‘Yellowstone’ Season 3 Episode 1 Review: A Beautiful Return, But Trouble’s on the Horizon

Paramount’s hit TV series Yellowstone is finally back. And it’s been far too long since the series aired. It’s time for the latest exciting saga with the Dutton family! Season 3 Episode 1 certainly does not disappoint. It’s a beautiful return, but beneath the calm, trouble is brewing again. Read on for a review and recap of Season 3 Episode 1 of Yellowstone. 

There will be spoilers below for Season 3 Episode 1 of Yellowstone. 

The new episode is called “You’re the Indian Now.” The official synopsis reads: “In the wake of the Beck Brothers, John reshuffles the political decks; Beth finds a trespasser on the ranch and learns that he may have big ambitions for the surrounding land; and John helps Tate deal with his nightmares.”

Now here’s the review.

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There’s Beauty, But Trouble Is Brewing

The episode begins with a beautiful scene of Dutton ranch — the calm before the storm that we all know will happen on this show. :) We see Jamie walking across the ranch during the quiet of the morning and John Dutton putting on a tie for an important meeting. Kayce visits Monica and Tate, who are still sleeping. It seems the family is back together again.

Beth still looks beaten up, so it appears that not too much time has passed since the Season 2 finale. Her face is the one reminder of the chaos that they just recently emerged from.

I can never get over how beautiful Dutton Ranch is.

Tate wakes up screaming, a reminder of what he endured when he was kidnapped. Things may look peaceful at Dutton Ranch, but still waters run very deep.

And then we get the beautiful intro. I’m so glad to have this show back.

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John Steps Down as Livestock Commissioner, But There’s More to His Plan

After the intro, Jamie and John are arriving at a courthouse, dressed in suits. John said he was “quitting,” but quitting what? He asks Jamie if he trusts him, so this should be interesting.

Governor Lynelle Perry is waiting for him in her office, along with another man. (Sorry, can’t remember the other men’s names in the scene.) Things are tense. Jamie says they had evidence that the Becks had used aircraft to poison the cattle. He said that in investigating that, they found evidence of a kidnapping and livestock agents are bound to intervene. (If you recall, a lot of people died in the Season 2 finale. Kayce killed Beck’s brother and John killed Malcolm Beck.) Jamie said the livestock agents’ duty supersedes jurisdictional boundaries.

They point out that six people died and things look really bad for John. They say that it’s going to look like a feud when people realize Tate was kidnapped and it’s going to look like a gross misuse of power. John says that he has a solution and will resign as livestock commissioner, claiming full responsibility for his agents if they stop digging deeper into what happened. They agree. John says he’ll suggest a replacement next week.

Well, that was a tidy way to wrap up the ending of Season 2. But trust me, it won’t be so tidy as the story continues.

Meanwhile, Rainwater isn’t sure how things will turn out for Dutton. Rainwater’s assistant, Mo, says that John displayed a lot of honor that night and might not be the enemy they’ve thought he was.

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A New Enemy Is Arriving

In the next scene, a bunch of people in suits showed up on the land and Rip and Kayce are talking to them. They want to know if they’re at the Paradise Valley Sporting Club  — Providence Hospitality Management are the owners via Market Equities.

Hmmm, could this be a new enemy brewing? Ellis Steele, the attorney representing Market Equities, invites them to dinner as an apology for being on their land, but he seems sketchy to me. Nothing is ever as it seems on Yellowstone.

In the next scene, Beth is talking to Bob Schwartz about the property they’ve purchased so far and they have a little over 17,000 acres.

In case you need a recap of Beth’s plan, it dates all the way back to the Season 2 premiere.  Beth had told Bob about her plan to buy land that’s put into a conservation easement to lower property tax. Then the government will pay them not to farm it to control the supply through a CRP. They’ll pay every year, depending on the land, up to $400 an acre. Ultimately the government will pay off their land for them. Beth suggested they start with $100 million investment and funnel the CRP payments into more land payments. They’ll be profitable by the end of Year 2 with a net revenue of $46 million per year, funded by the government’s CRP.  Bob wants to know what’s in it for Beth. She says it’s about protecting her dad’s ranch and buying up land around it through this scheme.

Bob wants her to hold off on the conservation easements (Beth’s entire plan) because Market Equity bought Jenkins’ place. Now Providence is running the property because they have big expansions plans. He tells her to buy everything she can in light of what’s happening.

It looks like Providence Hospitality is going to be a problem.

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Introducing Josh Holloway

In a later scene, Beth stops and sees a man fishing in their river. It looks like we will finally get to see Josh Holloway as Roarke Carter, the new character this season. I’ve been really looking forward to this scene! He said his family owns the place upriver (Cross Creek Ranch) five miles upstream. He invites her to dinner and she turns him down, just tells him to stay off their land.

John tells Kayce that he’s going to name him as his replacement as Commissioner. (To me this is a little odd. Will that really satisfy the Governor? Seems like they might have problems again with the deal if he chooses a family member, but maybe I’m wrong.) Kayce is not having this idea. He says Beth or Jamie are much better choices. Then Beth reminds him that he can have family in the office if he chooses Jamie, who is perfect for the job.

“Jamie will always do what’s best for himself,” she tells John. And she says that what’s good for his constituent ranchers will also be good for them. She’s got a good point.

Back at the barn, the wranglers are playing a game where you drink, spin, and get roped. He falls hard and everyone is worried about him. Rip is not amused and Jamie’s in a lot of physical pain, but hiding it well.

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Monica May Have Some Health Issues in the Future

There’s a touching scene with Monica and John, but it also hints at something that might play out later in the season. Monica keeps forgetting where the stairs are. I’m thinking her previous brain injury might be causing a bigger issue soon.

In the next scene, John tells Jamie that he’s moving back into the lodge. Reluctantly, he tells Jamie that he’s going to make him the new land commissioner. “If you betray me again, you’re dead to me son,” he warns him.

Then we get this beautiful shot. How gorgeous is this?

One of the things I love about this show is just how beautiful it is.

John and Tate are camping out as they move the herd. I like the grandpa-grandson bonding moments on this show. Their scenes together are so sweet. Sadly, it seems like Tate is dealing with some serious PTSD, which is a lot for a little kid. :(

But things are about to get serious again. Rainwater just got a cease and desist order from the circuit court and the lawyer, Ellis Steele, that we saw earlier. “When I’m done, my client’s position will be perfectly clear,” Steele tells him.

Back at the college, Monica sees all her students focused intently on their phones even though class is outside that day.

“Do you have any idea what’s happening in the world you live in? Do you think the photo in your screen has anything to do with that world?” she asks.

She tells them a small group of men will be buying the world and selling what they take. “And you line up for it like sheep,” she says. “They will kill your brother, steal your child, and pollute everything you love. And you’ll never notice because you’re so hypnotized by a world that doesn’t exist.”

Her students aren’t taking her seriously though, and Monica’s upset. She walks away, telling them that they’re a waste of her time.

Back at the ranch, Beth toasts Rip’s new home. Seems that things are going quite well between them.

As night falls on the ranch. Kayce is overseeing the herd, promising them he won’t let the wolves get to them. And John and Tate are camping, while Tate talks about what he has gone through. It’s a sweet ending and the perfect contrast to the Season 2 finale when Tate was rescued. The episode ends with a sweet, serene calm, even though we know there’s a storm on the horizon.

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