12 Yellowstone Storylines That Didn't Go Anywhere

"Yellowstone" may have been a critical darling and cultural phenomenon, but it occasionally behaved like a drunken cowboy who was too hungover to remember the previous night's events. Over the course of five seasons, Taylor Sheridan's modern Western introduced a slew of compelling ideas — assassination attempts, bizarre spiritual visions, even dinosaur bones — only to forget them faster than a bad date.

We're not necessarily complaining. When "Yellowstone" hit, it hit harder than a Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) punch to the face. But for every well-executed twist that threatened the livelihood of John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and company, another thread simply vanished, never to be mentioned again — like, ever.

Granted, these discarded plot points weren't always pivotal. Some served as filler, beefing up thinner storylines or adding nuance to a character or two. Still, for a show as tightly written as "Yellowstone," you'd think Sheridan would exercise a little more caution, or at least find a clever way to resolve these ideas before dumping them at the Train Station. At any rate, it's time to grab a lasso, maybe a guitar, and take a gander at the following 12 "Yellowstone" storylines that went nowhere.

At the end of Season 3, the Duttons — John (Kevin Costner), Kayce (Luke Grimes), and Beth (Kelly Reilly) — are nearly wiped out in one of "Yellowstone's" best episodes. John winds up on the side of the road bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds; a package bomb destroys Beth's office; and a group of armed men attacks Kayce at his Livestock Commissioner's office. This blockbuster moment arrives after a long and tedious season, making its suddenness all the more terrifying.

Viewers spent months bracing for the fallout that was sure to arrive in Season 4, theorizing about who orchestrated such a bold hit. It was one hell of a way to cap a season. Then Season 4 arrived ... and aside from a few injuries, some bruised egos, and a dash of trauma, the show snapped back to normal far too quickly. John spends some time in the hospital but is relatively unfazed. Beth doesn't seem perturbed at all. And Kayce dresses like Chewbacca for a day before reverting to his usual routine.

The aftermath wraps up quickly. Rip (Cole Hauser) kills Roarke (Josh Holloway) via the old snake-in-the-cooler trick before we ever get a full explanation of his involvement. Jamie's (Wes Bentley) father, Garrett (Will Patton), confesses, but not in a way that succinctly explains his rationale for such a bold move. Once Beth forces Jamie to kill Garrett, the entire storyline disappears. It's almost like the entire plot point was little more than an overblown season capper.

Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) began the series as one of "Yellowstone's" most compelling figures, a character driven to reclaim land he believes belongs to his people. His approach is to use money earned from his casinos to buy back the property, an interesting idea that the show ultimately jettisons.

Somewhere along the way, Rainwater became more of a side character than a genuine threat to the Duttons. In fact, Rainwater forms an alliance with John in Season 3 and rides shotgun from there, popping up for the occasional disagreement without asserting his vision.

That's a shame, because Rainwater adds an intriguing moral quandary to the story, forcing viewers to question whether the Duttons deserve, or even truly own, their land. Rather than explore that dilemma, the series pivots to safer terrain — read: mustache-twirling villains — and leaves Rainwater's dreams in the dust. Yes, he technically wins in the end, but his victory has more to do with Kayce's kindness than Rainwater's actions.

In one of "Yellowstone's" strangest arcs, Kayce undergoes a series of visions that ... well, don't amount to much. Sure, Kayce's new series, "Marshals," may help flesh out these odd omens, but the payoff on "Yellowstone" proved underwhelming.

The storyline occurs in Season 4 when Kayce agrees to undergo a vision quest guided by Broken Rock traditions. He isolates himself near a tree and rolls around shirtless, during which he sees a wolf, a version of a future with Monica (Kelsey Asbille), and a version with Avery (Tanaya Beatty), a female ranch hand harboring strong feelings for him.

When he returns to his family, he says he saw "the end of us," a line that seems like it should carry major ramifications. Alas, Kayce remains with Monica, Avery is more or less disregarded, the wolf imagery doesn't amount to much, and life returns to normal. We thought his visions were building toward something really important. Nope. Kayce has to choose between a life with Monica and one with Avery (and his father). He chooses the former, and the repercussions are barely felt. However, since Monica died offscreen before "Marshals," maybe he chose poorly?

