Yellowstone Season 4 Episode 2 begins considerably calmer than the opener. John went on a ride early in the morning as part of his physical rehab, Jamie’s growing affection for Garrett, leaving Carter to guard the barn. With Jacki Weaver’s Caroline Warner making her debut in the second episode, it feels like a respite before another storm. Caroline, the chairman of Market Equities, is interested in acquiring the ranch, and her techniques will be equally as serious. On Sunday’s Season 4 premiere Part 2, we’ll recap “Phantom Pain.” Read Yellowstone Season 4 Episode 1 Recap on tvacute.com.
Yellowstone Season 4 Episode 1 Recap
John Dutton, recovering from many gunshot wounds, rides for the first time again to a restorative hot spring. Kayce, anxious that his father is overdoing it follows his father and joins him. The pair discuss Jamie’s possible involvement in the attack. They speculate that the militia likely acted on their own will in retaliation for the Duttons’ previous attack on them. John tells Kayce to kill the remaining militia members.
Meanwhile, Jamie is buying his own ranch with the support of his biological father, Garrett Randall. This is a significant step for Jamie in separating himself from the Duttons and establishing his own roots in the neighborhood. It also demonstrates Jamie’s growing affection for Garrett and willingness to listen to his newfound father.
Construction workers digging for Market Equities’ work in Yellowstone unearth human bones and ritual objects, referencing the season opener flashback. Market Equities’ progress halts when Chief Rainwater and the local indigenous populations are identified. After Beth fired Market Equities’ CEO Willa Hays, Rip took care of Roarke, the only other representative in town.
Caroline Warner, a ruthless and powerful chairwoman of Market Equities’ board of directors. She goes to meet Chief Rainwater, who is halting construction to process the freshly discovered ritual relics. Caroline offers to vacate Market Equities’ cease and desist order against Rainwater’s new casino building and to fund it if Rainwater changes its mind about developing a casino for a different, wealthier audience. She asks that Rainwater cease impeding their progress.
After his recent mortality, John has begun to seriously ponder his legacy, particularly beyond the Yellowstone valley. In order to build the ranch’s reputation, he recruits horse trainer Travis Wheatly to work for the Yellowstone. Beth loses her job. Beth is fired by Schwartz & Meyer despite practically burning for the firm and earning them a fortune. She reveals that the firm controls only a portion of the land she purchased for them near Yellowstone, threatening to bring the company and Bob down with it.
When Beth returns to the ranch, she is accosted by police officers who have arrested a child for attempting to rob a liquor store using a screwdriver. The child asserts his guardianship over Beth and is revealed to be the young boy Beth met at the hospital. With little hope for the boy’s future, Beth considers whether to adopt him and try to offer one. When Rip arrives home, he finds Beth has made a quick homemade dinner for him and the new baby. Rip is immediately uninterested in caring for a child and they attempt to determine whether the infant has a place on the ranch.
The next morning, Rip tries to take the boy back to town, almost abandoning him in the countryside before making him inquire about work. They return to Yellowstone, where Rip introduces John to the child. Carter makes his first public appearance. Jimmy returns to the ranch after being released from the hospital and has a talk with John. He admits to phantom toe pain and apologizes to John for breaching his commitment not to ride rodeo again. John is outraged but is adamant about keeping his pledge to Jimmy. Instead, he sends Jimmy out to a Texan ranch with Travis (played by Sheridan himself) and the horse training team. The next Yellowstone offshoot series 6666, is set here as well. Jimmy may not be able to handle this tough work or abandon his Yellowstone home and Mia.
After a very emotional episode of our two-part series, Rip, the hidden softy, couldn’t bear leaving Carter at the bunkhouse. Rip informs Carter that the key to success on Yellowstone is to accept that no one deserves this chance or this existence. He invites the boy over to his house for dinner with Beth, who had made Hamburger for the second time. And the three of them appear for a brief period as a joyful found-family. However, it appears to be a momentary respite before another tempest. The next morning, Carter walks to the barn to clean the stalls, only to find John there first. John verifies that no one deserves this life, yet they all try regardless before the credits roll.
