Paramount
While the body count for “Yellowstone” season 4 episode 8 might not have been as high as it’s been in earlier episodes, quite a few lives were still lost. The biggest loss was a major character at the end, whose death was quite heartbreaking.
This article will have spoilers for “Yellowstone” season 4 episode 8.
The Episode Began By Hinting at a Death on ‘1883’
The episode began by introducing “1883,” whose pilot episode is airing immediately after “Yellowstone.” The episode hinted that James Dillard Dutton (Tim McGraw) would die a violent death at some point after the “1883” series takes place. We can assume this because Audie Rick plays a younger John Dutton Sr. in “1883,” and Jack Michael Doke plays an older (but still young) John Dutton Sr. in the “Yellowstone” flashback at the beginning of this episode. So it looks like we may have just witnessed James Dillard Dutton’s death and how his life will conclude after “1883.” However, this isn’t a given. We only heard James Dutton collapse and his wife scream. We didn’t actually see him die, so it’s possible he will still live through the shooting.
The Sheriff Died at the End of the Episode
A major death happened at the end of the “Yellowstone” episode. John Dutton and Rip were heading to a cafe to meet with Sheriff Donnie Haskell about getting payback against the prisoner who arranged the attacks against John. (Of course, we as viewers know that it was ultimately Garrett, Jamie’s biological dad, who was behind the whole thing.)
But when they arrive, they notice that something’s amiss. The cafe is closed and people are standing around stiffly or sitting in their chairs and not eating. Rip quickly deduces that there’s a hostage situation going on. They grab a rifle and a pistol, and Rip enters from the front as a distraction while John sneaks in from the back.
They engage in a major shootout. The men behind the attack die, but so does Sheriff Haskell. He gets shot badly and tries to call his daughter before he dies, but he’s only able to tell her that he’s not OK and then he dies before he can say anything else.
In some ways, the episode goes full circle with Haskell’s death. John is tending to him as he dies from a shootout with a criminal, just like we saw James Dillard possibly die as another John Dutton tended to him after he was in a shootout with a criminal.
Haskell’s death was heartbreaking, and now we’re going to be let with a question about whether it was coincidence that he died in that attack, or if Garrett was somehow behind that too.
Haskell was first seen in episodes 8 and 9 of season 1, in five episodes of season 2, again in one episode of season 3, and then he was in four episodes in season 4 before this one, according to TV Maze. Because we’ve seen Haskell so often so recently, his death is more impactful to “Yellowstone” viewers.
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