Garrett Randall (Will Patton) appears halfway through Yellowstone, bringing more instability to Jamie Dutton’s (Wes Bentley) life and while I was glad to see Garrett go, his death also revealed just how treacherous Jamie had grown. Jamie Dutton is the black sheep of the Dutton family in Yellowstone and his few moments of being a good person are often quickly overshadowed by when he does something cowardly or violent that places him right back in the crosshairs of John (Kevin Costner), Beth (Kelly Reilly), and the audience. He’s a tough character to root for, even if his childhood was difficult.

Jamie, like many of the people who work at Yellowstone and who are members of the Dutton family, was an orphan. Were it not for John, Jamie might have never escaped his situation. John gave Jamie an education, sent him to an Ivy League school, and paid for him to become a lawyer. Whether John did this out of the kindness of his heart or because he saw a way to groom an intelligent, loyal soldier for his ranch is unclear. John’s a father figure to Jamie, but he’s not Jamie’s biological father. That honor belongs to Garrett Randall.

Garrett Randall’s Life Before And After The Start Of Yellowstone
Randall Murdered Jamie’s Mother To “Protect” Jamie

Garrett Randall first appeared in Yellowstone season 3, episode 9, “Meaner Than Evil”, an episode with one of the darkest moments in Yellowstone. Garrett isn’t a part of the lynching of Wade Morrow (Boots Southerland) but his arrival signals more grim events to come. Despite John and the rest of the Duttons urging Jamie not to contact his birth father, when he discovers Garrett’s location, he can’t help himself. It’s a surprisingly happy reunion between the two and Garrett explains the circumstances of Jamie’s early life.

According to Garrett, Jamie’s mother Phyllis was addicted to crack cocaine and when Garrett returned from work one evening, he found Jamie attempting to suck on a crack pipe. His mother was nowhere to be found and Garrett later discovered she was performing sex acts to earn money for more drugs. In a rage, Garrett killed Phyllis and was sentenced to 30 years to life for murdering his wife. The way Garrett tells it, he was protecting his son from his mother. Garrett always blamed John Dutton for not standing up for him in court.

In prison, he met Terrell Riggins (Bruno Amato) and hired him to plan the attack on the Duttons, which failed. John tells a different story. Phyllis was someone John and his family knew growing up, and it’s possible they were fairly close. John tried to talk Phyllis out of marrying Garrett, as he was a known bad influence, and it was Garrett who led Phyllis down her destructive path. Either way, Garrett considers himself innocent and Jamie believes his story for a time, allowing his father to live with him and meet Jamie’s child.

Jamie Killed His Father For His Adoptive Family
Garrett Never Saw His Death Coming

When it’s discovered Garrett planned the hit on the Duttons, Jamie thinks he is given a choice. Side with his biological father, or with his adoptive family. However, Jamie could take another route and take responsibility for his actions. Of course, Jamie’s violent impulses get him in trouble. Without considering the other options, Jamie decides to kill Garrett. While Garrett is looking out over the ranch with his son, Jamie quietly pulls out a gun and shoots his birth father in the head, before secretly disposing of the body at the Train Station.

It’s one of the most shocking deaths in Yellowstone and while you may have assumed Garrett would eventually die, the manner of his death was a surprise. Jamie didn’t need to do this, at least he didn’t need to do it himself. What’s worse, is Beth takes photos of Jamie throwing his father off the Train Station cliff, later using that information to blackmail Jamie.

Jamie Is Yellowstone’s Biggest Villain
Jamie Uses Violence At Every Opportunity And Never Thinks Ahead

Jamie is arguably the biggest villain in Yellowstone. Sure, characters like Neal McDonough’s Malcolm Beck and Dawn Olivieri’s Sarah Atwood are levels of vile and dangerous, but Jamie presents the biggest obstacle to the Dutton’s success in Yellowstone, and he does it while being a wholly unlikeable character. Jamie has no loyalty to anyone. First, it seems like he wants the best for the Duttons, and then he throws that away for his birth father. Then he seems attached to Garrett, and then he puts a bullet in his head. It’s never clear who or what Jamie stands for.

He has no moral compass, Jamie has no compass to speak of, and that lack of direction makes him unstable and completely unreliable.

As the series continues on, he makes mistake after mistake. Some of his mistakes are born out of stupidity and ignorance, like falling for Sarah Atwood. Other times his mistakes come from thinking he knows best, like when he had Beth sterilized without her knowing it. Then there are times when his childish rage manifests into real violence, like when he kills the journalist, Sarah Nguyen (Michaela Conlin), in season 2, episode 6, “Blood the Boy”. He has no moral compass, Jamie has no compass to speak of, and that lack of direction makes him unstable and completely unreliable.

As Bentley says about his character (via TasteOfCountry),

“Where Jamie is so unstable and lacks confidence that he could do anything and blow something up.”

Jamie could do anything at any moment, never considering the risk, which is what makes him so dangerous. He could turn around and blow away his biological father after only knowing him a few weeks because he thinks it’s the right thing to do.

What Has Will Patton Done Post-Yellowstone And Garrett Randall?
Patton Reunited With Kevin Costner For Horizon: An American Saga

Will Patton, who most viewers will recognize as coach Bill Yoast in Remember the Titans, has kept himself busy after leaving Yellowstone in 2022. On TV, he’s a recurring character in the science fiction neo-Western, Outer Range, as Wayne Tillerson, and is also a recurring character, Deputy Marnes, in Silo. He reprised his role as Deputy Frank Hawkins from Halloween Kills in Halloween Ends.

Notably, Patton reunited with Costner in the actor/director’s epic Western franchise, Horizon: An American Saga, playing Owen Kittredge in the first two films, and he’ll reappear in the upcoming Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. Garrett Randall in Yellowstone probably won’t be Patton’s legacy, but it’s still another memorable addition to his eclectic stable of characters.