The death of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton on “Yellowstone” season 5 has infuriated fans, mainly because it was handled terribly. However, some viewers believe that series creator Taylor Sheridan designed it to make the veteran actor’s character look bad following his well-documented exit from the show. Dutton was taken out by assassins and left lying next to a toilet, which is far from the dignified death that was reportedly agreed upon in Costner’s “Yellowstone” contract. What’s more, Sheridan’s own on-screen cowboy, Travis Wheatley, can’t stop hogging the spotlight in the final episodes of “Yellowstone,” and it’s just getting silly now.

There are several reasons why “Yellowstone” lost its way, and Sheridan’s increased on-screen presence is becoming one of them. Wheatley is essentially the Duttons’ new savior, as his expert horse-riding skills and ability to sell stallions to high-paying buyers has kept them financially afloat for another year. He used to be a minor, inconsequential character, but season 5’s final stretch has portrayed him as a bona fide don who commands respect and adoration. It’s unearned, puzzling, and bizarrely entertaining, but it’s also yet another nail in the coffin of a show that’s been on a downfall for quite some time.

Not only that, but Sheridan has also given his character a gangster backstory that details how he helped Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) in a violent dispute over a cowboy hat. Wheeler’s monologue where he recounts the tale is warmer than anything he’s ever said about his wife, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly), and he swoons over her constantly. Still, it’s nothing compared to how the ladies speak about Sheridan’s dashing hero.

Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone character is a sex symbol now

“Give the World Away” is the penultimate episode in both “Yellowstone season 5” and what’s supposed to be the hit neo-Western drama’s final season. There’s supposed to be high-stakes storytelling and tension, yet we aren’t any closer to discovering who killed Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) and the villainous Market Equities corporation is an afterthought. That said, the episode has more pressing concerns on its mind, such as giving Taylor Sheridan a chance to show off his muscles (which marks the actor and showrunner’s second shirtless appearance in one of his own series following “Lioness”).

The episode sees Sheridan’s hunky rancher play strip poker with supermodels and even features a cameo from Bella Hadid, whose nameless character is Travis Wheatley’s girlfriend. When Beth Dutton asks Hadid’s mystery woman what she sees on him, the model reveals that he knows how to ride, which paves the way for scenes of Wheatley putting on a horse-riding show that’s more akin to a circus performance. Even Beth, John Dutton’s jaded, grieving daughter, concedes that he’s a little bit sexy. That said, one can’t help but feel Sheridan wrote these scenes to boost his own ego.

“Yellowstone” season 5 has already been criticized for its gratuitous product placement, but it pertained to alcohol before. However, “Give the World Away” is even more shameless in the way it promotes Taylor Sheridan, and it’s going to take a miraculous finale to end this once-great series on a high note. Still, who cares about the Duttons’ problems when Wheatley can solve them by showing off his abs and riding horses, right?