Dutton Ranch is off to an explosive and shocking start with its first two episodes, and one major plot point in particular has raised a lot of questions.
Following on from the incredible final season of Yellowstone, a new adventure is unfolding for Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler away from their past life in Montana.
As with any Taylor Sheridan project, there’s bound to be a few bumps in the road for the happy couple. Indeed, he and showrunner Chad Feehan have wasted no time in creating a number of intense, inciting incidents in just the first two episodes of Dutton Ranch.
If you’re reading this, you will (hopefully) have seen those first two episodes of the new show. If you haven’t, now is the time to look away as spoilers are coming up.
When Rip discovers a dead body buried on his land in Texas, most Yellowstone fans probably expected him to do the right thing and tell the authorities, given he had seemingly turned over a new leaf. They certainly wouldn’t have expected him to keep the whole thing hidden from his beloved wife, that’s for sure.
And yet, Rip’s method of handling the situation now is ultimately exactly the same as his MO while working for John Dutton back in the day: dump the body and tell absolutely no one what you’ve done.
In an exclusive interview with Radio Times, we asked Cole Hauser why his character might have decided to keep a secret from Beth – something that almost always ends in disaster.
He said: “I kinda like it when he pokes her. But that secret is to protect Beth and to protect her peace. He didn’t want her to worry.
“He wanted her to enjoy the peace and the silence and the difference to what she experienced up in Montana and all the years of responsibility while working for her father.”
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That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea, and it might well end up backfiring for Rip. But, after initial concerns over the decision to put Rip on this path, Hauser admits he came to appreciate the motivation.
“I did have an issue with it at first, but speaking to Chad [Feehan] I understood the meaning of it. It’s not a lie, it’s more Rip caring for her,” he added.
If we have learned anything from watching Yellowstone over the years, it’s that the past never stays buried. It’s something Kayce Dutton is dealing with in Marshals, as the Dutton family’s infamous ‘Train Station’ secret threatens to bleed into his new life. Let’s see how quickly this new secret catches up to Rip, shall we?
Dutton Ranch has landed on Paramount+, with the first two episodes now available on the platform, and more coming every Friday.
Dutton Ranch airs on Paramount+ every Friday until 3 July.
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