The entire Dutton family tree in Yellowstone explained - Looper (2023)

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"Yellow Stone"this is primarily a series about family, not an easy one. When we first meet the Duttons - owners of the sprawling Yellowstone-Dutton ranch in Montana - we immediately see that this is no ordinary family. There is the head of the family, John (Kevin Costner) and his children Lee (Dave Annable), Kayce (Luke Grimes), Jamie (Wes Bentley) and Beth (Kelly Reilly). But then there's the man who was like a son to John, the villainous cowboy Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), as well as many other members of the extended family, as well as previous and later generations introduced over the show's four seasons.

Although John Dutton is obsessed with family and loyalty, his family is not as close as it seems and he is plagued by rivalry and complicated relationships. Troubles among the Duttons complicate John's mission to protect his family's land and heritage, and new revelations in the series threaten to uncover everything he's worked so hard to build.

Premiera spin-offu „Yellowstone”."1883,"Set in the era of America's westward expansion, the neo-western drama turned into a true franchise and introduced unseen new branches to the Dutton family tree. How do the 19th-century Duttons compare to their 21st-century descendants, and what does their family tree look like? Whether you're new to the series or just want a refresher, we've got all the details.

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The first of the Dutton family to settle in Montana, the public just got a glimpse of the founders of "Yellowstone"James Duttonand his wife Małgorzata in "1883". Played by real-life country couple Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, viewers first meet them in Season 4's "Yellowstone" opener. In Half The Money, we meet James as he helps a group of displaced Native Americans who want to bury a relative on the land that once was their ancestors.

Margaret joins him in another flashback in the seventh episode of the season before the premiere of their own series "1883". When this Western spin-off kicked off, the Dutton family - which includes James, Margaret, and their children Elsa (Isabel May) and John (Audie Rick) - are planning to move their family up north and are staying in Fort Worth, Texas. But after the attack on Elsa, James realizes it's more dangerous than he expected, so he pairs his proverbial (and literal) wagon with surly ex-soldier Shea Brennan and level-headed Pinkerton cop Thomas - the two men who drive the train, to lead Oregon. . We know that at some point they will end up in Montana and become the home of what will one day become the Yellowstone Ranch, home to John Dutton III and his children - Lee, Beth, Kayce, Jamie and more. The family will fight for six generations to keep their land and fend off attempts by outlaws, big business interests, neighboring Indians and even governments to take it for themselves.

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In the first few episodes of the spin-off series "Yellowstone"."1883,"we meet the uptight, prim and correct Claire, who we discover is James Dutton's sister. She apparently has little respect for her brother's wild behavior and even less for her sister-in-law and how she raised her rebellious cousin Elsa. Claire is followed by her daughter Mary Abel, an equally cocky young woman who looks down on her cousin Elsa and the rest of the Dutton family. Mary Abel is particularly critical of Elsa's less-feminine behavior, especially of 1880s social norms.

Claire also explains that the trip north was not their idea, nor did she even support it, but that she has few other options after her husband Henry's death. She has a vague idea of ​​the German immigrants they travel with in Shea's wagon, and is not afraid to make her disgust visible to everyone. In fact, this is her downfall because when a group of bandits wandered into their camp, Claire antagonized them by throwing rocks at them. This prompts the outlaws to start shooting, killing young Mary Abel with a barrage of shots. Distraught, Claire sees no reason to continue and takes her own life. Her brother James buries her body by the river before continuing his train north.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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In a way, the Yellowstone spin-off 1883 is more about young peopleElsa Duttonthan her father James. The episodes finally begin and end with Elsa's breathtaking narrative of the beauty and majesty of the land and her awe-inspiring view of their journey north. "1883" is both about Elsa's innocence, which turns into a hard experience, and about a western adventure and a new frontier.

We know that Elsa and her younger brother John (the first John) will eventually be joined by another brother, which we know thanks to the flashbacks of "Yellowstone", which takes place several years after "1883". We still don't know much about this generation, but we'll learn more as the spin-off progresses and we'll see more of their long journey to settling in Montana. There, they will make their new home and help create a powerful family legacy that will last for nearly 150 years (and counting).

The trio of Elsa, John and Spencer will one day inherit their father's land and become the generation that will run the ranch through the first half of the 20th century. They will be the stewards of the earth during the two world wars, the ash cloud and the depression. And if our timeline is correct, young John may very well be the father of John Dutton Sr. whom we met towards the end of his days in the Yellowstone Season 2 episode "Sins of the Father".

