Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 Reveals John Dutton's Cause Of Death & Fans Are Furious

Major spoilers for "Yellowstone" season 5 part 2 follow.

It's been coming — and now that fans know how it happened, they're not happy. John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) death has been the big talking point of "Yellowstone" season 5 part 2, and the precise way the patriarch passes away has unfolded slowly. The very first episode of the block, "Desire Is All you Need," reveals that John is dead and presents his death as a suicide — but soon, hints of a different cause of death start dropping. The episode titled "Three Fifty-Three" finally stops pulling punches and actually shows John's final moments. We see him asleep at the governor's mansion when three masked men enter the building, inject him with something, and stage a scenario that makes it seem like John shot himself. Later, the episode throws another wrench in the machinations when the person who ordered John's death, Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), is gunned down in her car by mysterious assailants. 

John Dutton has spent his time in the show as a pillar of strength, and that's how the viewers have come to know him. As such, it's understandable that fans haven't particularly enjoyed seeing three random hitmen taking him out without a fight. "I still can't believe they killed John Dutton like a dog. That's shameful," user @kbatt7121116 wrote on X, previously known as Twitter. "They did John Dutton so dirty this season, I'm so mad all over again," @iamjessnellaa wrote on the same platform. "I feel like I just watched my grandpa get murdered," @dreaminwithj wrote, complete with a broken heart emoji. 

Kevin Costner knows about the backlash over John Dutton's "Yellowstone" fate, even though he has been comparatively ambivalent about his own personal feelings on the subject. Still, regardless of his or the fandom's feelings, the fact remains that John's arguably underwhelming fate is finally out in the open, and the person who's responsible for it is also dead. Now, the show — as well as Kayce (Luke Grimes), Beth (Kelly Reilly), and Rip (Cole Hauser) — will likely focus on hunting down the perpetrators and the people behind them. This, in turn, is liable to lead into the much-teased final conflict between the surviving Duttons, seeing as Jamie (Wes Bentley) is far closer to the hit than he'd like to be. 

The deaths of John Dutton and Sarah Atwood are a sign that "Yellowstone" has reached a stage where no one is truly safe. Heads will almost certainly roll before the show is over, and it remains to be seen who's left standing in the end ... or what happens to the ranch, for that matter.    

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