Does Tate Dutton Die On Yellowstone?

Spoilers for "Yellowstone" to follow.

"1883" predicted the ending of "Yellowstone" when tribal chief Spotted Eagle (Graham Greene) told James Dutton (Tim McGraw) that his family's land would return to the Native American people in seven generations. "Yellowstone" ultimately reveals that Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill) is the family's seventh-generation son, and the prophecy comes true in the end.

While the aforementioned "1883" scene suggests that Tate will be at the center of a violent land dispute, it turns out to be a peaceful transaction. "Yellowstone" season 5 ends with Tate alive and well, though the same can't be said about other characters.

At the same time, the son of Monica (Kesley Asbille) and Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) had some close calls with death during his childhood, having come up against Mother Nature, hired assassins, and other nefarious threats. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the times Tate stared death in the face and somehow came out of the events unharmed.

Tate doesn't have an easy childhood throughout "Yellowstone," and his misfortunes begin early on. Season 1's "No Good Horses" episode sees Kayce leave him in a draining pipe so that he can chase down some criminals. However, it turns out the pipe isn't a safe spot for young Tate, as he comes face-to-face with a rattlesnake and has to kill it with a rock. Tate doesn't show any fear and defeats the reptile handily, but the scene emphasizes that danger can befall children in this series.

While confronting rattlesnakes always poses a threat to one's life, Tate had a more direct brush with death during season 1's "The Long Black Train" episode. The moment occurs during what's supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip with his grandfather, John Dutton (Kevin Costner), but culminates with Tate falling into a river and almost drowning. Fortunately, John is quick to act and saves the child before he goes under. Still, it's a close call.

"Yellowstone" season 2's most intense storyline features Tate at the center of the action. The Duttons find themselves entangled in a blood feud with the Beck brothers, who want the family's land and are willing to get their hands dirty to achieve their goals. This leads to them kidnapping Tate and leaving him with a neo-Nazi militia, which is as unpleasant as it sounds. Tate is eventually rescued, but he has PTSD for a while afterward, although he comes back around after spending some time with his grandfather.

Tate also comes close to death in the "Yellowstone" season 3 finale, when gunmen invade his family's ranch and a shootout ensues. Monica Dutton and the ranchers manage to thwart off their enemies and protect Tate — and their land — in the end, but the violent atrocities linger in the child's mind for a while, and it takes a minute until he recovers from the horror of it all.

The "Yellowstone" finale sees Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) get killed and the family's ranch gets passed on to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and the Broken Rock Reservation. Tate has one of the happier endings, though, as his family remains unscathed from all of the violence that once threatened them, and the episode concludes with them making a good, honest living selling cows.

Tate's story concludes with him at a cattle auction with his old man before riding horseback with his mom at their farm, watching their new cows being unloaded. This suggests that he'll follow in his dad's footsteps and become a rancher, as the finale makes it clear that he and Kayce will have to work hard to maintain their farm.

Regardless of what Tate's future holds, the "Yellowstone" season 5 finale indicates that he's probably going to be okay. He deserves a peaceful life, too, considering that he grew up in a hostile environment and got kidnapped by some unsavory characters.

"Yellowstone" is currently streaming on Peacock.