Despite conflicting reports that Yellowstone could continue into Season 6 or will end after Season 5, one thing is certain - Season 5 is riding off into the sunset.
After Season 5 returned on Paramount Network for Part 2, it was immediately confirmed that John Dutton had been killed off-screen.
Since then, the Duttons have had to sell everything that isn't nailed down, have been in an all-out war with Jamie and Market Equities, and have had to deal with even more death after losing Colby.
What Will Happen in the Yellowstone Season 5 Finale?
All of the separate plotlines that have been explored in Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 will come to a head when the finale airs on Sunday, December 15 at 8 p.m. ET.
According to previous potential plot leaks from residents of the locations Yellowstone filmed Season 5 in, fans can expect Jamie, Beth, and possibly Rip to be involved in a major showdown.
According to a Redditor who lives in Missoula, Montana, a secret scene was filmed in the house Jamie lives in that resulted in Kelly Reilly's Beth Dutton being wheeled out on a stretcher.
The most likely scenario that will happen in that scene during the finale is that Beth (and maybe Rip) will go to Jamie's house to confront him one last time.
After a fight ensues, Beth will probably be shot, but not before she can wound Jamie severely enough to kill him. It is also possible that Beth could kill Jamie even after she is shot, potentially with a surge of adrenaline.
However, if Rip were to witness Jamie hurt Beth, he could most definitely be the one to kill Jamie, but it would almost be a disservice to Beth's character if she didn't get to be the one to take Jamie out.
Aside from those rumors, nothing else has been revealed about what will happen in the finale, but the teaser for the upcoming episode that was revealed after Season 5, Episode 13 aired gave some clues on what will happen.
John's Burial
The teaser for the Season 5 finale began with Beth revealing to Rip that the funeral home was ready to release John Dutton's body to the family.
The footage also showed all of the cowboys carrying shovels through the ranch's land, indicating that John will be buried on the ranch with his wife, the rest of his ancestors, and his other family members.
So, fans can expect some of the finale's runtime to be dedicated to John Dutton. Even though Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan couldn't reach an agreement on Costner appearing in Season 5, Part 2, the character still deserves to be honored, and Sheridan likely knows that.
Thomas Rainwater's Promise
The next snippet of footage includes Gil Birmingham's Thomas Rainwater saying, "I made a promise to your father, once. That your people are buried in that land, and so are mine."
Those two sentences don't really mesh together, so they most likely won't actually go together in the finale.
Based on what happened at the end of Episode 13, it seems as though Kayce and the Duttons are going to sell the ranch to someone else for an extremely low price so they won't have to pay an absurd amount of money in sales tax.
The most likely candidate for who will buy it is Thomas and the Broken Rock Indian Reservation. Thomas' first sentence, "I made a promise to your father, once," could be Thomas telling Kayce that if the Reservation were to own the ranch, they would always protect it and keep it exactly the way John wanted it.
The second sentence, "That your people are buried in that land, and so are mine," could be in response to Kayce offering the ranch to the Reservation.
Thomas may think it over and tell Kayce that the Reservation would be honored to buy the ranch's land since so many Native Americans were buried on it in the past and that it is as sacred to them as it is to the Duttons.
Mo's War Paint
Another shot in the teaser features Mo Brings Plenty's Mo riding a horse and also wearing traditional Native American war paint. It looks as though he is in front of an entire group of his people, so it seems like he could be leading some people into battle.
Market Equities doesn't seem like the type of people to send warriors out to physically fight for the Yellowstone, so it is unclear who Mo could be gearing up to go to war with.
Beth Avenging John's Death
The final shot of the Season 5 finale teaser trailer features Beth Dutton leaning down to her father's coffin and whispering, "I will avenge you."
As mentioned, Beth and Jamie will reportedly have a final showdown near the end of the finale, and her words in the teaser all but confirm that. Beth will be even more dangerous if Jamie reveals all of the Duttons' secrets.
Beth not only blames Jamie for John's death but also for a lot of other things that have happened to the family throughout the years. Beth absolutely hates Jamie for what he did to her when they were younger, so she will be getting vengeance for herself as well.
Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock, and the Season 5 finale will air on Paramount Network on Sunday, December 15 at 8 p.m. ET.
