The season finale of Paramount Network’s Yellowstone offered a medley of memorable moments, but the explosive conclusion to the long-simmering feud between Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) was worth the wait. There ain’t no brawl like a sibling brawl, am I right? Despite Season 5, Episode 14 being the final installment of this iteration of Taylor Sheridan’s popular Western saga, the episode was billed as a “season” (not series) finale.
On December 11, Deadline reported that the Yellowstone universe would continue with a spinoff series starring fan favorites Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser (Beth and Rip). Exact details are still forthcoming, but the new show will likely include additional cast members from the mothership series.
The first episode of Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 included a tribute card for legendary loriner Billy Klapper, who died on September 10, 2024, at age 87. The finale also had a tribute card, with the episode beginning with a dedication to renowned horseman Bob Avila.
Avila, who passed away on November 9, 2024, at 72 while attending the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship, briefly appeared on Yellowstone during the cold open for the Season 3 episode “I Killed a Man Today.” His cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
One of the industry’s best-known horsemen, Avila was an American Quarter Horse Association Hall of Famer, two-time World’s Greatest Horseman, two-time AQHA Professional Horseman of the Year, a member of the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s Hall of Fame, and trained champions in AQHA, NRHA, NRCHA, NCHA, and various other associations.
“Horses have given me everything I have,” Avila said, per the American Quarter Horse Association. “Quarter Horses have helped make me what I am. They have been my life’s work and I owe them everything.”
“I saw the ‘Bob Avila Effect’ in action, not only at his barn where we conducted our annual shoots for his Winning Insights department that appeared in every issue of H&R since well before I joined the team, but in almost every Western trainer I encountered,” Jennifer Paulson wrote in an article titled “Remember Bob Avila” for Horse&Rider. “When I boil down what I learned from Bob and what I’ve heard other horsemen and horsewomen, both professional and non pro, say about Bob, it comes down to four traits: Commitment to excellence, expert care of his stock, shrewd business sense, and willingness to share his knowledge. These things will forever cement his legacy and continue to shape the horse world.”
RIP to a legend. See you down the dusty trail, Amigo.
Season 5, Part 2 episodes of Yellowstone are available on-demand on Philo. Season 1 of 1923 is streaming on Paramount+ and airs Sunday nights on Paramount Network. The second season of 1923 premieres February 23, 2025, on Paramount+.
