If Yellowstone season 5’s finale is the end of the series, several things must happen to conclude Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western TV series. Yellowstone season 5, part 2 experienced significant production delays, and, due to reported disputes, the series returned without Kevin Costner as John Dutton III. Without John, the other Yellowstone season 5 characters have delivered an exciting outing, though Sheridan has left countless events to conclude in the finale. Hopefully, Yellowstone season 5’s ending will pay off its best stories.

It’s been a mixed season for the Dutton family, with some wins but primarily losses. In the penultimate episode of Yellowstone season 5, Kelly Reilly’s Beth Dutton holds an auction to liquidate the estate’s assets and cover the ranch’s mortgage. The mortgage for the Dutton Ranch helps pay the massive inheritance tax, which has halted life as usual as Luke Grimes’ Kayce works with his sister to determine their options. In Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, Kayce suggests they give the ranch away. Based on that, a few things need to happen for Yellowstone’s finale to wrap up the series satisfyingly.Kayce Sells The Ranch To The Broken Rock Tribe
Yellowstone Episode 13 Hints At The Ending

In Yellowstone’s season 5 finale, Kayce selling the ranch to the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock would be an inspiring ending. The Dutton siblings’ discussion at the end of episode 13 foreshadows that Kayce and Beth will give the ranch away, as does the episode title, “Give it All Away.” Kayce asks his sister a business question, posing a hypothetical sales situation to her, looking for answers. Kayce asks Beth what the sales tax would be if she sold her $300,000 car to him for $1. When Beth asks what her brother is cooking, he doesn’t say.

Kayce is formulating a plan to sell the ranch, and we know Beth is down for it since she kisses his cheek when she figures it out before parting ways. Beth has one question: Who? Kayce has been establishing a close relationship with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and Mo (Moses Brings Plenty), leaning into their customs and traditions as he navigates the balance of protecting the ranch, Tate (Brecken Merrill), and Monica (Kelsey Asbille). Kayce is determined to prioritize his family over maintaining the Dutton’s family tree legacy in season 5, leaving an obvious solution.

Generations of Duttons have died protecting the ranch, and Kayce’s visions in Yellowstone season 4 suggest that he needs to choose the ranch or his family.

Generations of Duttons have died protecting their ranch, and Kayce’s visions in Yellowstone season 4 suggest that he needs to choose the ranch or his family. Therefore, Kayce’s allegiance to his family signals that he’s willing to walk away from the ranch. While it would be impossible for the Duttons to find a buyer for all their land at a fair price, Kayce has discovered the best solution. In 1883, a Yellowstone prophecy suggests that the Native people of Montana will rise and take their land back from the Dutton family, to which Kayce’s great-great-grandfather says they can have it.

Kayce giving the ranch to the Broken Rock Tribe would enable the ranch to stay whole, which John Dutton III and his father wanted. Beth’s plan for the ranch included selling parts of it off to companies interested in maintaining open spaces. The solution would break up the family’s estate and contribute to the settlement of Montana. Thus, Kayce’s teased solution to give the ranch to the Broken Rock Tribe fulfills a Yellowstone 1883 prophecy and meets each modern character’s needs. For instance, Beth has always wanted to sell the ranch, and Kayce has always tried to leave it behind.Kayce, Tate, & Monica Resettle In Their Home
Kayce’s Family Settled At East Camp

In the season finale of Yellowstone season 5, part 1, John Dutton tells Monica about an area of the Dutton Ranch next to the Broken Rock reservation called East Camp. John Dutton tells his daughter-in-law there’s an old house and that it’s her family’s if they will take it. He asks Monica’s family to move into it so that Kayce can keep an eye on the ranch since, at that time, Rip (Cole Hauser) and some other cowboys are heading to Texas to look after the cattle after brucellosis threatens the herd, and he needs to govern from Helena.

The Yellowstone flashbacks show Kayce’s family settling at East Camp, perfectly blending their two worlds between the ranch and the reservation.

In Yellowstone season 5, episode 9, “Desire Is All You Need,” Kayce shows his family the house, and Tate and Monica fall in love with it. No one has occupied the distant house for years, and the place needs a little work. Still, its isolation draws Kayce and Monica to the house, and they work alongside their son to renovate it in a flashback in Yellowstone season 5, episode 10, “The Apocalypse of Change.” The Yellowstone flashbacks show Kayce’s family settling at East Camp, perfectly blending their two worlds between the ranch and the reservation.

However, duty calls Kayce back to the ranch when John Dutton III dies, and Monica and Tate leave their newly formed home behind to follow Kayce. Still, Kayce’s family can return to their slice of Paradise Valley. If Kayce gives the ranch to the Confederated Tribes of Broken Rock, he and his family can return to their home since it will be part of the reservation. Kayce prefers living with his Native American wife and son on the reservation when the series kicks off, but Monica’s grandfather, Felix (Rudy Ramos), urges him to leave when the range war breaks out.Lloyd & Yellowstone’s Cowboys Find New Jobs
What Will Happen To Lloyd Now?

While the Duttons contend with their futures, the Dutton Ranch cowboys must begin writing their next chapter. The future after Yellowstone season 5 is uncertain for ranch hands like Ryan (Ian Bohen), Walker (Ryan Bingham), and Teeter (Jennifer Landon). Beth liquidates the ranch’s assets in Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, officially leaving the ranch hands without their jobs, prompting the cowboys to discuss what comes next. While the cowboys tease what’s next for them in the penultimate episode, we hope each Yellowstone ranch hand gets screentime in the finale to give a more conclusive answer about their future.

Walker teases that his next venture is in Texas. We need confirmation on that front, including if his girlfriend Laramie (Hassie Harrison) will join him. We also need answers about the future of Forrie J. Smith’s Lloyd Bridger Yellowstone character, especially after Rip promised to keep him as a ranch hand despite its operations ending. If there’s no ranch to work on after the finale, we need an idea of where Lloyd will land. Sadly, Colby’s tragic death compromised a happy ending for Teeter, but hopefully, she and Ryan find a way to start anew.