Fans are still reeling from the Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 premiere on Sunday, but those who think they can figure out the show’s ending are in for a rude awakening.

The show hadn’t aired an episode in nearly two years until its return on Sunday, where fans were stunned upon learning that Kevin Costner’s John Dutton was killed. 

With just five episodes left in the hit show – with the series finale set for December 15 – fans are formulating theories about how the show will come to a close.

There is already a prevalent theory from a scene in the 1883 prequel series that seems to prophesize the show’s end. 

However, Cole Hauser, 49, who plays the rawhide-tough cowboy Rip Wheeler on the Paramount Network series, told Reuters it won’t end how you think it will.

Fans are still reeling from the Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 premiere on Sunday, but those who think they can figure out the show’s ending are in for a rude awakening, according to Cole Hauser (above)

However, Cole Hauser, 49, who plays the rawhide-tough cowboy Rip Wheeler on the Paramount Network series, told Reuters it won’t end how you think it will

‘This show and what they think this season is going to be – everybody has their opinion of it,’ Hauser said.

‘And to be quite honest, none of them are right,’ he said of the show’s ending.

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Sunday’s mid-season premiere was the first episode in nearly two years, since the mid-season finale back on New Year’s Day 2023.

The first half of the season spanned eight episodes with the second half spanning six, bringing the saga of the Dutton family and their iconic ranch to a close.’

The show debuted in 2018 and quickly became one of the H๏τtest shows on television, following this family who controls the largest cattle ranch in the United States.

However last year it was revealed that Costner would not return for the second half of Season 5, as rumors swirled that the actor would only work for one week, which his lawyer Marty Singer vehemently denied.

Still, Costner ultimately confirmed back in June that he would not appear at all in the back half, leaving fans to question how he’ll be written off the show, which was answered immediately in Sunday’s episode.

Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, also revealed that the controversy around Costner’s exit didn’t affect how creator Taylor Sheridan was ending the show. 

‘This show and what they think this season is going to be – everybody has their opinion of it,’ Hauser said

‘And to be quite honest, none of them are right,’ he said of the show’s ending

Kelly Reilly, who plays Beth Dutton, also revealed that the controversy around Costner’s exit didn’t affect how creator Taylor Sheridan was ending the show.

‘The way that Taylor has ended this season is the way he always intended it to,’ Reilly insisted, admitting the timeline was ramped up a bit.

‘The way that Taylor has ended this season is the way he always intended it to,’ Reilly insisted, admitting the timeline was ramped up a bit.

‘So, there was a small pivot that it had to happen sooner, but it then energized us creatively,’ Reilly added.

John Dutton’s death was originally revealed to be a suicide, which immediately angered fans online, though the suicide angle was merely a red herring.

It was revealed later on in that episode that it was Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri) who ordered the hit on Dutton, who thought she was acting at the behest of her new lover, John’s son and Montana Attorney General Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley).

The final episodes of Yellowstone will air Sunday nights at 8 PM ET on Paramount Network until the series finale on December 15.