Tragedy Strikes Beth and Rip In Dutton Ranch Episode 3! Inside Episode 3’s Devastating Ending

Cole Hauser didn’t know if Rip’s plan to hide a random dead body would make any sense. At the end of Dutton Ranch’s two-episode premiere, the former Yellowstone character decides to drop a dead man down a well instead of calling the police—which many viewers found suspicious, since he didn’t commit the crime himself. But according to Hauser, “That secret is to protect Beth and to protect her peace.”

“He didn’t want her to worry” the actor told Radio Times after the premiere. His wife voiced her concerns about whether they could really make a new life work in South Texas, and he’s determined to turn her dreams into reality by whatever means necessary. “I did have an issue with it at first, but… it’s more Rip caring for her,” he said. “He wanted her to enjoy the silence and the difference to what she experienced up in Montana and all the years of responsibility while working for her father.”

Knowing how TV works, it’s certainly a decision that will come back around to bite him in the ass. Until then, I’m just glad to hear this week that everyone’s on board the Dutton Ranch train. It felt like the Taylor Sheridan magic from Yellowstone was back in full effect after just the first 15 minutes, even though I wasn’t sure yet if fans would tag along for the ride. Some of the acting choices in Marshals instill that doubt in you. But just like Beth (Kelly Reilly) dusting off the old Christian Louboutin red bottoms in episode 3, it’s clear which series Paramount saddled up for.

I hope you’re all settled in Rio Paloma, Texas this week, because we have characters all over the map. Greg Yaitaines (Your Friends & Neighbors) directs an episode that bounces around between five different plots, which makes sense because that’s the M.O. over on Neighbors. We learn a bit more about our new characters, take some baby steps toward a war between the Jacksons and the Duttons, and suffer a loss that threatens the end of the Dutton Ranch before it even begins. So, let’s not waste any more time and get right into it.

Killing a Man Is Easy… Unless Rip Moves the Body

At the top of the episode, Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) praises a dead sheriff at his funeral for being “the most citizen of all citizens” in a “town of outlaws.” Funny, because her family is actively covering up the fact that Rob-Will murdered one of his fellow cowboys, Wes (Nakoa DeCoite).

Newly minted sheriff Wade (Josh Stewart) asks her about Wes’s disappearance. She responds, “It’s handled.” She has the police in her pocket, but Wade is “still learning how to be grateful,” he tells her.

Ed Harris’s weathered veterinarian, Everrett, is also in attendance at the memorial service. It seems they used to have a little fling, but I don’t know how serious it was just yet.

Beulah also receives a call from a mysterious, threatening voice. “We have a lot of cattle moving this month. I expect no surprises,” he says. So, she takes the initiative and visits Wes’s widow, only to find that she’s packed her bags and skipped town. “This is a fucking problem,” Beulah says.

Beth Drives to Dallas

Claudio (David DeLao) the butcher delivers Beth some early cuts of meat in a cooler with a “DON’T BE A SHITASS” sticker on it. She takes it right to Hotel Swexen in Dallas. Somehow, she walks right into the kitchen and slams it down on the counter next to the head chef. She offers her $1,500 to cook one perfect ribeye, medium rare, and the chef agrees because restaurant manager Giles (Sebastian Arcelus) is withholding their tips.

Beth could have just thrown human meat on the counter for all she knew, but she serves the steak up to Giles—without an appointment, mind you—and she earns a farm-to-table business partnership on the spot. It doesn’t exactly end there, though. Apparently, the person she really needs to win over is the man who’s in charge of supplying food to the majority of hotels in Texas: Zane Nash. “Zane Nash can be… difficult,” Giles tells her. You don’t say! With a name like Zane Nash?

Joaquin visits Beth next at the very same restaurant, after Beulah tasked him with investigating just how much the Duttons know about their little operation. He lays three phones down on the bar when he sits down. ”Let me guess,” she says. “One for the wife, one for the girlfriend, one for the boyfriend?”

He reveals that his last name is actually Reyes, and the Jacksons raised him like family. I called this one last episode. I guessed he was not only adopted, but another buttoned-up suit like Jamie (Wes Bentley) that Beth would butt heads with. No need to keep ‘em guessing, though. Beth lets us know right away. “You remind me of my father’s attorney,” she says. “It’s not ideal.”

Get Carter

Carter (Finn Little) takes Rip’s advice on women for a spin this week when he meets up with Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind) again. She had another fight with Hoyt (Kyle Dondlinger), and now she’s looking for a way out. “Why date someone you hate so much?” Carter asks her. Fair question. I mean, I must acknowledge that the guy can wrestle a bull pretty damn efficiently. But he does seem like a piece of shit. “Why don’t you save me?” she responds. Girl, it’s your choice.

I must admit: the Sheridan romances are really hit or miss. I said last week that this Romeo & Juliet plot would probably be the weakest link of the series, and it rings true this week. After Carter pisses all over Hoyt’s truck in revenge, I cringed a bit when Oreana said to herself, out loud, “Hell, Oreana, he might be a keeper.”

Anyway, Hoyt chases them away in his boxers while brandishing a gun and promising to kill him. So, I hope the sex after was worth it because it seems like this is just the start. The families aren’t even involved yet.

Zachariah, What Did You Do?

Zachariah (Marc Menchaca) was my favorite character last week. I had a feeling that he was supposed to be, given that writers gave him a line like, “God loves cowboys.” But episode 3 warns viewers to hold their horses. A woman drives up to the Dutton Ranch and holds a gun to Zachariah, criying her eyes out and accusing him of murdering her daughter. Rip begs her to tell him what Zachariah did, exactly—I would like to know as well!—when the man himself cuts in saying that he’s “ready” and it’s “my retribution.”

Rip tells him to shut the fuck up as he talks the woman down, but it isn’t until a decent chunk later in the episode that we hear his side of the story. “We were in love,” Zachariah eventually ponies up around the campfire. “We got in an argument. I was drunk. I was blinded by hurt. I tried to run away. I threw my truck in reverse…” he trails off, but you can guess the rest from there. Sounds like he ran her over with the car.

“It was an accident,” Azul (J.R. Villareal) says. Well, “it don’t feel like an accident,” Zachariah responds.

So, I guess that’s why he was in prison when Rip picked him up. Still, Everrett backs him. “He’s a good man—he’s just done some terrible things.” he says. Rip understands. “I guess that describes most of us.”

By the way, Everrett’s paling around with the Dutton Ranch boys by this point in the episode for a scary reason. Azul finds a cow with foot-and-mouth disease, which Everrett guesses will “burn through your whole damn herd if you don’t act quick.”

One interesting point to note: Even though there hasn’t been a case of FMD in decades, Everrett complains that it’s probably because of all the anti-vaxxers that are running around the country. I know Sheridan didn’t write this episode, exactly, but I always love to see when real-world politics poke through the script because he always surprises you. Some viewers might expect a series like this to not risk taking a side. Here, we have a trained veterinarian telling Rip that there’s a lot of dangers to avoiding vaccinations that extend from our health down to our food source.

So, when Rip finds another infected calf at the end episode, he knows that it could spell doom for the ranch. Even worse, it’s the young calf that he saved from the wildfire.

You know, Rip, maybe it was a bit more reckless to hide that dead body than you thought. Can’t you see you’ve got enough problems as it is?