John Dutton’s Yellowstone funeral didn’t include 1 forgotten character. The family’s patriarch and the soul of the series died in the Yellowstone season 5, part 2 premiere, with a crime scene at the Montana governor’s mansion sealing Kevin Costner’s exit. Still, Beth and her brother had some peace of mind about their father’s death since Kayce helped to reopen the investigation into John III’s fate as a homicide.

After the family and cowboys get closure about the cause of John’s death, Tate, Carter, and the rest of the family gather to bid their hero farewell. Beth and the other family members take turns saying their final words to the fifth-generation Dutton, who will be the last family member of the Dutton family tree to be buried at the clan’s heirloom ranch. Almost everyone who mattered to the patriarch gathered to pay their respects. That said, John’s funeral was missing a key figure.

Jimmy Didn’t Attend John Dutton III’s Actual Funeral In Yellowstone
The Former Yellowstone Cowboy Left Before The Service

Despite being significantly impacted by his death, cowboy Jimmy Hurdstrom didn’t attend John Dutton’s funeral in the Yellowstone finale. When the news about John’s death got out, Taylor Sheridan’s Travis Wheatley broke the news to Jimmy after learning about it from Rip Wheeler. From there, Jimmy got a week off from work to grieve his former employer.

We see Jimmy processing how he wants to handle John III’s death, remarking he’d prefer to get back on his horse and work than take time off during the week to grieve. That said, Yellowstone didn’t follow the development by featuring Jimmy at John’s funeral, despite already being in Montana. Instead, the Texas-made cowboy climbs back into Travis’ pickup to travel back to the Bosque Ranch at the beginning of Yellowstone season 5, episode 14, departing just before John III’s final farewell.

Why Jimmy Totally Deserved To Be Part Of John’s Funeral (Even Though He Wasn’t Part Of The Ranch Anymore)
John Dutton Meant A Lot To Jimmy

While it makes sense that Jimmy has work to do back in Texas, showing the cowboy at John’s funeral was more than justified. John III was a crucial figure in Jimmy’s life, bringing him to work at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch as a favor to his grandpa. Yellowstone viewers see the fan-favorite character’s story develop over four seasons in Montana until Jimmy leaves for Texas in Yellowstone season 4, where he becomes a proper cowboy and decides to stay after making his life down south.

The character’s absence signals a missed opportunity to highlight one of Yellowstone and John Dutton’s best cowboys, even if Jimmy is no longer living in the bunkhouse.

Before his story broke off in season 4, setting up the character to star in Sheridan’s 6666 spinoff, Jimmy was one of the most essential figures on the ranch. Jimmy starts the series as an outsider, which viewers can relate to, so it’s all the more appropriate to show him grieving the loss of the series’ main star after all these years. The character’s absence signals a missed opportunity to highlight one of Yellowstone and John Dutton III’s best cowboys, even if Jimmy is no longer living in the bunkhouse.