Why Yellowstone's Danny Huston Says Dan Jenkins Has A Moral Compass
Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston) spends two seasons on "Yellowstone" trying to build a new development on the land adjacent to the Yellowstone ranch, teaming up with Thomas Rainwater to try to take down the legendary Duttons. But Jenkins, an outsider from California, doesn't realize what kind of game he's playing and what the rules are, which ultimately leads to his death at the hands of John Dutton. In an interview posted to the Paramount Network website, Huston described his character as "a fish out of water," and also someone who loves the romanticism of the American West and wants to find a way to sell it to the urban consumer.
According to an interview with JoBlo, Huston got involved in the show after falling in love with the script, which he called "exquisite," "epic," and "kaleidoscopic." He also said he felt drawn to the project because it never feels like television but rather like a big film production that just happens to be episodic. Truly, the scope and cinematography of "Yellowstone" does feel more like film than television.
Dan Jenkins becomes a formidable villain, but he's also not pure evil. His character is a little more complex than that and probably couldn't stoop to some of the levels that the Duttons do. According to Huston, Jenkins has a moral compass, unlike some of the others who have taken on the Duttons in hopes of winning the Yellowstone.
Danny Hurston doesn't think Dan Jenkins delights in other people's suffering
In an interview with TV Insider, Danny Huston said that he believes that Dan Jenkins still has a "moral core," and that any "harm that happens to others is not something that Dan Jenkins really takes a great pleasure in." He went on to say that Jenkins feels sorry for the Duttons whenever he senses a weakness in them.
Fans seem to agree, with most finding Jenkins more pathetic than evil. In a thread in the r/YellowstonePN subreddit, u/Sammatterhorn said, "Deep down inside he wasn't a bad person but just wanted to make money" and that he had to be killed off to make way for more sinister villains, like Market Equities. Similarly, u/DarKnight972 said they felt sympathy for the character, while u/Fmal_DeHyde called the character "weak."
Indeed, Jenkins is somewhat pathetic. He's an outsider who comes in to try and make money in Montana and joins forces with Rainwater in hopes of developing the area, only to battle tooth and nail with the Duttons and be cheated by Rainwater. It's also true that, with Jenkins out of the way at the end of Season 2, the show created a chance for themselves to raise the stakes by creating other, more diabolical villains, including Sarah Atwood and Angela Blue Thunder. In that sense, Jenkins' moral compass is exactly what got him killed off on the show and replaced.