There’s a moment in Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 13—”Give the World Away”—where you can feel the show forgetting what it’s supposed to be about. It happens during a strip poker scene. Travis Wheatley, the ultra-cool cowboy played by creator Taylor Sheridan himself, sits shirtless in a sleeveless vest, cigar clenched between his teeth, beer bottle at his side, surrounded by three attractive women including supermodel Bella Hadid. A crowd watches, oohing and aahing, as Travis casually dominates the game with the kind of effortless machismo usually reserved for Marlboro commercials from the 1980s.
- How Kevin Costner’s Exit Set the Stage for Disaster
- The Penultimate Episode That Forgot Its Purpose
- The Strip Poker Scene That Broke the Immersion
- Why This Episode Feels Like Padding (Because It Is)
- What the Episode Should Have Been
- The Legacy Problem
- Why Yellowstone Season 5 Still Matters Despite the Missteps
- FAQ
It’s absurd. Not in a fun, self-aware way. In a “wait, why are we spending this much time on a side character in the penultimate episode of a show that’s supposed to be wrapping up a Shakespearean family tragedy?” way.
A year after Yellowstone Season 5 concluded, the discourse around the show’s ending still centers on Kevin Costner‘s ugly departure and the rushed nature of John Dutton’s off-screen death. And yes, that was a problem. But the real issue—the one that’s harder to forgive—is that Sheridan, in the episode that should have been laser-focused on setting up the series finale, instead chose to spend an inordinate amount of screen time glorifying his own supporting character. It was a vanity episode disguised as necessary setup. And it nearly torpedoed the entire season.
How Kevin Costner’s Exit Set the Stage for Disaster
Let’s start with what everyone remembers: Kevin Costner left Yellowstone under contentious circumstances. The actor, who wanted more time to focus on his epic Western passion project Horizon: An American Saga, couldn’t reconcile his schedule with Sheridan and Paramount’s production timeline. Add in reported creative differences, and the result was John Dutton’s unceremonious death in Season 5, Part 2’s premiere, “Desire is All You Need.”
Fans were rightfully frustrated. John Dutton had just been sworn in as Governor of Montana at the start of Season 5. There were storylines to resolve, power dynamics to explore, and a character arc that deserved better than an off-screen assassination. But to Sheridan’s credit, he pivoted. The focus shifted to Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce Dutton’s (Luke Grimes) revenge plot against Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley), transforming the show into a Shakespearean tragedy of sibling betrayal and family destruction.
It worked. For a while. The Dutton family drama—Beth’s simmering rage, Kayce’s moral conflict, Jamie’s desperate scrambling after Sarah Atwood’s (Dawn Olivieri) assassination—became the emotional spine of the season. The show survived Costner’s departure by doubling down on what had always made it compelling: family loyalty, blood feuds, and the brutal cost of holding onto power.
And then Episode 13 happened.
The Penultimate Episode That Forgot Its Purpose
“Give the World Away” should have been taut, focused, and emotionally devastating. With only one episode left to wrap the entire series, this was the moment to ratchet up tension, clarify stakes, and position the Duttons for their final reckoning. Instead, Sheridan devoted the majority of the episode to Travis Wheatley—a rodeo rider, professional horseman, and part-time horse trainer affiliated with Bosque Ranch who occasionally buys horses from Yellowstone Ranch.
Travis is a recurring side character. He’s charismatic, sure. Sheridan plays him with the kind of gruff, no-nonsense cowboy energy that works in small doses. But in the penultimate episode of a series finale? He’s a distraction. A tangent. A vanity project that adds absolutely nothing to the primary narrative.
The episode’s central plot involves selling off the livestock at Yellowstone Ranch to pay for inheritance taxes—a fabricated conflict, since Montana doesn’t actually have an estate or inheritance tax, but let’s set that aside. Instead of using that auction as a backdrop for meaningful character moments or emotional closure, Sheridan turns it into an extended showcase for Travis’s coolness.
There’s the strip poker scene. There’s a protracted sequence showing Travis’s rodeo skills, as if he were auditioning for Sheridan’s reality show The Last Cowboy. There are lingering shots of Travis riding and wrangling horses, demonstrating his effortless mastery. It’s all well-executed, technically impressive, and completely beside the point.
The Strip Poker Scene That Broke the Immersion
Let’s talk about that strip poker scene specifically, because it’s emblematic of everything wrong with the episode. Travis, bulging out of his vest like Stallone in Rambo, sits at a table with Bella Hadid (playing his girlfriend Sadie) and two other women, casually smoking a cigar while a crowd of onlookers treats him like the coolest man alive.
Nothing takes a viewer out of the drama faster than watching the showrunner bolster his own character’s sense of coolness at the expense of narrative urgency. It’s not just self-indulgent—it’s tone-deaf. The Duttons are on the brink of losing everything. Jamie’s complicity in John’s murder is being exposed. Beth and Kayce are plotting revenge. And we’re supposed to care about… Travis winning at strip poker?