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If little is known about the second generation of Duttons - Elsa, John and Spencer - even less is known about the next generation (their children). And unlike the stars of '1883', we may never find out much more as there are currently no plans to explore the life of John Dutton III's father in his own spin-off series. But we do know that Jan's father, John the Second, may be the son of the young John we meet in 1883. We also know that he was married and lost his wife long before his own death in what seemed to be the early 2000s. He also had at least two sons, one of whom died at some point before his father's death as Jan III complained in what it seemed to be their last moments together.

However, it has been suggested - and probably deduced - that John II was as tough an adventurer as his son in Yellowstone. In addition, the loss of a second son may indicate some dramatic adventures during his time as head of the ranch. Given the timeline, it is likely that this John oversaw Yellowstone from the 1960s to the 1980s, possibly even earlier. This may have been the ranch's most prosperous period, as the U.S. population exploded after World War II—and the need for livestock soared—but it predates the technological, environmental and health revolutions of later years. There may also have been fewer problems with big business and greedy governments at a time when today's largest cities were still under construction.

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"Yellowstone" star John Dutton III - played by Hollywood legend Kevin Costner - is a complicated farmer who leads every good Western. Committed, determined and never afraid to get his hands dirty, he's a mean son of a bitch, but also a man with a strict moral compass that has come up on more than one occasion. He stands up for what is right, helps those in need, and even when fighting for his life, he never takes his eyes off his enemies and never allows collateral damage.

But despite being the patriarch of the family - and in some ways the star of the series - little is known about John Dutton in the years before he took control of the Yellowstone-Dutton Ranch. At birth, he fathered three children (Kayce, Lee and Beth) with his wife Evelyn, who died when his children were young after falling from a horse. He took two more, but apart from a handful of flashbacks showing how he raised his children, his past is still largely unexplored. Nevertheless, we know he is a man who will stop at nothing to protect his family and farm after promising his ancestors that he would never let anyone take their land. Fiercely loyal and equally vindictive, John is a true western cowboy who walks the line between good and evil.

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Lee and Kayce are the born sons of John Dutton III. Each of them walks a different path, and Lee may have been John's favorite and most loyal descendant. But when confronted by the Broken Rock police over the theft of their cattle early in the first season, Lee is killed. It is his brother Kayce who takes revenge on him and kills the man who shot him in what became the first murder and cover-up of the series.

Kayce was the family's first outcast, driven from the Yellowstone ranch as a young man by what he believed to be his father's brutality. After finding love with Monica Long, the couple settles on the Broken Rock Reservation and starts a family, with Kayce estranged from her father. We don't know much about Kayce's early days, but we do know that contact between father and son was rare. But after Lee's death, Kayce and John get back together. Amidst his family's dwindling heritage and threats to them, Kayce and his family move to the Yellowstone Ranch in season two.

Thereafter, Kayce quickly becomes his father's top lieutenant and is eventually elevated to John's former position as cattle commissioner and ranch chief. While a ruthless enforcer in his own right, he does not show the same brutality as his father, and in the fourth season, Kayce leads his family off the farm. The jury isn't sure what this means for his future.

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Smarter, wiser and more cunning than anyone in the Dutton family - not even her father John - Beth was not raised as a cowboy or a farmer. When she was a little girl, young Beth Dutton's mother was thrown from her horse while riding and told her daughter to call for help, telling her it was her fault. When Beth was unable to get help in time, she was falsely accused of her mother's death, which forever shaped her destiny. Bitter and resentful, Beth has grown into a corporate robber and is perhaps the most loyal of the Dutton family, never wanting to betray the ranch - even if she wanted to and even if her loyalty comes at a high price. .

Like her father's daughter, Beth also has a fierce vengeance. He is the pragmatist of the family, with a keen eye for what can help or hinder the ranch, but is sometimes unwilling to do anything against his father's wishes. With a sailor's mouth and nasty demeanor, John Dutton often tries to keep his dutiful daughter out of the dirtier business, but somehow she always manages to be right in the middle. Although she has survived several violent incidents and bears both physical and emotional scars, she'll be damned if she doesn't always pick herself up.

Now married to Rip Wheeler but unable to have children of their own, Beth's family line appears to have ended, at least by blood.

