Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 7 gave viewers some valuable insight into Rip (Cole Hauser) on Sunday night (Dec. 18), and it also saw the show getting back into its usual groove after a season that's been a little bit hard to settle into.

What Happens on Yellowstone in Season 5?

So far, Season 5 of Yellowstone has been all over the place, making it tough to find a narrative thread in some of the disparate action that's been going on. Episode 7, by contrast, provides some much-needed continuity and finds Yellowstone Season 5 getting back on track and back into the pacing, tone and feel of the show we've all come to love over the course of the first four seasons.

What Happens With Beth Dutton in Season 5 of Yellowstone?

Beth (Kelly Reilly) has been one of the prime sources of consternation during Season 5 of Yellowstone, with her usual level of crazy ratcheted up to the point where it's less entertaining and more off-putting. Episode 7 provides some resolution to that in a way, particularly in an unexpectedly tender scene in which Beth tells Monica (Kelsey Asbille) that the reason she never directs her vitriol toward her is that "you don't need it."

That leads into a scene where Beth empathizes with Monica by telling her about her own loss, an unexpected moment of real vulnerability that forces us to remember that underneath all of Beth's maelstrom of crazy lies a pretty decent person at her core.

What Happens With Rip During Yellowstone Season 5?

Episode 7 of Yellowstone Season 5 begins with a flashback in which Rowdy (Kai Caster) says something inappropriate to young Rip (Kyle Red Silverstein) about young Beth (Kylie Rogers), resulting in a fight that escalates into unexpected brutality and ends in tragedy. In that scene, viewers gain a key new insight into Rip and why he's as fiercely loyal to the Duttons — particularly John (Kevin Costner) — as he is. We also see that Rip has been Beth's fiercest advocate and defender since very early on, a role that he seems destined to play for life.

What's Going on With Jamie and Sarah Atwood on Yellowstone?

Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) and Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) continue to grow closer in Season 5 of Yellowstone, but their union is rocked by the news that John has placed the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch into a conservation easement, which is essentially a checkmate for Market Equities' plans to develop some of the land nearby.

Or ... is it? We start to see a bigger picture of what Sarah has in store for the Duttons when she suggests that the resulting lawsuits and potential $4 billion settlement might bankrupt the State of Montana — and since it's happening because of John's actions, that might be an impeachable offense, clearing the way for Jamie to finally become governor. But first, he'll have to call for his father's impeachment.

What Happens With Abby and Ryan on Yellowstone?

Episode 7 sees the budding romance between Abby (Lainey Wilson) and Ryan (Ian Bohen) in full bloom, but by the end of the episode, it appears to be over after he reveals he's going to be gone for most of the coming year on a special assignment.

What's Happening at the Reservation on Yellowstone?

Yellowstone Season 5 has seen trouble building at the Broken Rock Reservation, and it spills over on Episode 7 when Senator Perry (Wendy Moniz) tells Chairman Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) that the government has approved two pipelines that are slated to go right through the native lands, which surely won't help him as he faces real challenges to his power.

What's Going on With John Dutton on Yellowstone Season 5?

John Dutton is still laying low and trying to avoid his new responsibilities as governor as Season 5 nears its mid-point on Yellowstone, but he's facing a serious new challenge at the ranch after some of the cattle herd might have developed a bovine disease that makes it where they have to be separated. When Beth points out that the ranch simply won't have the money to continue down that path, they clash, and she sounds remarkably like Jamie when she points out that John is pursuing an outdated, money-losing business model, and has been for a long time.

What's Going on With Summer Higgins on Yellowstone Season 5?

Episode 7 finds Summer Higgins coming to an even greater understanding of why the Duttons do what they do, after getting her hands dirty by helping out with branding and vaccinating the calves. By the end of the episode, she and John are also reaching a new place, taking their somewhat hesitant relationship into the territory of a real romance.

What's Coming up on Yellowstone?

Yellowstone is taking a break for Christmas before returning, with the mid-season finale set to air on Jan. 1, 2023. The previews show a confrontation building as Jamie tells Beth that John is now the biggest threat to the ranch and that he is going to remove that threat. Beth tells John that Jamie has "declared war," and he agrees. John asks Kayce for his "help," which is usually code for "people need to be killed" — and whose body is that that we see get dumped at the end of the previews?

There are still plenty of unresolved questions leading into the mid-season finale of Yellowstone. Season 5 is an extra-long season of 14 episodes that will air in two arcs.

As part of Taste of Country's comprehensive coverage of all things Yellowstone, check out our Dutton Rules podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

You Can Rent a Cabin on the Ranch From 'Yellowstone' - See Pictures

The stunning Montana ranch that serves as the setting for the hit TV show Yellowstone offers cabins for rent, and the price includes tours of the set and ranch. Scroll below to see photos of the extraordinary property.

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