holy cow
Warning: Spoilers ahead. Do not proceed if you have not watched “Dutton Ranch” Episode 4, “Starting with a Bullet.”
The fourth episode of Yellowstone spinoff Dutton Ranch takes a devastating turn for Rip (Cole Hauser) and Beth (Kelly Reilly).
After the death of their father John (Kevin Costner) in “Yellowstone,” the couple is forced to start over again and again, and then “Dutton Ranch” begins when their previous ranch burns down. Just when they think they have settled in Texas, they are ravaged by foot-and-mouth disease and are forced to kill their entire herd of valuable cattle.
“It was a pretty low-key sequence to shoot,” Mark Menchaca exclusively told Page Six. “It was very busy because we had to gather all these cows (in one area).”
The actor will play Zachariah, a member of Rip’s ranch who helps execute cows and build mass graves for the animals.
Beth calls this tragic event a “funeral.” The cowboy husband tells Zacharias and another rancher, Azul (J. Villarreal), “This is going to be one of those days that will follow you to your grave. If either of you wants to walk, I won’t hold it against you.”
Rip, Azul, and Zachariah corner all the cows into a hole, and Rip shoots them to prevent the deadly disease from spreading. Rip tells Beth to go home, but she stays to support him.
Rip points a gun at his animal and whispers, “You don’t deserve this.”
Executive producer Christina Alexandra Volos exclusively told Page Six that the scene was “one of the most powerful things we’ve seen on TV as far as animal work goes.”
She called it a “massive effort” and said the show featured about 150 cows. “Our animal coordination team did a great job keeping the animals safe.”
Voros told Page Six that “Dutton Ranch” is “probably one of the biggest animal shows on television.”
“Yellowstone” mastermind Taylor Sheridan will serve as an executive producer on the show, but since Voros is directing, he won’t have much of a hand in it.
“Taylor is very good at putting together a team of people that he trusts. He’s doing so many shows at once, so the more years they’ve been in the family, the more responsibility they have,” she explained.
It turns out that Rip and Beth have been sabotaged. In a previous episode, they bought a sick cow at auction and mistakenly gave the animal a health certificate. The animal spread disease to the herd, forcing the entire herd to be executed and functionally destroying their new business.
In retaliation, Rip finds the man who sold the sick cow and burns down his trailer.
Voros told Page Six that Beth and Rip want peace after everything they went through on “Yellowstone,” but in moments like this, “war comes right at their doorstep.”
“Dutton Ranch” airs Fridays at 8pm on Paramount+ and Paramount Network.