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In the second half of the third season of "Yellowstone", the family turns out to be a pariahJamie Dutton, the fourth of Dutton's siblings, is not really Dutton at all. Adopted as a child and raised by John Dutton as his own son, Jamie has a complicated relationship with his family. Jamie, the only man in the group who isn't a cowboy, eschews the rowdy lifestyle and goes to court. Apparently, he was pushed into it by his adopted father, who may have wanted a son who could help the farm out of court.

But away from the farm, Jamie goes his own way, and after his relationship with his older sister Beth burns out - after he helped her have an abortion that led to her unwitting sterilization - he becomes a freak. Not as tough as the cowboy Kayce and not as loyal as his sister, Jamie often argues with his father about what he wants for himself, not what his father wants for him - help on the ranch. Everything comes to a climax when Jamie wants to run for Attorney General against his father's wishes, and John forces him to leave his family home. He eventually shows up and ironically ends up in the post office anyway, but when Jamie again tries to defy his father's wishes - more directly this time - it puts them at odds again.

Ambitious but insecure, Jamie finally contacts his biological father, Garrett Randall - who is subsequently released from prison after serving decades for the murder of his wife - and the pair form a shaky bond. Randall plots revenge on John Dutton for stealing his son, and Jamie is suddenly put to the test again.

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Rip Wheeler, a fan-favorite cowboy leader and surrogate son of John Dutton, arrived at the ranch as a teenager in a situation reminiscent of Dutton's adopted son, Jamie. Rip was found hiding in a blood-covered barn following the murder of his own father, who killed his mother and two brothers. But instead of taking him to the authorities - where he knew he would end up in foster care with no future - Dutton took him in and raised him almost like a son.

Through Dutton, Rip learns the qualities that define him, from his undying loyalty to his need for brutal revenge against those who wronged him and his surrogate family. Rip, the leader of the cowboys on the ranch, is demoted at one point to make way for Kayce when Dutton's formerly estranged son returns to Yellowstone to take over the ranch. Although Kayce is a bit like a brother, the two didn't always get along, especially when it came to outcast Walker.

Of course, Rip's most complicated relationship involves Dutton's daughter Beth, the girl who has fallen in love with him from the moment they met as teenagers. Their romance continues into adulthood, but Rip is too loyal to John to officially pursue her without permission. He eventually gets it and the pair move into the ranch together as another extension of the Dutton family.

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Dutton's son Kayce left the Yellowstone Ranch after a troubled childhood and went to live with his girlfriend and eventual wife Monica Long on a neighboring reservation. Kayce and Monica have a son together, Tate Dutton. After Kayce's brother Lee dies, his father almost begs his son to let him have a relationship with his grandson, and Kayce starts taking Tate to the ranch for camping and horseback riding. After trouble on the reservation, Kayce and Monica move to a ranch, where Tate becomes closer to the extended Dutton family and his father becomes a cattle rancher.

But it also means danger as Yellowstone's enemies bring violence to your doorstep. Tate is kidnapped and held hostage by a dangerous militia, and a deadly assassination attempt on the entire Dutton family leaves him and his mother so shaken that they leave the farm in season three. As Dutton's only biological grandchild, Tate may inherit the ranch in the future, but it remains to be seen whether he will.

Of course, despite being unable to have children, Beth and Rip have their own surrogate son in the form of young Carter, who comes into their care after his father's death in Season 4. It seems increasingly likely that he may become the next generation in the Dutton line as he grows closer and bonds more closely with the Dutton family.

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In season two's "Yellowstone", adopted Dutton Jamie becomes romantically involved with his campaign co-worker Christina, and the two briefly live together after Jamie is kicked out of the ranch. Christina urges Jamie to start a new life away from the Duttons, but Jamie finally sides with his father and returns to Yellowstone. Christina leaves him because of this betrayal, but not before revealing that she is pregnant with his child. He begs her to be a part of his unborn child's life, but she insists that won't happen until he steps out of his father's shadow.

Fast forward two seasons later, after Jamie gets his own farm with the help of his biological father Garrett Randall, and his ex-lover Christina shows up - with their little baby. It is still unclear what the baby's name is and whether he has the birth name Dutton or Randall. While this kid may not be Dutton by blood, he is certainly Dutton by law, and there's no telling how John, Beth, or Kayce will react when they discover him. Could he be considered family in John's eyes?

With '1883' and the 'Yellowstone' parenting show going on, there are probably still new members of the Dutton family we haven't met yet. There are also many unseen Duttons in the Dutton family's past that we still have a lot to learn about, which means the Dutton family tree will continue to grow.