If Forced To Choose, Rip Will Always Pick Beth Over John

It remains to be seen what sort of “Yellowstone” scenario could ever force Rip Wheeler to choose between his boss and father figure John Dutton, and his love for John’s daughter Beth. But given the chess board Taylor Sheridan has set up heading into what could be the show’s final run of episodes, the possibilities abound as various outside forces continue to try and bend the Duttons to their own wills. 

Possibilities aside, Sheridan will need to conjure a serious narrative twist of fate if fans are to believe Rip would forsake John in any real-world scenario. That’s because Sheridan has spent the first four-and-a-half seasons of “Yellowstone” proving there’s literally nothing Rip wouldn’t do at John’s behest, including personally dropping countless Dutton problems off at the old “train station.” And through the series’ various flashback scenes, we’ve come to understand why Rip is so completely devoted to the man as the Dutton patriarch has, for better and worse, gone out of his way to give Rip the life he has as an adult.

So seemingly unbreakable is their bond, Cole Hauser himself went on record stating his belief Rip would never turn on John, offering an emphatic “No,” when asked that very question by Taste of Country. But if all those flashbacks have taught us anything, it’s that Beth Dutton is Rip’s one legitimate blind spot, which makes her a potential wildcard in any nefarious plans the Duttons’ many enemies might be forging.