'Yellowstone' Recap: Beth and Summer Come to Blows in a Violent Fight (2024)

By

Paige Gawley

Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you have not watched the fifth episode ofYellowstoneseason 5.

Beth Dutton isn't one to back down from a fight. Sunday night's episode ofYellowstonebeginswith a flashback to Beth's (Kelly Reilly) teenage years, where she showed a rare moment of sensitivity towards Rip (Cole Hauser), feeling guilty after hooking up with one of his fellow cowboys in front of him.

Present-day Beth wakesup feeling bad for her past behavior, but Rip cautions her against those thoughts. "Baby, yesterday is what eats everybody. That’s why I don’t think about it," he says.

Beth then decides to move on to more current problems, as she questions her dad (Kevin Costner) about his decision to grantenvironmental protestor Summer (Piper Perabo) clemency. John tries to explain that, as governor of Montana, it would be helpful to have someone like Summer to explain the opposing side to him -- but Beth isn't sold.

"They want the land, dad," Beth says. "That is all you need to understand."

All the while, the ranch is gearing up for a days-long journey to brand cattle. John decides to cancel all his gubernatorial meetings to participate, and to invite his son, Kayce (Luke Grimes), and his family -- still grieving from the loss of their baby boy -- to participate. Kayce's wife, Monica(Kelsey Asbille), finds him sobbing when she comes to tellhim about the invitation.

"I never bothered to ask how you were feeling," Monica admits. "Now I know."

Not one to miss out on the fun, Beth invites herself to join the group. Rip initially isn't onboard with that idea -- Can you picture Beth on horseback and without a bed for two days? -- but soon concedes. "Will you spare me the misery of being without you?" he questions sarcastically, and Beth readily agrees.

Not up for the journey is Summer, who declines an invite from John, just as Jamie(Wes Bentley)enters into another ill-advisedrendezvous withMarket Equities' Sarah (Dawn Olivieri).

Back on the ranch, the Duttons, Summer, and John's assistant, Clara (Lilli Kay), sit down for a wildly uncomfortable dinner. Things escalate as soon as the food(a large selection of game) is brought out, much to Summer's disgust. The tried and true vegan makes her dislike known, prompting Beth to ask her to take a walk.

That walk turns into a violent fight, with both ladies punching, kicking, shoving and kneeing each other. While John is all for letting the ladies work their problems out on their own, Rip can't resist jumping in after a while.

"Do you know how stupid you both look?" he questions, before telling the women,"Do you think you're going to beat the other one into respecting your opinion? Hell, I don't know how you can respect yourselves."

With a naive hope, Rip asks Beth and Summer if they've had enough, and they both assure him that they have not. He instructs the women to stand up straight and trade punches until one of them folds. Summer surrenders first, and Beth quickly helps the other woman to her feet.

Before they go inside, Beth asks for "respect" and assures Summer, "You get what you give." Back to the dinner table they go, where Summer's injuries prevent her from eating even mashed potatoes and Beth's injuries cause her to spit out a tooth.

Later that night, John, reflecting on Beth's supposed lack of care about what anyone thinks about her, tells Rip, "What it must feel like to be that free. You know, I've got one child I miss, one child I pity, one I regret. That girl, that child, I envy."

Early the next morning, everyone but Summer and Monica set off on their journey. Before Kayce and Tate (Brecken Merrill) depart, though, Monica tells her husband, "Take care of our boy. He’s the only one we got."

"Yeah," Kayce acknowledges, "We're gonna fix that."

With that, as Monica and Summerwatch all the people head off on horseback, Monica can't help but shed a tear.

"If it doesn’t make you cry to watch your family ride away," Monica tells Summer, "you probably shouldn't have one."

Yellowstoneairs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Paramount Network.

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