Beth and Summer fight

The majority of the action remained on the ranch in Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 5, “Watch Them Go.”

John Dutton attempts to combine his two lives as rancher and state governor in the fifth season episode.

As the title suggests, it took everyone a while to pull away, but the episode apparently sets up a desert adventure for Episode 6 next week.

For those who missed it, or if there’s anything you want to touch on, here’s Newsweek’s summary of Yellowstone Season 5, episode 5.

Beth’s Flashback

The episode opens like others this season, with a flashback to a young John, Beth, and Rip. She ventures out to see John leading a group of ranch hands, including Rip, setting off on horseback for a week-long task. Still bitter about how Beth treated him before, Rip says goodbye without much heat.

Present day Beth wakes up and we see that this flashback was another one of her dreams. Once again, she tells her husband Rip that she dwells on the past, but he informs her that he only thinks of them today and tomorrow, not yesterday.

Later that morning, Beth confronts her father for bringing Summer, the animal rights activist, or as Beth calls her the “hairy hippie who gives their couch syphilis”, to their house. John tells his daughter that Summer is here for a useful reason, but she is adamant that she is the enemy and somehow everyone wants a piece of Dutton land. .

John’s Mark Trip

During a conversation with Rip, he lays down the ground rules for how he wants an upcoming marquee trip to go. They plan to move the cattle to land where they will be safe from wolves and mark them while they are there. Not completely aware of the way of life of the owners of the ranch, he informs her that he will accompany them. It becomes a family affair as Beth, Kayce, Monica, and Tate will also join them.

Clara, John’s assistant, informs him that he has dozens of appointments in his calendar that he cannot cancel. Instead, she suggests turning the trip into a “MEPP,” a politically manipulated event, where he can squeeze two weeks of attendee meetings into one afternoon.

John faces opposition from Summer who informs him that he mutilates animals. He retaliates by explaining that when she was born, a doctor cut her a chord, patted her on the back, and put her on a metal scale, all to improve her quality of life. They agree to disagree.

When Kayce and his family arrive, John’s face lights up. The trio use this little trip as another way to recover from the tragic loss of their son. When Clara asks if Kayce is John’s youngest son, he responds by saying that Kayce is his “only son”. We haven’t seen it yet, but it’s another blow to adopted son Jamie and his late son Lee Dutton.

Sleep with the enemy

Back at the Capitol, Jamie is cleaning up his desk for the day his nemesis-turned-lover Sarah Atwood arrives.

Their public affair muddied the waters of the state’s case against Market Equities and Jamie tells Sarah that what they did was unprofessional. Sarah shows him what she thought of it by undressing in front of him in his office.

We still don’t know what Sarah’s plan is, but as Beth found out in the last episode, she shouldn’t be trusted because Sarah isn’t her real name.

dinner time

Back at the ranch, John insists his whole family sit down and have dinner together despite Beth’s opposition to Summer. At the table are John, Beth, Rip, Carter, Kayce, Monica, Tate, Summer, and Clara, all seated in awkward silence at the start.

Things get off to a bad start when Chef Gator comes up with a meaty main course, which doesn’t sit well with vegan summer. Beth insists next time just to feed her what he feeds the horses. Faced with a venison, a duck and a dove, Summer questions everything. Kayce breaks the tension that makes Monica laugh.

In a move that puts the whole table on edge, Beth and Summer walk around discussing their differences. Everyone knows what’s going to happen, but John thinks it would be good for both of them to get him out of their system. Once outside, Beth turns around and punches Summer in the face. Nine years of jujitsu allows Summer to effectively defend herself, but growing up with three brothers allows Beth to gain the upper hand.

Rip comes out in time to play daddy and tell them they look silly and talk to them both.

Instead, he suggests cowboy rules where they trade kicks on their feet until they’ve had enough. After being knocked down by Beth twice, Summer starts crying until Beth helps her up and tells her that she will receive the respect she gives in this house.

Back at the table, a hungry Summer starts eating mashed potatoes which may contain butter. It might not be the best message for viewers, but it looks like Beth might have beaten the vegan a bit.

After retiring to the next room, John tells Rip over drinks about his ancestors and how they got and kept the land through fighting. The mention of his ancestors is particularly poignant now that we have seen the events of 1883 and the approach 1923 on Paramount+.

John says he has a child he misses, one he pities, one he misses, but Beth he envies. It is not difficult to understand who he is talking about with others.

The next morning

As the sun rises the next day, the same group eats breakfast in comfortable silence at the table. Summer watches them one by one follow John Dutton out the door.

Summer feels like she’s been hit by a truck while Beth feels like she’s been hit by a Prius. While they are gone, Beth tells Summer to take a walk in the country and she will realize that there is no better maintained forest in America than the Yellowstone Ranch.

As Monica says goodbye to Kayce and their son, Kayce implies that they are planning to have another baby. “If it doesn’t make you cry not to watch them go, you probably shouldn’t have one,” Monica told Summer, wiping away a tear.

The episode is dedicated to the memory of Timothy Reynolds. He was a crew member who is credited with working behind the scenes on Yellowstone from 2018 to 2021.

The next episode of Yellowstone Season 5, “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow and Fog,” premieres on Paramount Network on Sunday, December 11.