Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, “Give the World Away.”
I thought the penultimate episode ofYellowstonewould be full of exciting, game-changing moments that set up a thrilling series finale, but I was wrong. The end is closer than ever forTaylor Sheridan’s TV show, and the writer continues wasting time the show just doesn’t have. Instead of progressingYellowstoneseason 5, part 2’s most intriguing conflicts and stories,“Give the World Away” is full of unnecessary fluffthat, at the end of the day, is forgettable. No one is going to look back onYellowstone’s penultimate hour and remember exactly what happened during the episode.
Yellowstone
Cast
Yellowstone follows the Dutton family, led by patriarch John Dutton, as they defend their expansive ranch against external threats from land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first national park. Released on July 03, 2025, this series examines the complex dynamics and violent conflicts surrounding the largest contiguous ranch in the United States.
Yellowstoneseason 5’s episode 13 mostly revolves around the auction(which should be much more interesting than it is). Beth’s desperate for money, and her solution is to sell everything they have. By the hour’s end, the Duttons have raised a little over $30 million. It’s enough to hold them over for a year, but after that, the future is unknown. Thankfully, Kayce has a plan to save the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch sooner rather than later. That mysterious reveal is being held fortheYellowstoneseries finale, which makes sense because episode 13 contains little to no excitement.
Episode 13 Doesn’t Make Any Progress On Yellowstone Season 5’s Most Interesting Story
Yellowstone Has Failed Beth & Jamie’s Highly Anticipated War
Prior to its premiere, one ofYellowstoneseason 5, part 2’s most talked-about storylineswas the brewing war between Beth and Jamie. However,the two characters barely shared any screen time in the first five episodes.Jamie does call Beth in episode 13 and yells at her that he knows her secrets (along with John’s and Kayce’s). However, he is just repeating his threats from before. Nothing progresses in their feud here, leaving it up to the finale to somehow dig deeper into the Dutton family war and end it at the same time.
Yellowstone Season 5 May Have Created A Continuity Error With A Character Retcon
After waiting almost two years for Yellowstone season 5, part 2, it might have been easy for the audience to miss one error in the premiere.
The first fiveepisodes ofYellowstoneseason 5, part 2set up Beth and Jamie’s war for failure,which is impressive given the siblings' history. Beth and Jamie’s feud has been building for years, leading to what was supposed to be a satisfying payoff. However, now that their war has finally arrived, the series has slowed down the story for no reason.
Since not much happens [inYellowstoneseason 5, episode 13], the neo-Western drama’s finale has a lot of work to do.
Given that Beth knows Jamie is somehow associated with their father’s death, one would think she would be doing more to seek revenge. Instead, she has just been focused on saving the ranch, which is understandable, but much more boring to watch than the battle between her and Jamie. Meanwhile, Jamie is busy withSarah’s death inYellowstoneseason 5.Episode 13 does nothing to correct these mistakes,putting more pressure on the finale.
Yellowstone Is Neglecting Important Characters (& Focusing Too Much On 1 Insignificant Person)
There Is No Reason Why Travis Should Have So Much Screen Time
Rip is arguably one of the most important characters inYellowstone. However, he has almost no intriguing or complex storylines in season 5, and episode 13 continues neglecting him.It seems as though everything is happening around Rip instead of to him,and the episodes don’t give him much room to react or advance his character arc. Meanwhile,Taylor Sheridan’sYellowstonecharacter, Travis, is getting more screen time than ever.
YellowstoneSeason 5 Episode #
9
10
“The Apocalypse of Change”
11
12
13
“Give the World Away”
14
Taylor Sheridan
June 19, 2025
“Give the World Away” wastes so much time on Beth’s trip to Texas. Ultimately, there is no real reason for Beth to check up on Travis and it feels as if Sheridan just wants his time in the spotlight.The Travis part of the episode does nothing for the plotother than to prove Travis is good at selling horses, which isn’t necessary for us to know. Travis' story is boring and cringeworthy and it just contributes to the hour’s lack of development.
Yellowstone Has Too Much Story To Wrap Up In 1 Episode
Only The Finale Remains
Big moments are hard to find in season 5’s penultimate episode.The auction is one of them. Kayce teasing his plan is probably the hour’s highlight, but even that scene is underwhelming. Since not much happens, the finale has a lot of work to do. The last episode must wrap up various storylines (Yellowstone’s fate,Beth and Jamie’s war, Kayce and Monica’s future, etc.) and give all its characters satisfying endings. Perhaps theYellowstoneseries finale successfully checks all these boxes and is a thrilling hour of TV, but based on episode 13, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.
