Yellowstone season 2, episode 1, “A Thundering” sees the Dutton family at odds, the ranch hands getting restless,
and the beginnings of begrudging respect between old foes. The first season of Yellowstone ends with the two-part finale,
“The Unraveling”, a violent and dramatic crescendo to the premiere season of Taylor Sheridan’s beloved TV show.
In that finale, Jamie’s (Wes Bentley) political career gets knocked off track when his father halts his funding. Foolishly, Jamie lashes out, agreeing to a newspaper interview about John (Kevin Costner) and earning himself a new level of enmity from his family.
Beth (Kelly Reilly) is made the executor of the trust that holds Yellowstone Ranch, effectively making her the owner once John passes away, a reality that seems more possible than ever with John’s cancer diagnosis. Monica (Kelsey Asbille) has left her husband Kayce (Luke Grimes), and the dejected man has relegated himself to the bunkhouse. Dan Jenkins nearly suffers one of Yellowstone‘s worst deaths when Rip (Cole Hauser), Kayce, and John almost hang him dead during an interrogation. The season 2 premiere finds the characters taking their places for another wild season of Yellowstone.
Beth Dutton Finds A New Candidate For AG
Bob Schwartz And Beth Make A Deal To Protect Yellowstone
She meets with Bob Schwartz (Michael Nouri) and pitches him an idea. Beth suggests the Duttons and Bob buy the land surrounding the Yellowstone Ranch and enroll the land in a Conservation Reserve Program where the government pays people not to farm the land. The land purchase will be profitable in two years and Dan Jenkins will be unable to build a casino on it. When Bob asks what’s in it for Beth besides money, Beth spells it out, she’s digging a giant moat around her family’s land.
Tensions Rise Between Kayce And Rip
The Yellowstone Ranch Hands Get In A Bar Fight
With Kayce now working as a ranch hand, John begins treating him as a senior member of the team, directly challenging Rip’s role as the foreman. When a new hire comes to Yellowstone, “Cowboy” (Steven Williams), John tells him to talk to Kayce about employment, much to Rip’s silent annoyance. Though Walker (Ryan Bingham) warns Cowboy that Yellowstone is not a typical ranch and that he should consider leaving, Cowboy begins to get along with his other hired hands, and soon they’re all playing poker and drinking.
The party doesn’t stop at the bunkhouse, and the crew rolls over to a bar. One thing leads to another and soon a fight breaks out with the Yellowstone crew getting the worst of it. Kayce and Rip put their differences aside and return to the bar for some payback. The two men drive a trailer right up to the bar’s doors and release a bull into the saloon. Anyone who manages to escape meets the Yellowstone crew wielding 2x4s. Their message sent, Kayce and Rip remind the bartender to call the Duttons next time a fight breaks out.
John Collapses From A Ruptured Ulcer
John Realizes He Has To Fix Some Mistakes
The day takes a tragic turn, however, at the end of the episode. After having a laugh watching Jimmy (Jefferson White) artificially inseminate the cattle, John suddenly collapses with blood streaming from his mouth. The only doctor available is the vet who learns it isn’t his colon cancer that’s the problem, but a ruptured ulcer. Long term, it’s a good thing, but in the short term, they have no way of getting to a hospital, so the vet needs to operate using only local anesthesia.
John acknowledges that he’s been living like he has cancer, and that may not be for the best. Now there’s much to undo.
After a painful operation, John is saved and sent to the hospital in a helicopter with Kayce. Kayce tells John that, on the bright side, he doesn’t have cancer and is no longer dying. John acknowledges that he’s been living like he has cancer, and that may not be for the best. Now there’s much to undo.
Monica Gets A New Teaching Job And Thomas Rainwater Has A Nightmare
Rainwater Has A Vision Of The Future
Yellowstone season 2, episode 1, also has some smaller storylines that are still critical to the rest of the season. The season opens with Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) having a nightmare that includes a burning bush, a woman running while on fire, and Dan Jenkins with half his face destroyed, pointing a gun at Thomas, who wakes screaming. “A Thundering” is a relatively bloodless episode, so this shocking opening to the season is a warning of things to come, namely two of the best villains to ever appear on a Taylor Sheridan show.
Monica, who is still walking with a cane after her accident in season 1, now feels ready to accept the job offered to her previously, as a professor of Native American Studies at a local college. Unfortunately, the college no longer has the funds available for the position. However, the man she meets with sees her desire to teach and offers her something in the meantime, teaching a course on post-Columbus American history.
It’s easy to see why she would not pass up the chance to teach a new generation of students the dangers of white men fighting over land that was once the Indian’s.
At first apprehensive, Monica is assured she can teach the course however she sees fit. Monica, realizing she can teach some young people about the horrors inflicted on the Native Americans by colonists, agrees to the job. Since the accident, Monica has become wary of the Duttons and their brutal way of life. It’s easy to see why she would not pass up the chance to teach a new generation of students the dangers of white men fighting over land that was once the Indian’s.
What’s Next For Yellowstone Season 2
Every Character Is Set Up To Make Some Big Moves In Season 2
The first episode of Yellowstone season 2, is used as set up for the rest of the season, though some major moves are made. Cassidy becomes an important player in season 2 as she gets ready to go up against Jamie in the AG race. Beth is starting to show why John was wise to put the future of the ranch in her hands. Notably, all three rivals of the series have each come to a reckoning in this episode. Dan was nearly hung an episode before, Thomas has a terrifying vision of the future, and John almost dies himself.
When the Beck Brothers arrive in season 2 and present an even worse threat, the sit-down between Dan, Thomas, and John makes a little more sense, considering each man has experienced something that’s altered their views. Yellowstone season 2, episode 1, is almost quaint compared to what comes next in season 2 and is something of a deep breath before the plunge into violence and war.
