Dutton Ranch: Finn Little Breaks Down the Finale and What's Ahead for Season 2

Good thing Dutton Ranch already got renewed for a second season.

The Yellowstone spin-off ended its first season with multiple cliffhangers, a big death, and some shocking revelations about what's been going on at the 10 Petal Ranch, much to the surprise of Rip (Cole Hauser), Beth (Kelly Reilly), and their angsty adopted teen son Carter (Finn Little). There was a whole lot happening, but admittedly one development was more distracting than any other, and that was the fact that the 10 Petal Ranch has not only been smuggling cows into Mexico, but they have been smuggling millions of dollars worth of fentanyl inside those cows.

That's right, there are drugs inside those cows, and Rip makes the curious choice to immediately cut all the fentanyl out of the cows. On one hand, yes, get the drugs out of those poor cows, but on the other hand, that amount of product means this is a major operation with someone very, very powerful pulling the strings.

We eventually learn that Beulah (Annette Bening) has allowed this to happen on her ranch because she's being blackmailed by Mariano (Raoul Max Trujillo), the former ranch hand who took the fall for the murder of her rapist. Mariano was sent off to Mexico, and Beulah was left to care for both her son Rob-Will (Jai Courtney) and Mariano's young son Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba). Joaquin's mother was killed just over the border, and so he ended up staying with Beulah for good.

Everything you need for summer TV:

• The complete guide to summer TV
• The most anticipated shows coming this summer
• All the new shows coming this summer
• The ultimate guide to what to watch in July

Mariano later had Joaquin present Beulah with the drug cow idea, and she was essentially blackmailed into it. Now, Mariano is a powerful drug lord, and he's taking action to make sure his operation doesn't fall apart. That means sending Joaquin to kill the unreliable Rob-Will, and sending his men to kidnap Carter to get to Beth and Rip.

Last we saw, Rob-Will's body was found by Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind) — who just found out she's pregnant, and Carter might be the dad — while Carter was on the floor of a van with a bag over his head.

Assuming Carter gets out of this alive, Little chatted with TV Guide about his hopes for Season 2 and what it's been like to make a new life with Rip and Beth in Texas.

It seems like the dynamic of the show has completely changed at the end of the season. Do you feel like all the relationships are going to be very different in Season 2?
Finn Little: Yeah, I think so. Beulah was all-powerful at the start of the season, and now you see her as this woman that's just looking for a way out and got taken advantage of. From Beulah and Beth to Carter and Beth to Oreana and Carter, it's got to be so much to explore next season. I'm just excited to read about where it's going to go.

Of course, we have to imagine you will survive your kidnapping.
Finn Little: Beth and Rip are going to bust down the door and take care of it, I'm sure.

What do you think this kidnapping situation is going to do for Carter and his relationship with Beth and Rip? Will it bring him closer to them, or push him even further away?
Finn Little: I think it will definitely make him a lot closer to them and make him appreciate them a little more. But I think it is what it is. He's growing up. For a time, I think he wanted to be sheltered from everything that was happening in his life, and now he's realizing he wants a little more independence.

Anything you're particularly looking forward to next season?
Finn Little: I'm hoping for Carter to come back into the fold with Beth and Rip and realize that they're his protectors at the end of the day, and he absolutely needs them. I think he needs to pay that back. I'm hoping Carter can start to get to work a little bit more next season, get back on the horse, and try to contribute to the family.

Did you like doing the teen drama stuff, or are you really ready for him to be more of a grown up on the ranch?
Finn Little: I just loved my time on Yellowstone riding. Whenever I'm on a horse, those are great days, but this season was definitely a step back from that and dived more into Carter's relationship dynamics, which was great, but I want to get back on the horse.

You got to do so much this season, but did you have any particular favorite scenes to film?
Finn Little: I loved filming my drunk scenes in Episodes 7 and 8, all the throwing up on the horse, all the hungover stuff. That's something I'd never done before. That was very, very fun for me.

ALSO READ: The Dutton Ranch finale left us hanging

How did you practice? Drunk acting is notoriously hard.
Finn Little: I was just trying to not overdo it too much. I practiced a little bit in real life, so I had a bit of experience with being drunk and hungover, so I just tried to pull from that.

What surprised you the most this season?
Finn Little: There's two deaths that really surprised me. Dwight [Ray McKinnon] was one of the deaths that when I read that, I was like, "Oh man, I just got a new friend…" He was so fun to film with, and then when I read that he died... that surprised me quite a bit.

What did that do to your character, losing his new friend?
Finn Little: I think with having to move from Montana to Texas, with Dwight dying, with Oreana rejecting him a little bit at the party, everything was just building up to a tipping point. There were so many things happening to Carter this season that Beth and Rip didn't know about.

What did you think about Rob-Will's death? Did you believe Joaquin would do that?
Finn Little: I was very surprised by it when I read it. I just think Joaquin was trying to live up to some of his father's expectations of him. His father told Beulah that he raised himself, and I think there's a bit of that. There's an insecurity in Joaquin. He wants to stand up for himself and help his own family out. This whole series is Beth and Rip trying to look out for their family, Beulah trying to look out for her family, and the cartel looking out for their family. At the end of the day, that's really all it is.

And how did you feel about the reveal that they were smuggling drugs in the cows?
Finn Little: Actually, that was one of the first things they told me when I came on. They said, "So the Jacksons are smuggling fentanyl in the cows," and I was like, "Oh, that's cool." I don't think anyone's done that before. That was a pretty awesome pitch. As soon as I heard that, I was like, "Ah, OK, this is going to be awesome."

Dutton Ranch is now streaming on Paramount+.