Yellowstone Finale Reveals Shocking Death of Major Character

The biggest loose end tied up in the season finale, however, is the fate of the family’s ranch. While John Dutton made keeping his land out of the hands of developers his life’s mission, burgeoning tax burdens made keeping the ranch impossible.

But in a clever move, Kayce allows Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) and the fictional Broken Rock Reservation to buy the Yellowstone for $1.25 an acre—the same price the Duttons originally purchased the land for. Among the stipulations are that they sell back the East Camp deed to Kayce (allowing him to create a home for his family) and that they never develop or sell the Yellowstone.

As Beth tells her father at his funeral, “You made me promise not to sell an inch, and I hope you understand that this is me keeping it. There may not be cows on it, but there won’t be condos either. We won.”

And in a poignant final scene, the Broken Rock Tribe move onto the land, dismantling the family ranch. But when children begin toppling the headstone of Dutton family ancestors buried on the property, Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) stops them, telling them the area will always be hallowed land.

It’s then that viewers hear the voice of 1883’s Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), tying the entire franchise together.

“One-hundred-and-forty years ago, my father was told of this valley and here’s were we stayed, for seven generations,” she says. “My father was told they would come for this land, and he promised to return it. Nowhere was that promise written. It faded with my father’s death, but somehow lived in the spirit of this place. Men cannot truly own wild land.”

But what exactly becomes of Beth and Kayce? Kayce, finally relieved of the burden of his father’s beloved ranch, builds a new life ranching on his own terms with his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and son Tate (Brecken Merrill).

Meanwhile, Beth buys land for her and Rip to begin again, far enough away from the hustle and bustle to ensure they’ll never be bothered by tourists and land developers. And it’s here that a possible spinoff series could be born.

But while the future of the franchise is unknown, Kelly did say goodbye to Yellowstone and Beth before the finale.

“Whatever the future holds this is the ending of the show we have been making for the past 7 years,” she wrote on Instagram Dec. 15. “The words I got to say and the woman I got to inhabit. It changed me. It lit me up. It challenged me in every way possible and I will forever be grateful for it.”

For more shocking TV exits like that of Kevin Costner in Yellowstone, keep reading.