Editor’s note: Deadline’s It Starts on the Page features 10 standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writer’s work plays in a show’s success. All materials were submitted before the WGA strike began on May 2.
In Season 5 of Yellowstone — recently confirmed as the final chapter of Paramount Network’s hit Montana drama starring Kevin Costner — the Dutton family relationships are put to the test.
Written by series co-creator Taylor Sheridan and directed by Christina Voros, episode 4, titled “Horses in Heaven,” puts a devastating and grief-laden linchpin in the estranged relationship of siblings Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie (Wes Bentley).
The Beth-centric episode picks up right after she spends the night in jail for aggravated assault at a bar the day prior. Reluctantly using her brother Jamie as a lifeline, Beth is spared a harsh punishment after her victim declines to press charges thanks to her brother’s influence.
On the drive back to the ranch, Beth discovers that Jamie has a son, who is now in line for a piece of the Dutton empire. In a fit of rage, Beth, who cannot have children due to Jamie taking her to have an abortion which inadvertently sterilized her, reopens that trauma, delivering powerful and icy cold lines of thinly veiled revenge, “I’m gonna take him from you, Jamie. I’m going to rob you of fatherhood. You don’t deserve it. And the boy certainly deserves better than you. Next time you see him, kiss him goodbye. Because he’s as good as gone.”
Click below to read the script of Episode 504 by Sheridan. The second part of Yellowstone‘s fifth and final season is set to premiere in November. The series has garnered Emmy, Critics Choice and SAG Award nominations, with Costner winning a Golden Globe earlier this year.
