Warning: Spoilers ahead! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched “Dutton Ranch” episode 8, “Whiskey Limits.”
The seventh episode of the “Yellowstone” spinoff “Dutton Ranch” ended with Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) collapsing at a party. What happened to her – is she dead?
The eighth episode reveals that she’s still alive, and had a heart attack. A medical helicopter transports her from her remote ranch to a hospital.
Called “Whiskey Limits,” the episode follows Beulah as she recovers from her medical incident, which scares her old flame, Everett McKinney (Ed Harris), into making their romance official.
In the previous episode, Beulah was going to leave her ranch, The 10 Petal, to her adopted son, Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba).
However, her volatile drug addict son, Rob-Will (Jai Courtney), pressured her to put him in charge instead.
“Dutton Ranch” follows Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Rip (Cole Hauser) after the events of “Yellowstone,” as they move from Montana to Texas after her father John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) death.
Beulah is their neighbor, and after Beth and Rip lose their cattle herd to disease, they’re temporarily working for her. Beth isn’t happy about Beulah putting Rob-Will in charge, and points out that this “changes things.”
“I didn’t agree to work with your son. I agreed to work with you,” Beth says, calling Rob-Will a “liability.”
Beulah tells Beth that she’s not leaving immediately, “So if you’re willing, I’d love for you to just take it a day at a time.”
On Wednesday, Paramount renewed the show for a Season 2, hailing it as the biggest debut in Paramount+ history.
Per the network, it drew nearly 13 million viewers during its first week streaming, and nearly 3 million viewers airing on Paramount Network, making it the biggest series premiere on cable since 2023.
The show has already had some drama behind the scenes. Although it’s produced by “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, Chad Feehan was the showrunner, and he was quietly let go three weeks before Season 1 premiered.
In an interview published Wednesday, Hauser told The Hollywood Reporter, “Showrunners change all the time.”
Hauser, 51, who is also producing “Dutton Ranch” as well as starring in it, added, “This business is about adapting. We’ve been doing this for a long time. Things change. People move on.”
“Dutton Ranch” episode 8 is now streaming on Paramount+ and airs Friday, June 26 at 8 p.m. on Paramount Network.