Yellowstone Theory: Will Beth Be The Death Of Rip?

The last season of "Yellowstone" is approaching, and only one thing seems certain: at least some of its central characters won't make it out alive. And we don't mean nearly certainly doomed patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner). While John's fate seems to have been sealed by Costner's struggles with Paramount Network brass, there are plenty of other possible targets among the show's far-ranging cast of characters for a tragic conclusion.

Some fans have been considering how the show will end the bittersweet star-crossed ride-or-die pairing of hothead Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and her loyal ranch-hand husband Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser). As any fan knows, Beth has a tendency to get herself into physical fights with other people in public places. Extrapolating from that, u/TwistedFlame95, posting to the "Yellowstone" subreddit, thinks they have a theory as to how Rip might end up exiting the show — and it would be thanks to a heck of a bittersweet twist. "When Beth goes to visit Rip in Texas she might start a bar fight causing rip to have to step in like he always does only for rip to not walk away at the end of it. Either he finally met the bigger bear or ends up getting a [manslaughter] charge."

That would be a fitting gesture for a fella who's always done his best to look out for Beth — and a major consequence for the Dutton daughter, who's always jumping violently into confrontations where she can usually (but not always) handle herself. Other fans posting to the subreddit, however, think Rip's destined for a different ending.

Fans posting to the "Yellowstone" subreddit have conflicting opinions about Rip Wheeler's possible fate. One fan compared Rip to "The Walking Dead" characters like Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) and insisted he'll never die on the show. u/threedice joked that Rip might find himself tied to a crime on "The Mayor of Kingstown." Matters of plot practicality might also keep him alive; as other fans pointed out, if Rip dies, it's quite likely that Beth will finally go off the rails for good and may cause havoc for her family members, including estranged adopted brother Jamie (Wes Bentley). 

But plenty of people think that Rip and Beth will just plain ride off into the sunset during the final season for an ending that also seems quite plausible. After all, Cole Hauser has gone on the record saying he'd love to do a Rip and Beth-centric spin-off, and Paramount has definitely shown a willingness to create prequel and sequel programs connected to the Dutton clan. Taylor Sheridan is already producing a current day-set spin-off series that will keep the show's universe going. Thus, multiple fans on the thread predict that Rip and Beth will join that upcoming Texas-set show. That naturally doesn't guarantee that the characters will make it out alive, but it definitely tips the odds in their favor. Yet, as any "Yellowstone" fan worth their salt knows, those odds can shift without warning at any time.