Sam Elliot isn’t a big fan of “Yellowstone,” even though he stars in the spin-off series “1883.” What’s the screen legend’s

issue with the show? Well, it’s a bit too much like “Dallas” apparently, which essentially means Elliot likes a little less soapy

melodrama with his neo-Westerns. Luckily for him, his spin-off series hasn’t been anywhere near as melodramatic behind

the scenes as “Yellowstone,” which appears to have transmogrified into a real-life version of the show itself.

Leaving aside the fact that series creator Taylor Sheridan once got into a physical fight with a “Yellowstone” star before suing that same actor for copyright infringement (and glossing over the whole matter of series lead Kevin Costner leaving the show amid a whirlwind of controversy after the end of 2022’s season 5A), “Yellowstone” has struggled towards what may or may not be its final episodes amid similarly contentious circumstances. The long-awaited season 5B is set to debut on November 10, 2024, almost two years after the first half of the season wrapped up. Delayed by the Hollywood strikes of 2023, and Costner’s aforementioned exit, the second half of season 5 was originally set to be the series’ swan song.

At this stage, nobody knows whether “Yellowstone” will actually end with season 5B, with Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler actors Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser in talks to front a potential sixth season of the show. Regardless, this next run of episodes will certainly mark the end of an era for “Yellowstone,” and it seems Reilly has some ideas about how Beth’s story should end with it.

The questions surrounding Yellowstone season 5B

Despite talk of a potential sixth season of “Yellowstone,” Taylor Sheridan always envisioned his series lasting just five seasons, which is part of the reason why Kevin Costner’s “Yellowstone” exit shouldn’t alter the final episodes too drastically. According to Kelly Reilly, the show creator had five seasons of the “Yellowstone” story mapped out before the series even went into production, with the actor telling Entertainment Weekly:

“It was always going to be five seasons in [Sheridan’s] head. But because the show became so successful, the network and everyone wanted more. So, in a way, fate took it and we ended this part of ‘Yellowstone’ in a way that he always envisioned it to end.”

How, exactly, does the show wrap up? Fans are eagerly awaiting season 5B to find out, and even much of the cast were kept in the dark in that regard, with Paramount going to great lengths to prevent leaks from the “Yellowstone” set by handing out redacted scripts. The biggest question is what will happen to Costner’s John Dutton III, but almost as intriguing is the question of what will happen to Beth herself.

John’s fierce, firebrand of a daughter has been in a relationship with Cole Hauser’s Rip Wheeler for some time, and the pair may or may not become the leads of the show should a sixth season go ahead. For now, however, season 5B will surely give the couple some sort of conclusion, just in case that new season never materializes. In the meantime, Reilly has envisioned her own end to Beth’s story, which would see the tenacious Dutton daughter finally get some rest.

Kelly Reilly wants Beth Dutton to chill

While Paramount has managed to keep the storyline of “Yellowstone” season 5B under wraps, we at least know that when we see Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler again, they’ll be doing ok. Kelly Reilly spoke to Entertainment Weekly about Beth and her relationship with Rip, saying:

“They’re great. He’s her main source of joy and happiness. She loves him with all her soul and it is such a beautiful place for me to explore other sides of Beth. We all know the fighter, we all know that side of her, but she is vulnerable with her man and loves him from a very different place, I’d say, from the healthiest part of her she loves him, the purest part of her.”

With that and the fact Reilly and Hauser are in talks to continue as the stars of “Yellowstone,” the happy couple will almost certainly make it out of season 5B alive. That also means Beth will likely have to step up to fill the hole left by her father’s departure moving forward. For Reilly, however, she hopes for a much more restful end to Beth’s story. “If she didn’t have the burden of the ranch and fighting for it, what would she want?” Reilly wondered, adding:

“What she wants is a very simple, quiet life on a piece of land that nobody wants and just to be with him. It’s unlike anything you would’ve imagined this woman wanted, but actually, that’s who she is. “

The actor also teased some “tidbits for a potential future” in season 5B, but just what that means remains as mysterious and complex as “Yellowstone” season 5B itself. All will be revealed when the new episodes start airing on November 10, 2024.