Top 5 Most Controversial Yellowstone Episodes: A Ranked Review

Within the tumultuous world of the Dutton family, life oscillates between exhilarating highs and heart-wrenching lows. Yet, it is the controversial moments, those unexpected, shocking twists, which leave audiences reeling and questioning whether they’ll continue on this dramatic journey. These are the kinds of episodes that might drive some fans away for good and propel others to seek the next binge-worthy series.

Despite such turbulence, viewers of “Yellowstone” have remained steadfast. Loyal until the very end, dedicated fans, who have navigated every twist and turn, can easily identify the show’s most polarizing episodes. Five stand out as particularly explosive, sparking ongoing debates about their value—conversations that any true “Yellowstone” aficionado has likely engaged in more than once.

“Desire is All You Need” stands out for its notorious narrative turn where John Dutton, portrayed by Kevin Costner, meets his unexpected demise. Allegedly a suicide via a gunshot in the governor’s mansion bathroom, it is later revealed that John was murdered by strangulation, a violent act orchestrated by Market Equities, who covet his land, with a staged crime scene to mask the truth.

The episode’s shocking conclusion sent ripples through the fanbase and garnered critical attention. Fans voiced strong opinions, with one Reddit user, u/CarCharacter7295, expressing profound disappointment: “I always thought his death would be a classic western ending. I loved this show until now. I hate it; I can’t believe how this ended.” Yet, even those who disliked John found themselves emotionally stirred. As another user, u/trulymadlybigly, shared, “This show is brutal. I was seriously disturbed by watching them assassinate John Dutton. I didn’t even like him… but it made me inexplicably sad.”

The unexpected backlash took some show insiders by surprise. Episode director Christina Voros shared her insights with Entertainment Weekly: “There were a lot of people who were outraged that John was killed — and you’re supposed to be outraged he was killed. The characters are outraged that he’s killed. So in a strange way, it is the point. You are not supposed to be OK with it.”

Enter anti-ranching vegan Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo), who is arrested thanks to a protest held on the Dutton property in “Under a Blanket of Red.” The introduction of this shrill, stereotypical activist drew plenty of mixed reviews, to say the least. But some viewers pointed out that Summer was a symptom of a much larger problem with the series: the flanderization of most of the show’s characters into pulp.

It’s hard to ignore the fact that Summer is a caricature who’s deliberately set up to be educated in the ways of the “real world” by John; she is practically enslaved to his custody on the ranch, is presented meat at dinner, punched out by Beth (Kelly Reilly), and eventually falls into a romantic relationship with John. Later, Summer learns from Beth that John lied about the terms of her release, and that she didn’t have to serve any time working off her debt to society on the ranch at all  — one last jarringly flat note to a truly disturbing storyline.

Audience members definitely noticed how ugly the whole affair was. “The solar energy thing vs natural gas was so corny. An entire staff who have been working and have the data on this for gods know how long are suddenly dumbfounded by the Gospel of John. Summer’s written horribly. that dinner scene where she names off all the meals like some shrew vegan type was embarrassing writing as well,” remarked u/I_Like_Ike. And at least one user noted that the show — being entirely written by Taylor Sheridan — is entirely limited to his viewpoint.

This is one of the moments where Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) crossed the moral event horizon and became the wormy, cowardly, and eternally oscillating guy everyone loves to loathe. “Blood the Boy” sees him kill a reporter to whom he’s revealed way too much. With an ugly expose on the horizon and the family’s entire way of life in jeopardy, Jamie drowns the journalist, then turns to his family for help dumping the body at the train station.

Fans really began to turn on Jamie during this storyline. “I am waiting for him to become the liability so Rip can finally end this educated, privileged, but incomprehensibly helpless character. I am surprised John has so much restraint when dealing with him,” remarked u/arplayer2k. 

But other viewers noted that John’s overly stern and controlling parenting style may have had a negative effect on young Jamie. After all, this is an episode where John, in a flashback, tells Jamie that he’s arranged for him to go to Harvard to become a lawyer — something Jamie didn’t know for sure he wanted at the time.  Whether it’s nature or nurture on full display here, it’s definitely something fans have debated about for years — just the thing Taylor Sheridan wanted them to do, as the show is supposed to be morally ambiguous.

“Meaner than Evil” contains an infamous scene in which Wade Morrow (Boots Southerland), whose up-and-down relationship with his ex-employer comprises a lot of the action of Season 3, has his brand cut off of his chest as an act of revenge after he injured Teeter (Jennifer Landon) and Colby (Denim Richards). Fans always winced at the branding scenes in the series, and there’s plenty of that to be found in this episode — Teeter and Colby are branded near the end of the episode, and Walker (Ryan Bingham) proves his worth to John and the ranch by being the one to cut off Wade’s brand.

All of that stomach-churning brutality has definitely accrued some mixed fan reviews. “… they showed just enough of Walker removing that brand, that I was cringing real hard. That was brutal,” remarked u/therealrico. “Oh goody another mass branding is on the calendar,” remarked u/MichaelJordansToupee. Those immediately opposing points of view explain just why this is such a controversial episode in the “Yellowstone” fandom — and why it’s both popular and reviled.

The most controversial episode of “Yellowstone” is “Cowboys and Dreamers,” if only because it finally reveals where the rift between Jamie and Beth started. It turns out that she leaned on him for help getting an abortion when they were teenagers, and while she was under anesthetics she was sterilized, as were many women who sought abortions on the reservations back in the day.

Abortion is a hard enough topic to discus in the first place, but it definitely divided “Yellowstone” fans when the episode aired. For some audience members, it was a scene that just plain didn’t age well. “Maybe its because I’m a woman, but I’m also the eldest of my siblings, and I cant see making a decision like that if either of my siblings came to me for help. That is so over the line, because that choice affects her for the rest of her life,” remarked u/nekila_rose. 

But a surprisingly high number of fans were on Jamie’s side. “I did, however, point out in a heated family discussion, that Jamie was just a teenage kid as well. Note, I’m not defending his decisions AT ALL,” noted u/Flashdance007. Several other viewers noted that Jamie’s youth and fear of John, as well as John’s own culpability in the situation help complicate everything. A difficult episode, and the show’s most controversial, no matter how you slice it.