The scene plays like a deleted scene from a different show—one where the stakes are lower, the tone is lighter, and the main character isn’t a grieving family trying to navigate the fallout of their father’s assassination. It’s the kind of moment that would work fine in Episode 3 or 4 of a season. In Episode 13 of 14? It’s baffling.
Why This Episode Feels Like Padding (Because It Is)
Yellowstone Season 5 had 14 episodes, broken into two parts. That’s more episodes than any previous season, which typically ran 9 to 10. The problem is that the show didn’t have 14 episodes’ worth of story. And rather than tightening the narrative, Sheridan chose to pad it out—often in ways that served his own interests rather than the show’s dramatic needs.
If the Travis-heavy sequences had appeared earlier in the season, they would have been forgivable. Maybe even enjoyable. But placing them in the penultimate episode, when the clock is ticking and the emotional stakes are at their highest, is a creative misstep of almost staggering proportions. It suggests that Sheridan either lost sight of the show’s priorities or decided that his own character’s screen time mattered more than the Duttons’ final chapter.
And look—I get it. Sheridan is a talented writer, director, and actor. He’s built an empire at Paramount with shows like 1883, 1923, Mayor of Kingstown, and Tulsa King. He knows how to craft compelling Western drama. But ego is a dangerous thing in storytelling. And when you’re both the creator and a performer in your own show, the temptation to give yourself the spotlight can override better judgment.
What the Episode Should Have Been
Imagine a version of “Give the World Away” that stayed focused on the Duttons. Imagine Beth and Kayce quietly strategizing, their grief over John hardening into cold resolve. Imagine Jamie spiraling as the walls close in, knowing that his connection to Sarah Atwood is about to be exposed. Imagine the auction serving as a symbolic farewell to the ranch—not as a backdrop for rodeo showboating, but as a moment of reckoning for a family that built everything on land and legacy.
That’s the episode we should have gotten. Instead, we got Travis flexing in a sleeveless vest while the actual stakes of the series took a backseat.
The Legacy Problem
A year later, Yellowstone is streaming in its entirety on Peacock. New viewers are discovering the show. Old fans are rewatching. And Episode 13 still feels like a narrative speed bump—a moment where the show’s creator prioritized his own character over the story he’d been telling for five seasons.
It’s a shame. Because Yellowstone at its best is Shakespearean, brutal, and emotionally devastating. It’s a show about family, power, and the cost of holding onto both. But in its penultimate episode, it became a vanity project. And that’s harder to forgive than Kevin Costner’s exit could ever be.
Maybe Sheridan was trying to lighten the mood. Maybe he wanted to remind viewers that Yellowstone isn’t just tragedy—it’s also a celebration of cowboy culture. But timing is everything. And in the episode that should have been all setup, all tension, all emotional payoff… we got strip poker and rodeo highlights instead.
The finale itself managed to course-correct, delivering the kind of cathartic, tragic ending the show deserved. But Episode 13 remains a glaring blemish—a reminder that even the best storytellers can lose their way when ego gets in the driver’s seat.
Why Yellowstone Season 5 Still Matters Despite the Missteps
Kevin Costner’s Exit Was Messy, But the Show Adapted
John Dutton’s off-screen death was jarring, but Sheridan pivoted by focusing on Beth and Kayce’s revenge plot, turning the season into a family tragedy rather than a political drama.
Episode 13 Wasted Precious Time on a Side Character
The penultimate episode devoted far too much screen time to Travis Wheatley’s rodeo skills and strip poker prowess, distracting from the Duttons’ emotional stakes.
The Strip Poker Scene Was Peak Vanity
Watching Sheridan’s character dominate a poker game with supermodel Bella Hadid while the Duttons’ world crumbled felt tone-deaf and self-indulgent.
Season 5 Had More Episodes Than Story
With 14 episodes instead of the usual 9 to 10, the season felt padded—and Episode 13’s filler-heavy focus on Travis proved it.
The Finale Saved the Season
Despite the missteps, Yellowstone‘s series finale delivered the emotional payoff fans deserved, cementing the show’s legacy even as Episode 13 remains a frustrating detour.
FAQ
Was Episode 13 really worse than Kevin Costner’s exit?
In some ways, yes. Costner’s departure was ugly and rushed, but at least it was addressed head-on. Episode 13’s vanity detour felt like a waste of precious narrative real estate in a penultimate episode that should have been laser-focused on the Duttons.
Why did Taylor Sheridan prioritize his own character in Episode 13?
Hard to say. Maybe he felt the season needed lighter moments. Maybe he wanted to showcase his rodeo skills. But placing that much Travis screen time in the penultimate episode suggests a loss of narrative priorities—or an ego that got in the way of better judgment.
Does Episode 13 ruin the entire season?
No. The finale course-corrects, and the Beth/Kayce revenge plot remains compelling throughout. But Episode 13 is a glaring misstep that’s hard to ignore, especially for a show that had been so tightly constructed up to that point.
Is Yellowstone still worth watching despite the Season 5 issues?
Absolutely. The show at its best is Shakespearean, brutal, and emotionally devastating. Episode 13 is a frustrating detour, but the series as a whole remains one of the most compelling family dramas in recent TV history.