Remember when Tate (Brecken Merrill) discovered dinosaur bones near the ranch, and it was treated like a big, pivotal moment that proved the land was ancient and held history beyond the Duttons' family line? Remember when Kayce saw the bones and flipped out, thinking they might be worth some money? Everyone was like, "Whoa!" That was pretty cool. And then some guys showed up, stole the bones, and dinosaurs were never mentioned again.

For a show about land ownership, this storyline had the potential to lead to something really interesting. Fossil findings can lead to government involvement, land disputes, and other compelling arcs, but nothing comes of it because the show drops the storyline faster than a dinosaur-killing meteorite.

Strangely, Kayce, ever the protective father, never seeks revenge or tracks down the culprits who bullied his son. In fact, there's no retaliation by anyone. The bones vanish, and the story gets buried like a fossil. You'd think the Duttons would at least scour the land for more bones with potential financial value. Nope. The bones storyline amounts to little more than pointless filler.

Yeah, we know that Jamie's dad, Garrett, meets a bitter end at the hands of his son — a forced execution urged by Beth after she discovers the truth about the Dutton assassination plot. Before his swift demise, however, it feels like the show had found another major player in the war against the Duttons.

While initially presented as a dumb redneck, Garrett proves adept at manipulation, able to navigate the political landscape and orchestrate massive hits on his enemies. His actions should have sparked a war with enormous consequences, forcing Jamie to choose between his families and making John rethink everything he believes about his adopted son.

In reality, Jamie kills Garrett before he can have any real impact on the story. We never learn much about Garrett's complex backstory or his relationship with John. In fact, aside from a brief altercation, the pair doesn't share any meaningful screen time. His death feels rushed and inconsequential, serving as a plot device to push the Beth vs. Jamie conflict back on track. Sre, we learn a little more about Jamie through his quiet interactions with Garrett, but so much more could have come from this storyline.

Tate, Kayce and Monica's son, goes bonkers after his abduction at the hands of the Beck brothers in Season 2, hiding under his bed and refusing to leave his mother's side. His traumatic experience justifiably leaves him paralyzed, and not even his family's reassurances can snap him out of it.

Again, we have a unique subplot that could have reshaped Kayce and Monica's relationship, or at least deepened Kayce's relationship with his son. For a brief stretch, the show leans into Tate's trauma and even suggests the kid is dealing with something deeper. At the very least, you'd think this would make John rethink his approach to his never-ending battle to retain his land, perhaps realizing his great prize isn't worth his grandson's life.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda. Like every plot point on this list, Tate's downward spiral resolves quite easily. Within a few episodes, the kid is back to normal, with no lasting effects on his psyche, no behavioral changes, and no significant impact on the larger story. Kudos for at least exploring the notion of PTSD in this violent universe. Let's be real, though — no kid would have a chance after experiencing everything Tate goes through.

Here's another bizarre plot point that fell by the wayside, either because the writers forgot about it or because viewers imagined it. We're banking on the former. During the war against the Beck brothers (Neal McDonough and Teal Beck), Kayce plants a remotely activated bomb on a plane owned by the duo. Obviously, he intends to wait for the right moment to blow the Becks sky-high ... except the brothers wind up kidnapping Tate, and the bomb plotline evaporates into thin air.

You'd think the writers would find some way to fold the bomb back into the story. What if someone else flew the plane shortly after the Becks met their demise, and the device detonated by accident, drawing unwanted attention to the Duttons? Or what if the Becks boarded the plane with Tate, forcing John and Kayce into a pickle? Maybe they made peace with the Becks, but then the bomb went off anyway, triggering even more fallout.

Yes, there were numerous directions this story could have taken. Instead, the series simply shrugs and moves on. The bomb is never mentioned again, burning yet another intriguing idea. 

Who didn't want to see Jimmy (Jefferson White) — the kindly bunkhouse member who leaves for greener pastures — in his own spinoff series? Everything was set up in Season 4, when the character heads to the 6666 (Four Sixes) Ranch in Texas in search of love and opportunity. We spend a few episodes watching him integrate into his new life, all while clinging to the friends he left behind.

