justice, was the aim of the game.ĭoes absolute power corrupt absolutely? Perhaps. Discover how to watch Yellowstone season 4 episodesĪ blur of red and blue dominated the highway as a police cordon blocked the passage of two of the perps and, after one of them sneakily reached for a gun, Kasey unleashed a blast of bullets at the two guys like a scene from Scarface.Yet, aside from the authority their presence bestows, nothing else about their actions seems legal. This power is propped up by the local police force. One by one the perpetrators were gunned down in their homes or garrotted in their cars, while we repeatedly cut to John staring contemplatively into the fireplace: the “good man” whose will Kayce had ruthlessly enforced.Įpisode 3 repeatedly reminded us of the absolute power that the Duttons wield over Yellowstone, with John depicted as some kind of Godfather-like mafioso in the opening montage. Cutting between events, there’s a breathless force to this depiction of retributive justice. During that time a SWAT team led by Kayce mercilessly took out the remaining members of the militia that had been hired to exterminate the Duttons. The opening 2-minute sequence was a barrage of violence without any dialogue or sound, save for Colter Wall’s Sleeper on the Blacktop on the soundtrack. Meanwhile, John had to “take out the trash” when Mo and Chief Rainwater disclosed who ordered the Dutton family hit. The bunkhouse crew prepared to bid Jimmy farewell as he reluctantly departed with Travis to the Four Sixes ranch in Texas – leaving a disgruntled Mia behind – and Rip and Beth disagreed over the best approach to parenting 14-year-old Carter.

In that time, Kayce met John after the swift and efficient retaliation on the militia, saddling up and lamenting the current uncertainty of their lives.
