Summary
Shrewd maneuvers and bad decisions define this episode, which is primarily setting things up for later.
This recap of Yellowstone season 5, episode 3, “Tall Drink of Water”, contains spoilers.
Wolves are becoming an unlikely unifying theme in this season of Yellowstone. For now, we’re talking about the four-legged kind, but give it time. The reason I say this is they’re the subject of both an early flashback in which a young John Dutton (Josh Lucas) throws his weight around about the inconvenient introduction of the predators into Montana’s natural ecosystem, and then, of course, the present-day matter of the protected wolves that Ryan and Colby mistakenly shot in Episode 2.
Yellowstone season 5, episode 3 recap
We knew that would come back to be problematic for the Yellowstone, and it is here in “Tall Drink of Water” when a couple of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents turn up at the ranch to ask Rip some awkward questions about why the GPS collars were found on Dutton land. Rip doesn’t take kindly to being bossed around, but it’s obvious that this matter isn’t going away any time soon.
On that subject, the loss of Monica and Kayce’s son is also continuing to encourage big changes. Some of them do seem to be based on Kayce’s sweat lodge visions, too, but omens are omens, I suppose. Either way, Monica’s grief is beginning to manifest as outright instability, and to be there for her and Tate, Kayce doesn’t feel he can be a livestock agent anymore. Chief Rainwater suggests he becomes a government investigator, which shouldn’t prove especially difficult given the connections the rest of the family has, but it remains to be seen what kind of implications it might have.
Meanwhile, Market Equities are filing their obligatory breach of contract lawsuit after John ceased all their developments, but Jamie, finally in a negotiating position of some power, knows that the judicial proceedings aren’t going to go anywhere. He’s immediately taken in by Sarah Atwood, though, so it’ll be interesting to see how that develops (he’s such a sucker.)
Jamie’s at least dealing with his responsibilities better than John is, who spends most of this episode staring pensively at his land while trying to avoid hearing about Beth’s first threesome. He’s in a position he doesn’t want that other people want him in, while Rainwater is in a position he wants to be in which, quite suddenly, he isn’t the ideal candidate for anymore. He’s facing political opposition from Martin Kills Many (Christian Wassana) and personal opposition from Angela Blue Thunder, and whatever way you slice it, he’s probably not going to have a good season.
Neither is Beth, probably, but she at least has a good episode until the very end. She manages to sell off her controlling interest in Schwartz and Meyer to Rob (Aaron Lazar) and place all her real estate into a conservation easement which means it can’t be touched. Caroline is furious at this development, and even more so when she is recalled back to New York, with Market Equities believing that this is checkmate. At present, Sarah Atwood is their only hope.
So, Beth wants to celebrate. And since it’s Lloyd’s birthday, she spies an opportunity to take the entire bunkhouse to a local bar. Rip isn’t keen on the idea and tries to say no, but you know what Beth’s like. Lo and behold, though, Rip turns out to be right. It’s never a good idea to combine a lot of fake cowboys with a lot of real cowboys and a lot of beer, and, it turns out, it’s not a good idea for a pretty lady to hit on Rip while Beth is watching.
So, Beth bottles the young woman, a big brawl erupts, and the new Sheriff arrives on the scene to prove a point by hauling Beth away to jail, despite knowing who she is. I’m sure she’ll be fine, but someone will probably be made to answer for all this in the near future.
You can catch Yellowstone season 5, episode 3, “Tall Drink of Water”, exclusively on Paramount Network.
