#Yellowstone Season 3 Episode 6 Review: All For Nothing

The struggle over the land of the Western United States continues on Yellowstone Season 3 Episode 6.

People are after the land from all directions, and even Beth had to concede that it’s all a matter of perspective.

None of them are bad; they’re just different.

But it’s always a win when the plight of the ranchers or cowboys and the Native Americans are married.

There have always been sympathetic adaptions about the issues from both sides. But that doesn’t mean we understand them as well as we should.

Yellowstone shows that there is validity in both plights, and heck, even the money-grubbers who want to raze the majesty of the west to the ground aren’t evil. They merely have different priorities.

The best episodes of this series come when the Duttons and the interests of the Reservation are not on opposing sides, but working together to fight a greater threat.

Whether it’s developers or something more personal, such as combating violence against women, these episodes always prove that they have a lot more in common than they’re often willing to admit.

Kayce and Monica are the Romeo and Juliet of our story, and it’s been interesting as they find their way in their combined world to which neither of them is yet fully adapted.

Kayce wants to provide for his family and honor his father. Monica wants her son to have all of the benefits of his heritage, but she’s had a difficult time determining how to living within both worlds herself.

So when a young woman goes missing from the reservation, Rainwater can ask Kayce for assistance, and the two groups can put their differences aside for the greater good.

It’s a heartbreaking story, but it provides an in for Monica to use her education and compassion to help her people. She hoped that she could get through to white students while teaching, but with their heads buried in their phones, they weren’t open to what she had to give.

Monica’s guilt at leaving the Reservation and living in luxury at the ranch digs at her, but she can use her expanded viewpoint to shine a light on Native American atrocities. She’s a Dutton, and people listen to Duttons.

Kayce: There’s monsters everywhere in this world. You just gotta kill ’em when you find ’em.

Monica: You can’t find ’em. Hell, they don’t even have enough police to look for the victims, and here I am sittin’ in this swimmin’ pool of a bathtub.

Kayce: Well, you can’t make it your fault, baby.

Monica: I’m not makin’ it my fault; I’m makin’ it my problem.

Kayce: You know we can’t stop the world from bein’ bad, Monica.

Monica: Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

It seems as if this new direction will have to have an impact on how Roarke and friends view their transaction and its success or failure. It’s not very often that stories involving the Duttons and the Native Americans are positioned without relating to the theme of the season.

It seems as if the future of both lies with the union of Kayce and Monica. Do you agree with that? And how do you imagine their joint efforts can allow both of their heritages to flourish?

I realize that the show is about the Yellowstone and the lift of Americans in the west, but I’d love the story to expand (perhaps a spinoff?) that would give us as much insight into life on the Reservation as we get with by peeking into the bunkhouse.

Syla’s family is a decent jumping-off point, but we still know relatively little about the life that Monica and Kayce were living before returning to Kayce’s birthright.

The Yellowstone offers so many colorful characters, and I’d wager Taylor Sheridan could do a lot with life on the Reservation, too.

So let’s take a little detour to the bunkhouse and our latest buckle bunny, Lloyd!

Laramie: Can you toss me a water, babe? [Lloyd tosses her a water] Thank you, sugar.

Lloyd: [to Jimmy] Damn. Two dances, and here I am haulin’ ’em to the arena, saddlin’ their horses, sittin’ in the bleachers watchin’ ’em. Now I’m the damn buckle bunny.

It’s always so much fun hanging around with Lloyd and Jimmy. The more we know about both, the easier it is to understand why Lloyd took Jimmy under his wing.

The cowboy saw something special in Jimmy, and he wasn’t wrong. Jimmy has the heart of a cowboy, and I love the way the two men connect.

It was pretty obvious that Laramie was going to fall for someone in the bunkhouse, but I thought maybe asking Lloyd to dance was a one-off. Not so much! That girl saw what she wanted, and she took it.

Barrel racers are the female rockstars of the rodeo in the same way bronco riders are the male rockstars. That’s why Mia saw beyond Jimmy’s inexperience and shyness. They recognized in each other kindred spirits.

It seems the same can be said for Laramie and Lloyd. He’s putting up a fuss at following her around, but their hearts are equally matched. Does age have to be a factor? I hope not. The antics they can all get up to is too exciting to pass up.

All this talk of a cowboy’s way of life also circles directly around John Dutton and his family, even if they live a lot better than the average cowboy.

