After 1923 season 2’s finale wrapped up the 1920s Dutton saga in April 2025, all the current Yellowstone shows have ended. Kevin Costner’s series concluded without him last year, with Yellowstone season 5’s finale wrapping up loose ends for Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) after their father’s death. The Yellowstone franchise now has three robust finales and three robust endings, but only one saved us the grief of seeing a beloved character pass on in the finale.

Our Favorite Yellowstone Characters Survived The Season 5 & Series Finale

Beth, Kayce, and Rip All Survive Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2

No matter which Dutton is the most likable in your book, it’s probably true that your favorite family member survived Yellowstone’s series finale, if they were alive at the beginning of it. Of course, fan-favorite character and the show’s heartbeat, John Dutton, didn’t survive to the end of the series. John had already passed in Yellowstone season 5, episode 9, the premiere of the second half of the final season. Whether you prefer Beth, Kayce, or maybe even Rip (Cole Hauser), the next generation of Dutton ranchers endured, allowing their stories to continue.

Beth and Rip move to a ranch in Dillon, Montana, at the end of Yellowstone season 5, starting a new operation they will presumably run in their spinoff show, Dutton Ranch, which will air on Paramount+. Kayce also got a fresh start at the end of Yellowstone, putting his role as Livestock Commissioner behind him, and his story will continue on CBS in a procedural series titled Y: Marshals. While Kayce, Beth, and almost all the Yellowstone Ranch cowboys lived, Jamie (Wes Bentley) died. Still, Jamie’s death wasn’t the tragedy that losing other Yellowstone characters was.

1883’s Finale Killed Off The Best Dutton

Elsa Dies At The End Of 1883

Yellowstone’s finale contrasts with the end of Taylor Sheridan’s other series. At the end of 1883, we witness the loss of Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), perhaps the best Dutton ever to grace Montana. Elsa Dutton spearheads the earliest-set Yellowstone prequel, which witnesses the oldest members of the Dutton family tree make a northwest journey along the Oregon Trail to Montana. Elsa is the series’ narrator, and audiences get to know the character intimately, since her narration is filled with insights into her rapidly changing worldview.

Elsa’s death in 1883 caps the series, starting a bit of a trend for Yellowstone. It was the most significant event of 1883’s finale, and a milestone for the franchise. As James’ daughter learns she will die, Elsa wants to choose her burial site, and ultimately establishes the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch via her request. After understanding her character deeply, the audience was devastated to part with Elsa Dutton, making her death a tragedy for the franchise despite its serene and ethereal nature. In 1883’s finale, Elsa dies in James’ arms, then meets her husband, Sam (Martin Sensmeier), in the afterlife.

1923’s Finale Killed Off The Dutton We Wanted To See Survive

Alex Dutton Dies At The End Of 1923

Similarly, we lose Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) at the end of 1923 season 2, and she’s the Dutton that we most wanted to see survive. Alex witnesses horror after horror on her journey through America, braving the worst to reunite with her husband, Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar), and bring him the child she is carrying. While Alex Dutton does make it to Montana in the end, serendipitously reuniting with her husband after flagging down his train, Alex dies of complications from hypothermia, a condition she incurred spending too much time in the unforgiving winter of 1924.

Ultimately, Alex opts not to have her limbs amputated, which could have saved her life. With the decision, we witness the death of the second central Yellowstone character that we hoped would live in the series’ final episode. Now that all three series have ended, it’s clear that Yellowstone didn’t repeat the trend, but it could be that John Dutton’s death was always intended for the finale, before Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone exit. John’s death in the finale would have had more of an impact, as did Alex and Elsa Dutton’s memorable Yellowstone fates.