Yellowstone season 2 finale recap: Sins of the Father

After a whirlwind second season, the finale has arrived! Last week, in the penultimate episode, Rip helped Jimmy take revenge on the man he believes killed his grandfather, Beth helped Monica out and then unleashed her considerable wrath on those who wronged her sister-in-law, and Tate was kidnapped by the Becks to the horror of everyone at Yellowstone Ranch.

With Tate missing, the war between the Becks and the Duttons is about to come to a head. Yellowstone‘s second season finale, entitled “Sins of the Father,” begins with a flashback. John is helping his ailing father, played by Dabney Coleman, out of bed. He helps his father onto a horse and they go for a ride through the woods.

When they take a break, John’s father instructs him not to let anyone take Yellowstone away from him. John nods. He confesses that he’s going to miss his father, but his father insists he won’t. John might miss who his father was a long time ago but he probably wasn’t who his son thought he was anyway.

John’s father admits that when you get to be his age, you miss being younger. He anticipates missing Yellowstone. But he also misses the people who left before him: John’s mother and his brother.  Plus, he’s tired of talking.

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He then tells John that he knew that when John was a child he’d sneak in and steal a cookie each night. Then he slumps in a perfectly timed death as John holds him.

The scene transitions to the present. John sits quietly on the porch of the main house with Rip. He observes that his life is just a series of losing things he loves. But he’s determined not to lose when it comes to Tate. John gets up determinedly and heads into the house as the credits role.

The action shifts to Dan Jenkins’ place. His bodyguard is outside watching the cameras that survey his land. Things look quiet. He radios Dan, who’s sitting inside the house, to tell him it’s almost 6am and he should get some rest. Dan radios the bodyguard to tersely inform him that he’s not being paid for his opinions on Dan’s sleep habits.

The bodyguard sighs and then is shot in the head. Two men dressed entirely in black quietly infiltrate the house. Jenkins notices one breaking in and goes to grab his gun. He hides in a nearby closet.

Jenkins watches as the man slowly starts to search the room for him. As he approaches the closet in which Jenkins is waiting, Jenkins opens fire and takes the invader out. He emerges from the closet just in time to see  the other man breaking in. Jenkins shoots him too.

Jenkins walks outside and breathes in the fresh air only to have a third man approach him from the side. The man raises his gun. Jenkins asks him to “wait” but the man opens fire. Jenkins goes down. As he lays dying, Jenkins protests that he has a right to be there, this is America.

At Yellowstone, the Duttons gather in John’s office. John asks Beth to stay out of what they’re about to do. He doesn’t want her to know and he wants to ensure that Tate has something to come home to. Beth agrees with minimal argument and leaves.

Jamie then observes that the Becks aren’t acting rationally. He speculates that maybe they’re acting out of arrogance. John counters that the why doesn’t matter. There’s a tense silence as John considers things. Then he tells his two sons that what they’re about to do will be the end of them, but they’re going to do it anyway.

Meanwhile, the Sheriff arrives at Dan Jenkins’ property to see the carnage there. He then drives to Yellowstone. John meets him at his vehicle. John asks the Sheriff to choose sides but the Sheriff is between a rock and a hard place. John understands his position but reminds him that, since the Becks have his grandson, all bets are off. The Sheriff says he can’t keep everything that’s going on hidden anymore.

So John asks the Sheriff how long he can keep things quiet. The Sheriff thinks he can buy a day at the most. Then he fills John in on the Becks’ security — off-duty officers rented through the Sheriff’s department. They’re his cousins. John instructs the Sheriff to tell them to stand down. The Sheriff agrees. Then he tells John he has to control the narrative by getting a warrant and making the whole thing about cattle. John takes the advice.

Kayce and John watch the warrant comes through and then Kayce goes to see Monica. He assures her he’ll get Tate back. Monica asks him to promise her something: once he has Tate, he’ll kill the Becks. Kayce assures her he will