Now that the cat is out of the bag about Beth and Jamie, there’s no stopping them talking about it.

John is doing everything in his power to save the life he’s created with the hope that it would carry on for generations.

He was asking Beth to teach Kayce and learn to trust Jamie so that they could all do their parts to ensure John’s legacy.

But this family carries a lot of secrets, and they’re not often honest with each other. I’d daresay that John hasn’t expressed how much it means to him to have a house filled with grandchildren, either.

To what end have Beth, Jamie, and Kayce thought that he was clinging to the place if not for them to carry it forward?

That’s why he’s put so much faith into Kayce. At one point, John tried to separate Kayce and Monica and end her pregnancy, but he did it out of fear that Kayce was marrying a Native American. It messed with his expectations.

Now we know that he’s been stewing about the future because only his youngest has taken the right steps to ensure the Yellowstone will continue.

John’s reaction to the news about Jamie and Beth was rather shocking. He wasn’t overtly angry at Jamie. Given his history, it would be hypocritical, at best. He was angry because he saw all of his hard work going down the toilet.

It’s all for nothin’. Everything I’ve done, it’s all for nothin’.
John

John made it about him and his legacy instead of the pain that Beth suffered as a result of Jamie’s decision. That was unexpected, but it shouldn’t have been.

Also telling was that he still recalled Lee’s decision not to marry or reproduce, and suggested that part of the reason he isn’t keen on Jamie is that he thinks Jamie will take the same path as Lee.

John: All the promises I’ve made in my life son. If I didn’t love your mother so much, I’d break it. I swear to God, I’d break it.

Jamie: Did somethin’ happen? I don’t understand.

John: What happens in 30 years, Jamie? When you and your brother and your sister are too old to fight for this place, and Tate has to fight for it on his own?

Jamie: What are you, what are you talking about?

John: Lee wouldn’t marry, didn’t want children, and I doubt you will either. Now your sister can’t. She can’t because of you!

Little does he know that Jamie’s already got a bun in the oven. Will that news tip the scales for Jamie? It seems callous, especially after learning of Jamie’s callous behavior toward Beth’s womanhood. But he educated his kids, Jamie included, so they’d play very specific roles in securing the future of the Yellowstone.

If he discovers there might be a chance Jamie’s kid could come into play, it might change the way he views his son. Then again, he mentioned a promise he made to his wife that he’d love to break. To keep Jamie safe, apparently, but why?

At the moment, though, Jamie is so caught up in his own shit that he seems to have forgotten there is a baby on board.

But as much as Jamie hears and scrutinizes every word that John says, did he hear John’s accusation that by harming Beth he’d helped destroy John’s legacy? He must have heard the comment about not having children, or John wouldn’t have said it.

It’s possible things are about to get a whole lot uglier. If Beth discovers that Jamie has a kid on the way, she will swing all of her pent up rage in that direction.

Part of it will be guilt. She could have made a different decision about her baby years ago. She wants to blame it all on Jamie, but she had a hand in her fate, too. That’s the sharpest barb of all.

Still, Jamie’s failure to see what he did wrong is incredibly disturbing. John should be kicking himself in the ass because he failed as a parent. His kids are messed up on more levels than we can uncover in three seasons.

Jamie: I should have said no. That’s what I should have done. Because then you couldn’t blame me for doing exactly what you asked me to do!

Beth: I didn’t ask you for a fuckin’ hysterectomy. You know, when you consider the pain that you cause a person the person’s fault? That’s evil, Jamie.

Jamie refused to admit he could have made another choice regarding Beth’s pregnancy, again making it all about him. Instead of shouldering the burden of his mistake, he threw Beth’s request for help into his face. It’s despicable.

And when John railed into him, his response was “All I do is give!” Everything is done TO Jamie as if he has no agency over his life. Once upon a time, that may have been true, but he has had time to pull himself together and stand on his own. He just chose not to.

What are your theories from here? Will Jamie continue salivating at the mouth over $500 million if he realizes that with a child, he could have more relevance inside of his family?

Willa didn’t think much of how Roarke handled the land deal, but the way she accepted Jamie as the leader of the family proves she did no reconnaissance, either.

With only four (sob) episodes left to Yellowstone Season 3, I’m at a loss as to how it will end. What about you?

If you need to watch Yellowstone online, get to that so we can discuss it. Then, drop below and share your thoughts.

Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.