The second episode of season two of “Yellowstone” premiered Wednesday night, and it was very solid.
WARNING: THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPOILERS BELOW. DO NOT KEEP READING IF YOU AREN’T CAUGHT UP. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.
Last night’s episode “New Beginnings” was certainly not the greatest episode of the hit Paramount Network show, but it was a nice setup for things to come.
There aren’t too many points to cover at all. The main one is the fact Kayce is now cemented in as second in command of the ranch behind John. (RELATED: ‘Yellowstone‘ Returns With A Bang In Season 2 Premiere ‘A Thundering’)
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In a bit of a twisted favor, the head of the Dutton family asks Rip to move back into the bunkhouse because Kayce can’t lead the men if he’s living with them.
We also knew things were brewing between the youngest Dutton son and John’s righthand man. Walker’s insubordination to Rip finally bubbled over and it nearly ended with the newest branded man stabbing Rip before it was broken up.
Kayce stops Rip from getting retribution, which set us up for the big showdown. The two men fought once again, but this time Kayce came out on top. He ended it with saying Rip’s infamous line, “if you want to fight somebody, you fight me.” It was the final straw to prove John’s troubled son is now in a major leadership role ahead of everybody else other than his father.
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I must admit I thought Rip was holding back during the brawl, which ultimately turned out to be the case. In a major sign of loyalty to John, it appeared like he let Kayce win in order to win the respect of everybody else.
One other major note about Kayce, we see John hand him Lee’s old livestock enforcement badge, which means he’s now got legal authority as well. If there were any doubts about where the former Navy SEAL stands in the hierarchy, they should all be gone now.
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In the closing moments of the show, we see John and Kayce at the pool as the head of the Dutton family undergoes physical therapy. Things take a turn for the worse when Monica is there at the same time. The two of them get locked into an intense staring exchange as the final credits roll.
I have no idea what will happen between those two, but it’s clear they have a very long road ahead of them.
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As for Beth, she’s gobbling up land as fast as she can in order to protect the ranch from all its enemies. She’s also more than willing to remind Kayce she’s the real brain of the operations.
Overall, was it the most exciting episode? Not even close, but the groundwork is now fully laid for things to come. We got our big confrontation between Rip and Kayce, we now know Kayce has the ultimate authority behind his father and Beth’s plan is coming along nicely.
All in all, things are going too smoothly, which means the wheels should fall off very soon. Tune in in two weeks to see what we get in the third episode of season two of “Yellowstone.”