Yellowstone season 1 episode 3 ending explained: Thomas plays the long game

Yellowstone season 1, episode 3, “No Good Horses,” furthered the tense plot building around the threat to the Duttons’ land and those who’d like to take it from them. John had warned that the game being played was chess and not checkers, and all involved are masters.

While the episode did focus on the death of John’s wife, Evelyn, and the impact it’s had on his family, the core of the story was the setting of pieces for what’s sure to be a knockout, drag out fight for the future of Montana. There are three major players: The Duttons, developer Dan Jenkins, and Chief Thomas Rainwater.

Striking first, John had Thomas arrested while he was on the way to an event. The dehumanizing process was meant to shake him, but it clearly didn’t. Thomas explained to John that their dispute wasn’t about mere cattle. He intends on dismantling the Duttons’ legacy piece by piece until they’re forgotten and the land that once belonged to the native people of Broken Rock is returned to them and looks like it did before the Duttons’ interference.

John held his poker face, telling Thomas that until his cattle are returned to him, the chief would be getting acquainted with the jail he’s been put in. However, his words struck a chord and the political game John had been avoiding turned into an avenue he could exploit. But it meant putting Beth in a position that Jamie wanted which did not go over well with the siblings.

Meanwhile, Kayce once again got into a predicament this time resulting in multiple deaths that needed to be covered up and that will likely put his family in a bind once again. Here’s what happened by the end of the episode.

Did Thomas give the cattle back on Yellowstone?

Yes, he did. It was the only card to play to get out of jail and not face a trial since John was insistent that he’d label him a thief and get him thrown in prison. He lost this battle, which injured his pride, but it’s a war that Thomas is gunning for. The Duttons have put the cover up with Lee and Robert behind them, but the chief has not. It’s a card he’s waiting to play and Kayce’s made this mess much worse in “No Good Horses.”

While he did rescue a teen girl from what would have been a horrific death, he killed two white men in the process. Her father, Danny Trudeau, and his friends, ensured that the bodies were buried and Kayce was urged to burn their remains as a means of trapping their souls on this plane of existence. The trouble is, none involved could have known that Ture Natural Gas would be surveying that very area the following day.

The episode ended before the bodies could be discovered, but it’s only a matter of time. Both Danny and Kayce acknowledged that when white men die everyone knows and it brings a certain amount of heat. They were trying to avoid that but it looks like it may come knocking down the line. The same can be said for the secret Kayce is still sitting on concerning his brother-in-law.

The Duttons know he was the one who killed Robert Long, but Monica and her side of the family don’t. Robert’s wife, Samantha, committed suicide in this episode, leaving their children orphaned and Monica bound to be reeling from yet another death in her family. The longer Kayce sits on this the worst the reveal is likely to be in the coming episodes of Yellowstone.

Did Jamie decide to run for Attorney General on Yellowstone?

It took being passed over again for Jamie to make a decision rather than wait for John’s approval, but he did choose to run for Attorney General. He made up his mind after his dad rallied an exploratory committee to see which Assembly seat would be the easiest to get so Beth can win it. Jamie was seething with jealousy considering he’s the family’s politician but instead of confronting his father, he confronted his sister.

Beth put it plainly. For all that Jamie has done to acquire more land than the Duttons actually need, John still finds him to be losing. She said that their father only calls her when he thinks Jamie can’t handle a situation, and he knows that everything she does she does for him regardless of her indifference to the family legacy or the Yellowstone ranch. While everything Jamie does, he does for himself.

As is typical with these two siblings, their fight was all barbs and snipes until Jamie crossed the line so far that he found Beth’s fist meeting his face. He’d gotten punched because he said she killed their mother which struck a very painful and deep nerve for his sister. Beth does blame herself for Evelyn’s death and the saddest part is that’s because her last words from her mother were full of blame since the horse fell on Evelyn due to Beth’s horse getting spooked.

Beth repeatedly hit Jamie, telling him to be a man until finally he hit her back. For him, it was a proud moment, but Beth snatched it away with disdain and derision as she told him a real man would have walked away not hit her. Beth’s comment revealed how weak she finds Jamie to be and all he continues to do is prove it to her.

When John found Jamie at the table in the house, he commented on how rough he looked considering he had scratches and bruising all over his face. Then he listened as Jamie told him that he doesn’t need his permission to run for Attorney General, but he expects his support because this is what’s best for the family. John said you have it, and then he made it clear if Jamie ever hit Beth again he’d find his head going through a wall.

As for Beth, she was at a local bar where Dan Jenkins was licking his metaphorical wounds after being told by his advisor they couldn’t do anything about John diverting a tributary on his own land even if it meant Dan couldn’t continue forward with his development. When Dan spotted Beth he went to go talk to her. She called him out on trying to get back at her father by attempting to sleep with her, but she entertained a conversation with him nonetheless.

Given how ruthless Beth can be and how easily she can spin blunt honesty into charm, something tells us Dan has no idea who he’s really dealing with but he’ll learn it at a time most advantageous to Beth.

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more Yellowstone news and coverage. Season 1 episodes of the series air Sundays on CBS.