Did ‘Yellowstone’ Leak a Huge Season 5 Tragedy?
This Yellowstone theory video comes with an apology for something we said in our last video that might not only prove to be wrong, but offensive.
When Yellowstone released the Season 5 trailer, fans noticed several things that seemed to predict certain events on the Paramount Network drama. One was that John Dutton becomes governor of Montana. Another was that the Dutton Ranch is hosting live events to boost revenue. Neither of those are too wild or controversial, but another of our five observations proved to be.
It may also be spot on.
At issue is Monica's hair. It was noticeably shorter when she appeared at CMT's Artist of the Year in October, and also in a few shots from the Yellowstone trailer. We thought maybe she just cut it because she's now mother to a newborn and that's what new moms do, right? It's really hard to care for long hair when you're exhausted from feedings, changings and all the joys of baby-raising.
This theory glossed over the visible bandage on her nose and her grief as she tosses her kitchen around, but those things fit the new mama theory in their own way — newborns sometimes make you want to throw things, after all.
A Taste of Country YouTube subscriber named Glenda pointed out what may end up being the real reason for Monica's short hair, however. In Native cultures, the cutting of hair is significant and often connected to significant personal loss or even death. Not meaning to second guess Glenda, we still verified this with about a dozen other blogs, Native websites and media outlets (like Sister Sky and Vox) before feeling comfortable suggesting what would be the most heartbreaking Yellowstone tragedy yet.
Does Monica lose the baby somehow? Viewers — and husband Kacey — learned she was pregnant as Season 4 closed, and actor Kelsey Asbille expressed excitement for having a baby on set as recently as March (to ET at the ACM Awards). However, creator Taylor Sheridan is notoriously secretive, and the stars often don't know what's coming for their characters until they get the scripts at the start of shooting. Season 5 of Yellowstone filmed from May to August 2022.
We've long theorized that Season 5 picks up six to nine months after Season 4 wrapped, if only to justify how much different the teen actors who play Carter (Finn Little) and Tate (Brecken Merrill) will look after two years away from cameras. The trailer seems to confirm this with shots of John Dutton being sworn in as governor. The shots of Monica without a baby bump were explainable in this scenario, as she was likely to deliver a baby before or during Season 5.
We'll need to wait until Nov. 13 to know for sure. Yellowstone offered a movie theater premiere over the weekend, but the internet is mostly void of spoilers, and we'll try to respect that. The show is known for being tremendously violent, but thus far the only Dutton killed was Lee Dutton (John's oldest son), who died in Ep. 1 of Season 1. The death of a child would surely be the show's darkest moment yet.