More than a few characters died in Yellowstone Season 5, with most of the deaths occurring in the final few episodes of the installment.
Yellowstone has never shied away from death. Many characters have perished from all kinds of causes, and the show has featured everything from gun violence to hanging.
Season 5 seemed pretty tame compared to other seasons, at least until Par 2 rolled around.
Every Yellowstone Character Who Died in Season 5
John Dutton
The most prominent death in the entire series was undoubtedly John Dutton's. Due to some off-screen controversy between Kevin Costner and Taylor Sheridan, Costner was not featured in Season 5, Part 2 at all, resulting in his character being killed off-screen.
It was revealed that Dawn Olivieri's Sarah Atwood ordered a hit on John (although fans questioned if Jamie had any involvement), which was executed to perfection as his death was initially ruled a suicide.
However, after some digging (and using his own military experience), Kayce was able to prove to the medical examiner that he was murdered.
Sarah Atwood
Many fans expected Sarah Atwood to be killed at some point in Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2, but how and when she died completely shocked a lot of viewers.
Sarah was the one who ordered the hit on John Dutton, and, seeing as how she became so close to Jamie, it seemed most likely that Beth would be the one to kill her.
However, at the end of Episode 11, after Sarah gets in her car and leaves Jamie's house, another car pulls up beside her and asks if she is Sarah Atwood.
Then, completely out of nowhere, one of the people in a car pulled out a pistol with a silencer on it and shot her multiple times, killing her instantly.
It was never fully confirmed who killed Sarah, but it was heavily implied that it was the people she hired to kill John. They likely felt as though law enforcement was getting too close to them, or she would give them up, so they killed her.
Colby Mayfield
One of the most unexpected and emotional deaths of Yellowstone Season 5 was Denim Richards' Colby Mayfield (read about Richards' exit here).
Colby died a hero in Episode 12 after he jumped into a horse stall to save Carter from being attacked by an unpredictable young horse.
Carter luckily escaped, but Colby was stomped on and kicked by the horse, which ultimately resulted in his death.
Colby's death greatly affected a lot of the show's major characters, specifically Ryan, Teeter, and Lloyd. Teeter and Colby were still exploring their relationship and coincidentally had just told each other "I love you" for the first time the morning before he was killed.
Ryan and Colby were best friends, so his death hit Ryan extremely hard. Lloyd, on the other hand, had been at the ranch for so long that he essentially watched Colby grow up and learn how to be a cowboy.
Jamie Dutton
Like Sarah Atwood, many fans probably expected Jamie to die at some point in Yellowstone Season 5. Some leaked plot details alluded that he would die, but nothing was certain. However, his rivalry with the Duttons, and, more specifically, Beth, seemed to be on a one-way crash course.
After the Duttons laid John to rest on the ranch, Beth journeyed to Jamie's house while he was giving a speech.
After waiting for him to get home, she jumped out and attacked him with a crowbar, and also sprayed him in the eyes, partially blinding him.
However, Jamie was able to fight back and even get the upper hand on Beth. After he had beaten her to a bloody pulp and was ready to kill her, Rip finally arrived and pulled Jamie off.
Rip would have definitely killed Jamie in seconds if Beth hadn't stopped him, but she didn't do so out of sympathy. Instead, she wanted to be the one to kill Jamie, and she did so by stabbing him in the midsection with a knife she brought from the ranch.
Yellowstone Seasons 1-5a are streaming on Peacock.
Find out when Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 could begin streaming.
