Yellowstone's Piper Perabo Reveals What's Fueling John and Summer's Romantic Connection

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from Sunday's episode of Yellowstone. Read at your own risk!]

John Dutton (Kevin Costner) has found himself a new lady friend, and you can totally guess who's not happy about it. After flirting over their almost complete difference of opinion in the last episode of Yellowstone, John invited environmental activist Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo) to stay the night and to wear his shirt. According to what he told his daughter, they didn't sleep together, but they might as well have and I kinda think they should, because the morning after was simply hysterical and I personally think this show could benefit from a lot more breakfasts with vegans. 

Summer is, in a lot of ways, the antithesis to all the Duttons and especially Beth (Kelly Reilly), the real boss of the Yellowstone ranch. She and Beth simply do not get along, but unlike most other people she meets, Summer can actually keep up with her, in her own way. But as Perabo reminded TV Guide, any association with this family is a recipe for disaster.

"I mean, on a good day, it's dangerous to get involved with the Duttons," she said. "If your interests are not aligned, it's almost stupid. So you can tell that Summer doesn't know who she's up against. But I think John is so intriguing to her, you know, she doesn't usually listen to the other side. But he's such a powerful, thoughtful person, that it opens her eyes to what's going on in this place."

So is there real romantic potential here? At the very least, the back and forth between John and Summer is a far cry from the power couple-energy of his relationship with the governor. 

"I mean, we just have these tiny little tastes. That's all I have to go on of what makes John Dutton tick, in a positive sense," Perabo said. "I mean, obviously you could tell how to provoke him, but also, he's so serious. He's so strong, and he's so mysterious that it's hard to see how you would connect to a man like that. But I think what draws Summer is that he's a real leader. And he's really brave and he's really passionate about fighting for what he believes in, and they have that in common. So instead of trying to, like, make him like her or seduce him in some way, she's just herself, and he is himself, and they are kind of horses of the same color."

We'll have to wait and see where this goes, but I won't lie and say I'm not really hoping to watch John Dutton spend the rest of the season dating a gluten-free vegan. 

Elsewhere, Jamie (Wes Bentley) confronted Garrett (Will Patton) over the attempted assassination of the Duttons, and Garrett fully admitted it. He claims he did it all for Jamie, and he'll "keep trying 'til I get it right" because that's how much he loves Jamie. This guy really loves committing murders for Jamie, even though Jamie didn't ask for anyone to get murdered, including the woman he himself accidentally murdered. Can Jamie convince his biological father to stop trying to kill his adopted family? Does he even really want to? Based on the hug they shared and what Wes Bentley told TV Guide at the start of the season, I'm not so sure. 

When asked how meeting his biological father affected him, he said it was sending him away from the Duttons in search of "a life of acceptance and love, where he's loved and can love someone, and it be real, and the truth." He was really hoping Garrett could give him that life, but it doesn't seem like this is what he had in mind.

"When we're desperate, we make the worst decisions and we think we're making good ones because of our desperation," he teased in November. "We're just grabbing anything and if whatever rock we get a hold of, well, at least we're not falling down the cliff." 

I guess that's one way to look at this situation.

Other notes: 

The bunkhouse went through a major shakeup this week as Lloyd (Forrie J. Smith) went off the deep end and attacked Walker (Ryan Bingham), starting with smashing his guitar and then stabbing him in the shoulder. John demanded they fight it out, and then Rip (Cole Hauser) should use the last man standing as an example. That apparently meant that when Lloyd won the fight, Rip was supposed to beat him to a pulp, which he did, after hugging him and exchanging an "I love you." John also told Rip to kick all the women off the ranch, including Teeter (Jennifer Landon), because girls are just too distracting! 

Meanwhile, Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Monica (Kelsey Asbille) bought a house that came with a dog, and in Texas, Jimmy (Jefferson White) is not having fun. Shocker! 

Yellowstone continues Sundays at 8/7c on the Paramount Network.

Yellowstone Seasons 1-3 Available on Peacock Watch Now