The 11 Wildest Yellowstone Moments So Far

If there's one thing to be sure about the west, it's that it's wild. That's extra true on Yellowstone, the smash hit Paramount Network drama about a family of ranchers trying to keep hold of their land and legacy by any means necessary, and we truly mean any means necessary. Is someone causing problems? Threatening your reputation? Planning a scathing exposé? You can simply kill them. 

Over its three-plus seasons, Yellowstone has offered up more than a few moments that caused more than a few gasps, double-takes, and sometimes, incredulous laughter. The Duttons have figured out how to land all over the spectrum of emotions, from putting horses out of their misery to throwing snakes at men's faces. And yes, those are both spoilers for the list you're about to read. 

While you wait to find out how the recently recovered and very angry John Dutton (Kevin Costner) exacts his revenge on pretty much everyone at this point, take a look back at some of the most insane, gasp-worthy moments and plot lines Yellowstone has unleashed so far, ranked from tamest to most unhinged. 

11. The Bull in the Bar (Season 2, Episode 1)

When a bunch of the guys got into a bar fight that got out of hand, they simply returned to the bar with more men and also a bull. There was a bull in the bar, and it turned out to be quite an effective way to drive the men out of the bar and away from the bull. The Duttons certainly take their fights seriously! 

10. The Opening Scene (Season 1, Episode 1)

The pilot wasted no time before telling you exactly what this show was. John Dutton's been in a nasty car accident involving a semi-truck. The truck driver is dead, and John's horse is so badly injured that there's no saving it. John comforts the horse, hugging it and telling it that it deserved more in life, and then shoots it to put it out of its misery. Cue the opening credits. It was a hell of a way to kick off the show, and a solid warning to anyone who might not be able to handle horses being injured or killed. That happens a whole lot on this show. 

9. Everything Jimmy's Girlfriend Has Ever Done

Has any TV woman ever behaved more unrealistically than Mia (Eden Brolin)? She spotted Jimmy (Jefferson White) at a rodeo and decided she was his girlfriend, even showing up at the hospital when he got thrown from his horse. She mounted him right there in that hospital and took his virginity, and then convinced him to ignore the fact that he almost died and to break his word to John and go back into rodeoing, because otherwise, she had no interest in him. Surprise surprise, he immediately almost died again, and now he can barely use his hands and is being shipped off to Texas. Jimmy's subplots are almost never related to anything else happening at the Dutton ranch, and they're also always absolutely nuts. 

8. The Guy in the Cattle Guard (Season 4, Episode 3)

After taking down the militia that attacked his family, Kayce (Luke Grimes) got back to business when a guy complained that his neighbor put up a bunch of cattle guards illegally. Kayce punished the neighbor by putting him into the cattle guard, so the guy was trapped under a metal grate in the road. It's not the craziest thing Kayce's ever done, but it's a perfect encapsulation of his no-nonsense brand of justice.

7. The Truth About Jamie (Season 3, Episode 7)

Beth (Kelly Reilly) and her brother Jamie (Wes Bentley) have one of the show's most complicated and most compelling relationships. At first, it seemed like it could just be typical sibling squabbles. Then, we learned the truth. Beth got pregnant as a teenager, and Jamie escorted her into a clinic for Native Americans, fully aware that her abortion would come with forced sterilization. That reveal was more horrific than almost any onscreen death, both for Beth and for all the Native women who had no other choice than to go to one of those clinics. It's honestly impressive that Beth has avoided wringing her brother's neck for the past 20 years.

6. Monica's Undercover Serial Killer Investigation  (Season 3, Episode 8)

When another Native girl went missing, Monica (Kelsey Asbille) got all dolled up and hung out next to a broken-down car as bait for any passing serial killers, and the plan worked a little too well. The trucker was literally on top of her in a field full of dead bodies when he was shot by Mo (Mo Brings Plenty), just in time. Just a casual undercover sting operation! 

5. The Branding and the Un-Branding (Season 3, Episode 9)

To be a Yellowstone fan is to pretty quickly get used to the fact that the Duttons literally brand their employees, like cattle (or, to reference a recent real-world horror, NXIVM cult members). Outsiders are suitably weirded out by this practice, but that hasn't changed any Dutton minds. Then, in Season 3, disgraced ranch hand Walker (Ryan Bingham) had to prove his loyalty by removing the brand from a former employee who had turned against the ranch. There's no reason for me to describe how the brand was removed because I bet you can imagine it. 

4. The Attack on Beth (Season 3, Episode 7)

In Season 2, Beth was attacked by two masked men in her office, and she was beaten and nearly raped after watching her assistant die. It would have been an absolutely harrowing ordeal if the victim was anyone other than Beth Dutton, who simply laughed in the men's faces. She taunted them, and as one made it clear he was going to try to rape her with a gun to her head, she told him he should just pull the trigger because she wasn't one bit scared. Rip (Cole Hauser) then arrived and made his presence known by throwing a chair through the glass wall, ignoring being shot three times, and gouging a guy's eye out. Malcolm Beck (Neal McDonough) later discovered the two men, bloody, naked, and dead, hanging from a tree outside his house, courtesy of Rip. 

3. Why Beth Hates Jamie (Season 3, Episode 5) 

In Season 3, Jamie learned that the Duttons had adopted him after his real father killed his real mother. He visited his bio dad Garrett (Will Patton) and learned that Garrett killed his wife because she and her baby were both addicted to drugs. He wanted to give Jamie the best life possible, but now he's also sort of encouraging Jamie to take over the Dutton empire for himself by killing the king. All Jamie ever wanted was a dad who loved him, but maybe this one also loves murder too much?

2. Rip Digs Up His Dead Mom (Season 3, Episode 10)

Rip has always wrestled with facing his past since he ended up an orphan who was taken in by the Duttons. He's spent all of his hard-earned money taking care of his family members in death, and apparently, that money was well-spent because when he went to dig up his mother, she looked pretty good for a very dead lady! He took her diamond ring off of her finger and told her about Beth, and the whole thing was almost sweet, except for the fact that it was terribly creepy. Rip will forever be an enigma. 

1. Snake to the Face (Season 4, Episode 1)

In the Season 4 double-sized premiere, the Duttons declared revenge on the people who had attempted to kill them, and that meant it was time for Roarke (Josh Holloway) to bite the dust. While Roarke was fishing, Rip approached him holding a cooler. The cooler had a snake in it, and Rip killed Roarke by throwing the open snake cooler at Roarke's face. The snake bit him, and he died without Rip ever actually laying a finger on him or the snake. It's genius, it's terrifying, and it's only the beginning of Season 4. 

Yellowstone Seasons 1-3 Available on Peacock Watch Now