This article contains spoilers for “Yellowstone” season 5 part 2, episode 11.
“Yellowstone” season 5 part 2 opens with John Dutton (Kevin Costner) lying dead next to a toilet. We’re led to believe he took his own life, but it’s later revealed that the ruthless Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri), on behalf of Market Equities, put a hit out on him. Many “Yellowstone” fans have wanted to see Atwood get taken out of the picture since then, but viewers probably didn’t expect it to happen in episode 11, “Three Fifty-Three.”
The bad guys always get what’s coming to them on “Yellowstone,” but Atwood’s sudden demise is pretty shocking as it was so unexpected. The grisly moment occurs after she gets into a fight with Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) and storms out of his house. Shortly after, she is gunned down by assassins posing as lost drivers in the neighborhood, and the episode ends with Jamie crying on the phone. Atwood seemed primed to be a thorn in the Duttons’ side for a while longer, so all bets are off now.
Given that she wasn’t killed by any of the Duttons’ known allies, it’s possible that Atwood’s assassination was arranged by some foes from the political or corporate worlds. At the same time, we can’t rule out the Duttons’ involvement either, as they’re a sneaky bunch. Regardless of who killed her, Olivieri never anticipated Atwood living happily ever after anyway.
Dawn Olivieri accepts Sarah Atwood’s death on Yellowstone
Kevin Costner wasn’t kept in the loop about John Dutton’s death, but Dawn Olivieri was more than prepared for her character’s shocking exit from “Yellowstone.” Series creator Taylor Sheridan has a tendency to cast her in doom-laden roles, and she’s fine with it because she trusts the prolific showrunner’s vision. That said, the performer believes that viewers will get a kick out of seeing Sarah Atwood getting whacked in “Three Fifty-Three.”
“I always sort of know it’s coming,” Olivieri told The Hollywood Reporter. “And to read it is like, ‘OK, here we go.’ We got what we all wanted. I think everyone is happy that the train station came.”
“Yellowstone” fans were furious in the wake of John’s death, so seeing Atwood getting her just desserts might bring them some closure. However, “Three Fifty-Three” also returns to the night John was killed, and it’s far from the epic send-off he arguably deserved. Still, season 5 is proving to be bold and unpredictable, and with John and Atwood out of the picture, there is no way of telling who will live or die moving forward.
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