Karma is a dish best served by Taylor Sheridan or Taylor Swift. In this case, however, Sheridan is the mastermind.
Two episodes after Yellowstone returned from a nearly two-year hiatus and revealed the shocking death of John Dutton (Kevin Costner), the hit Western drama killed off yet another character in the final jaw-dropping minutes of Season 5, Episode 11, “Three-Fifty-Three.”
Spoilers for Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 11 below.
After showing Jamie’s (Wes Bentley) partner in crime/the boardroom/the bedroom, Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), order the hit on John Dutton, Yellowstone used Episode 11 to give viewers a front-row seat to his murder.
We saw three men attack John while he was sleeping, drug him with a needle to the foot, carry him into the bathroom, and force his hand to pull the trigger. His suicide was carefully staged, just as Beth (Kelly Reilly) suspected, and after Kayce (Luke Grimes) paid a visit to the coroner’s office and demanded an autopsy with a focus on signs of struggle, the medical examiner (Vinessa Shaw) gave the detective the green-light to reopen the case.
After Episode 11, however, John Dutton’s death isn’t the only murder in Montana that needs to be investigated…
Who Died In Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 11?
Following their heated Episode 10 run-in outside Jamie’s office, there was no doubt in Beth’s mind that Sarah played a crucial role in her dad’s death. When authorities reported John died by suicide, Sarah had no problem confidently reassuring Jamie that there was no evidence that could point to foul play or their involvement in the patriarch’s demise. She assured him that Beth suspected they were behind the death, but had no proof. When the autopsy showed clear signs of struggle and the detective not only reopened John’s case, but changed the cause of death to a homicide, however, Sarah started to spiral and lose control of her unnecessarily risky pursuit of power.
A spooked Sarah walked away from a Market Equities meeting to stare at the homicide investigation news report in disbelief before racing to buy a burner phone and call the number for the services she sought that end John’s life. Unsurprisingly, the number was no longer operational, which only further fueled Sarah’s anxiety. She smashed her burner phone with a hammer, let out some cathartic emotions, and grabbed some vodka to drown out her worried. When Jamie entered the kitchen after his own hellish day at work, the two ruthlessly took their frustrations out on one another.
“What the fuck have you done to me?” Jamie asked Sarah, implying that the hit job had epically backfired. “What I did is exactly what we discussed that you wanted. I just kept you from the specifics to protect you,” Sarah replied, sticking to her story that Jamie not only ordered, but deep down wanted the death of John Dutton.
After Jamie worriedly informed her he’d been recused of everything related to his father in front of all of his colleagues, Sarah assured him that the 47th governor knew he couldn’t beat him in an election and was trying to distance himself. As for the homicide investigation, Sarah said to hell with the murder weapon, bruises, and autopsy results: “What proof do they have? He was a 68-year-old man…start thinking like a fucking attorney.”
“There is nothing that connects you, no phone records, no bank withdraws. You knew nothing and did nothing,” she said, stressing that most Jamie could be charged with is “accessory after the fact and impeding justice.”
When she dared say that she took all the risk for Jamie, he snapped back, “You took it for a $6 million investment deal that will be worth three times that the day construction is complete.” When Sarah took a cheap shot back at him, Jamie lost control and slapped her across her face. Sarah slapped him back, screamed some more, and stormed out as Jamie tearfully processed the escalation. As Sarah drove away, her phone rand mere seconds after leaving the house. Correctly assuming Jamie was calling, she said, “That didn’t take long,” and answered. He apologized for his “inexcusable” actions, and she assured him he had to trust her and start believing in himself.
It seemed like the disastrous duo was back in action, but mid-phone call, a car pulled up alongside Sarah and a woman in the driver’s seat politely hollered, “Excuse me?!” The man in the passenger seat motioned to Sarah, encouraging her to lower her window, and after the driver asked for directions, the man says, “Are you Sarah Atwood?” With Jamie still on the phone, Sarah replied, “How would you know?” Before he answered, the man whipped out a gun and shot her to death. A distraught Jamie heard the whole thing, screamed “NO!!!!” and spiraled before calling 9-1-1 and breaking down in tears. And just like that, Sarah paid the price for her role in John’s death.
Who Killed Sarah Atwood On Yellowstone?
Now the question Yellowstone fans will be thinking about for a week is “Who ordered the hit on Sarah?” While your first thought might be that someone on Team John like Beth and/or Kacey got their revenge (especially since Kayce was inquiring about hitmen himself in Episode 10), there’s also the possibility that the man whose services Sarah enlisted caught wind of the suicide-to-homicide cause of death swap and decided to be proactive and tie up loose ends, just in case Sarah decided to talk.
If that’s the case, things could get even messier for the Dutton siblings if Jamie assumes Beth is behind Sarah’s death. Ultimately, have to wait and see what Yellowstone has in store in its final three episodes. But as we know from the Season 5, Episode 12 teaser, with his dad and business partner/girlfriend both killed, Jamie isn’t looking super innocent at the moment.
The Season 5, Episode 12 teaser trailer shows Jamie frantically gathering papers in an office as well as his siblings talking about authorities closing in on him. “Police are circling Jamie. This is all gonna come to a head real quick,” Kayce tells Beth. “If they arrest Jamie, he will sing every secret our father ever had. He will ruin this family’s name to save his own,” a concerned Beth replies.
Who will get to Jamie first, the cops or his own siblings? We’re not sure, but we do know we’ll be watching this teaser on a loop looking while we wait.
New episodes of Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 premiere Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.
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