Yellowstone has captivated audiences with its intense drama, complex characters, and stunning landscapes. As the Dutton family fights to protect their ranch amid a dangerous world of power struggles and corruption, the series has become a cultural phenomenon.
Read on to learn about the character deaths from this season and more.
The Dutton family suffered another loss in Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12, with the death of a major character: Colby Mayfield (played by Denim Richards). In an interview with Entertainment Weekly after the episode aired, Denim shared that series creator Taylor Sheridan “is really emphasizing the realities of cowboy life” through Colby’s death.
“We have this saying that everyone’s going to fall off a horse at some point in their life,” Richards told the outlet. “These things do happen, so I do think that there’s that element where I think it is about really wanting to emphasize that this is a reality. It’s kind of poetic because in season 3, Colby gets trampled by a horse multiple times in the river.”
In addition to Mayfield’s heartbreaking exit, the show also saw the departure of one of its biggest characters earlier in the season. In Episode 9, John Dutton (Kevin Costner) was written out of the series following the actor’s exit. And in Episode 11, Sarah Atwood (played by Dawn Olivieri) met her end at the hands of assassins in a mini-van.
The next episode of Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 13, airs on Sunday, December 8, at 8 p.m. ET.
Yellowstone finally returned on November 10, at 8:00 p.m. ET with the second half of Season 5 (or 5B). New episodes will continue to air Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET through December 15.