Dutton Ranch Season 1 Episode 5 Takes a Risk Returning Rip and Beth to Who They Used to Be — Review

Critic’s Rating: 4.2 / 5.0

4.2

After Dutton Ranch Season 1 Episode 3, I was concerned that the show would try to take a detour and delay what had hooked us.

To be clear, there is no Dutton Ranch Season 1 if the Duttons don’t face off against the Jacksons.

That was what the series premiere was all about — putting the families in a direct line of conflict.

What goes down on Dutton Ranch in Season 1, Episode 5, “Peaceful Find Peace,” has me concerned and confused.

In the aftermath of losing their herd to foot-and-mouth, Beth and Rip are at a crossroads. They don’t have a ranch without cattle. So the show sends them back to basics: Rip as a ranch foreman and Beth as a moneymaker.

It forces them to team up with the Jacksons, who could use their services, and while the new dynamics are interesting, that’s not what I signed up for.

I signed up for the Duttons, protecting what’s theirs from external threats, not Yellowstone: Texas.

Survival of the Adapative

It’s understandable that now that their ranch is almost dead, they still need to make ends meet, and whoever said do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life was kind of right.

Rip was the foreman for one of the largest ranches in the world, and did it for over two decades.

His getting a job at 10-P isn’t out of character, since that’s what he does best.

And it’s fun to see the old Rip emerge — the quite dominant man who instills fear in cowboys.

His arrival at the 10-P bunkhouse is just pure goodness. The way he doesn’t introduce himself and tells everyone what to do, and they obey.

Part of it is because the current foreman was shit at his job, but part of it is because of submission.

It’s kind of hot in some cowboy way.

Here are men who project toughness to the outside world, and will definitely knock out your teeth, but the moment the foreman barks an order, it’s “yes, sir,” no questions asked.

In just a day, Rip sets the bunkhouse straight, kicks out Chet, asserts dominance, and impresses Beulah.

He also learns the secret 10-P has been trying to keep hidden, and they’ve been doing a very bad job of it.

Rip loves being a cowboy, and he has been missing that while managing the little fires that have been starting on his own ranch.

He seems genuinely happy. I’d venture to say that he and Beulah truly like each other. They speak a common language that doesn’t require too many words to get a point across.

It’s in sharp contrast to Beth and Beulah’s crossing paths in a new kind of relationship.

They had a rocky start, but what needs to be done should be done, and the Duttons need money.

Beth and Beulah have an antagonistic relationship. Sure, they need each other, but they don’t like the other person and are very skeptical, if not scared.

That entire pitch scene is pure tension. It feels like Beth will strike with a damning piece of information, or Beulah will just take out a gun and shoot her.

But Beth is not interested in battles because she has seen something in 10-P worth protecting: a legacy.

She might not have succeeded with Yellowstone, but she gave it her all. By the end, Beth and Rip are back to a familiar place. However, I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

Let a Young Man Learn from His Mistakes

But what I’m sure about is Carter’s story this hour. He’s still on his “I’m a cowboy” routine and, instead of school, spends time with Dwight and his leopard.

Surprisingly, old man Dwight has sound advice for Carter, and sometimes a young man needs to hear the same thing his parents have said from a total stranger to properly process it without throwing a tantrum.

The universe delivers a brutal reality check to Carter’s cowboy fantasy when Dwight meets his end at the business end of a police gun.

It’s a shady, sudden conclusion to Carter’s bizarre Tiger King subplot, but it forces him to witness the exact dead-end trajectory he was charting for himself.

The whole thing is suspect, but Rio Paloma literally has a new sheriff, and he is not messing around.

Sheriff Wade excites and scares me because he’s a loose cannon that no one can control.

With Wes’ disappearance becoming a growing concern, there is no telling who he could side with, although I have a feeling he’s leaning toward the victim.

He has my support to bring the Jacksons down.

Gut Check

“Peaceful Find Peace” is a surprising episode. I expected the writers to take a shortcut and give the Duttons a fresh herd out of thin air, but they are making them work for it.

Whether it pays off in the long run remains to be seen.

Intrusive Thoughts

• I’m sorry, but I’ll forever see Hart Denton as Betty’s brother, Chic, even with that toned body.

• That one cowboy, Austin Lewis, is really pretty.

• Nothing is dragging me to Carter and Oreana’s side. That happened too quickly.

Over to you, Dutton Ranch fanatics. What did you think of the story this hour? Did you see that coming?

If Beth and Rip are indeed positioning themselves for an inside-out hostile takeover of 10-P, does that make them tactical geniuses, or have they officially become the very vultures they fought so hard against back on the Yellowstone?

Let’s keep the conversation going — it’s the only way the good stuff survives.

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