Yellowstone: What Happened to Summer - Season 5 Recap

Where did Summer Higgins end up in Yellowstone Season 5, Part 1, and how will she factor into Part 2?

By Nathan Johnson Posted:
Yellowstone, Summer

Piper Perabo's Summer Higgins played a surprisingly large role in Yellowstone Seasons 4 and 5, and many are wondering what happened to her the last time she was featured in the show.

Yellowstone has introduced many new characters across its five seasons (a lot of those characters will be present in Season 5, Part 2), but few have made as much of an impact on other characters as Summer Higgins has.

The show returned for Season 5, Part 2, on November 10, and the expected release schedule for the rest of the Yellowstone season is already out.

Where Is Summer Higgins in Yellowstone Season 5?

Piper Perabo as Summer Higgins in Yellowstone
Paramount Network

Piper Perabo's Summer Higgins appeared in many episodes of Season 5, Part 1, but she was noticeably absent during the Season 5, Part 2 premiere.

In Season 5, Part 1, Summer was arrested at a protest. However, in a shocking turn of events, Kevin Costner's John Dutton granted her clemency after he was elected governor of Montana.

Summer wasn't just let off completely, though. She still had to serve out her sentence, but instead of doing so in jail, she was put on house arrest at the Dutton Ranch.

This allowed John and Summer to continue their unlikely romance (much to the dismay of John's daughter, Beth) and for Summer to take a position as John's official environmental advisor while he was governor.

As previously mentioned, Beth didn't care too much for Summer, especially when she found out Summer was sleeping with her father.

The two butted heads verbally throughout Season 5, but everything eventually came crashing down after Summer decided to openly criticize the family at their ranch for eating so much meat (she does not support the slaughtering of animals or the eating of meat).

As a result, Beth took Summer outside, and the two got into a vicious brawl. However, they seemed to beat the tension out of each other and surprisingly agreed by the end of the fight.

While the two still weren't on excellent terms after that, they saw eye-to-eye. Summer ultimately revealed to Beth in the Season 5, Part 1 finale that Jamie was going through with impeaching John as governor.

Will Summer Appear in Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2?

Although Summer wasn't featured in the Season 5, Part 2 premiere, she is still an important character and will likely show up at some point in the remaining episodes.

However, it is important to mention that Summer's role in the show was closely tied to John, so she may not be on-screen as much going forward since John was killed off.

If Kevin Costner had agreed to come back and continued to be a major character in Yellowstone, her Season 5, Part 2 role would have likely been larger than it would have been without him. 

The show will almost definitely explore her reaction to John's death, but beyond that, it is unclear what kind of role she will play. It is possible that she could continue to strengthen her relationship with Beth and somehow aid her in taking down Jamie, but only time will tell.


Yellowstone is streaming on Peacock, and new episodes premiere every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.

Despite initial reports that the show would end after Season 5, Part 2, find out how certain cast members hope Yellowstone will continue with Season 6.

- In This Article: Yellowstone
Release Date
November 10, 2023
Platform
Actors
Kelly Reilly
Kevin Costner
Luke Grimes
Genres
- About The Author: Nathan Johnson
Nathan is a writer at The Direct where he covers Star Wars, the MCU, and DC news. He joined The Direct in April 2021 and currently writes news and feature articles about all three brands mentioned above, but his main specialty is his knowledge about anything and everything Star Wars.