‘Yellowstone’: Despite Jamie Dutton’s History of Questionable Decisions, Fans Are Still Rooting For His Redemption in Season 5
Yellowstone season 4 ended with Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) being blackmailed by his sister Beth (Kelly Reilly). In the finale, Jamie’s betrayal of the Duttons was revealed and he was forced to beg for mercy. This moment came after a history of Jamie making questionable decisions — but fans are still rooting for his redemption in season 5.
Jamie Dutton has a history of questionable decisions on ‘Yellowstone’
Jamie’s story arc during the first four seasons of Yellowstone has painted him as the black sheep of the Dutton family. Despite the fact that he spent most of that time doing everything his father asked of him, Jamie is looked down upon by the Duttons — with fears that he would ruin the ranch if he ever got the chance.
Jamie grew up believing he was the son of John Dutton (Kevin Costner), and at his insistence went to Harvard Law School. When he returned to Montana after graduation, Jamie became his father’s legal counsel in matters concerning the Dutton Ranch.
That’s how Jamie’s story began to Yellowstone viewers. But as things have unfolded, it’s been revealed that Jamie has a history of making terrible decisions
Most notably, when Beth got pregnant with Rip Wheeler’s (Cole Hauser) baby as a teenager, she turned to Jamie for help getting an abortion. But when Jamie took her to the clinic at the reservation, he agreed to have his sister sterilized without her consent. This single, horrible decision was the spark for Beth’s hatred of her brother and the cause of their long-running feud.
Fans are still rooting for his redemption in season 5
Jamie made another horrific decision after he told a reporter insider information about the Dutton family. He killed her to prevent her from publishing the story, and made it look like her death was a kayaking accident (with the help of Rip).
He also made the decision to keep the truth hidden when he found out his biological father Garrett Randall (Will Patton) was responsible for the attacks on the Duttons that nearly killed his father and siblings. Once Beth realized Jamie knew — and didn’t kill Garrett immediately — she forced her adopted brother to make a choice.
Ultimately, Jamie decided to kill Garrett and dump the body at the “train station” — which Beth documented with a photo. Season 4 ended with Beth showing her father the photo and saying, “Now you own him.”
But despite all the effort to paint Jamie as a villain in the Yellowstone story, many fans are still rooting for his redemption in season 5.
‘Yellowstone’ fans say Jamie has a ton of possibilities for redemption
When the question of Jamie’s possible redemption was posed on the Yellowstone Reddit Thread, many hoped the best for the adopted Dutton. But, there was also skepticism that creator Taylor Sheridan would actually give him a redemptive story arc.
“Jamie has the potential, if Taylor Sheridan takes advantage of it, to be perhaps the most complex character on the show. A ton of possibilities for his redemption, not all of which may benefit the Duttons. Would certainly twist some things up,” one fan wrote.
A second fan added, “Agree wholeheartedly. But will Taylor Sheridan take advantage? Or is Jamie just gonna be linear or, worse, continue his downward wuss trajectory.” A third chimed in, “I really hope so. I’m tired of seeing him be tortured and make bad decisions.”
Yellowstone Season 5 premieres Sunday, November 13 on the Paramount Network.