He returns to "Yellowstone" to make amends with his ex-girlfriend Mia (Eden Brolin), but ultimately chooses to go back to Texas for good. And that's the last we see of him. As of now, that rumored spinoff still hasn't materialized, and the character has vanished from the narrative, making the buildup around his departure all the more confusing.

Jimmy was never a pivotal character, but he was an easy one to root for, and it was fun watching him grow from an aimless boy into a legit cowboy. It would have been nice to see that evolution carry into a larger role. Instead, we'll tuck away his bloated final episodes next to other abandoned pilots, like "The Farm" (via "The Office") and Jess' "Gilmore Girls" spinoff.

OK, this one really irks us. In Season 2, Jamie straight-up murders a reporter after she threatens to expose the corruption in his family. Scared of what John will do to him, Jamie deals with the situation by slamming her head against a vehicle door. He then heads home with the body in tow, spends time working in the bunkhouse as punishment, and returns to his desk position shortly thereafter. The Duttons make the reporter's death look like an accident. Case closed.

Um, what? So you're telling us that nobody asked any questions about her death? None of her family members showed up looking for a resolution? Her employer never followed up on her Dutton story or questioned whether they had anything to do with her disappearance? 

From a character standpoint, the murder significantly alters Jamie, forcing him to embrace the Duttons' darker side. Strangely, it also prepares him to murder Garrett later on, and gives Beth some much-needed ammo to keep her foul little brother under control. So it's not entirely worthless. Again, we have a hard time believing that no one would put two and two together and begin investigating the Duttons.

So, this one's kinda interesting because it's not an unresolved plot point so much as a curious aspect of the series as a whole. The Train Station is where the Duttons toss their dirty secrets — i.e., bodies — that they don't want anyone to find. The location is little more than a large ditch in the middle of nowhere. After several seasons of murder, however, the corpses begin to pile up. 

Sheridan doesn't seem to question the absurdity of it all or make better use of the location. Right from the start, it looks like a pivotal piece of the Duttons' world that could expose all their secrets. Imagine a subplot in which someone accidentally stumbles across a body while hiking or driving. Suddenly, the cops get involved and begin connecting the dots. Spicy!

Like many entries on this list, the Train Station highlights what makes "Yellowstone" so frustrating. Rather than lean into the plot points he sets up, Sheridan often pivots to contrived twists that keep things moving but don't always add up. He also can't decide whether the Duttons are people we should root for or people who deserve everything coming their way, though Kevin Costner had a different idea for the ending and has said he believed the family should've ended up in prison alongside Jerry Seinfeld. We tend to agree.

Season 4 concludes with John running for governor to prevent his adopted son, Jamie, from winning the seat. In Season 5, John wins, is quickly sworn in ... and proceeds to do little beyond complain about his position.

In a huge missed opportunity, Sheridan plays John's victory more for comedy than as an essential story element. Aside from using his power to halt the airport expansion tied to Market Equities, he doesn't accomplish much. He grumbles through long-winded meetings that eat up his day and bemoans the endless public appearances he has to make to appease voters. At this stage of the show, viewers were waiting for something to propel the plot forward, and John as governor seemed like the most logical next step. But he never uses the position in any meaningful way that impacts the story.

Kevin Costner left "Yellowstone" before this storyline could fully play out, leading to an unsatisfying off-screen death. Still, during his brief run as the most powerful man in the state, John had a chance to go full "House of Cards" and use the system to his advantage. Instead, it's mostly just fodder and another big idea that never materialized into anything grander.

Our final entry sees Ryan (Ian Bohen) and Colby (Denim Richards) accidentally kill a couple of protected wolves, a big no-no in their neck of the woods. In reality, the pair would probably explain the mistake to the authorities and take their licks, but "Yellowstone" has the duo (and Rip, of all people) try to cover it up — a lie that draws the attention of federal agents.

Season 5 introduces this mishap early on, teasing it as a major plot point for the rest of the season. For a moment, it feels like this might finally be the thing that brings real legal heat down on the Duttons. Nope. The cover-up, bizarrely, appears to work.

Midway through the season, the entire plotline just vanishes. The authorities grow suspicious when the trackers on the wolves stop working near the Dutton ranch ... and then nothing happens. Maybe they move on, maybe they get paid off, or maybe they just lose interest. Either way, the story goes nowhere. What starts as a real threat just kind of ... fizzles out.