The fictionalized character of Garrett Randall in “Yellowstone” created havoc in the Dutton family during its fourth season. He became the main villain in the popular drama series that brought out all the insecurities and fear in one of the Dutton’s children, with the revelation that Jamie Dutton wasn’t John Dutton’s biological son. but Garrett’s. His machinations in his attempt to topple the Yellowstone ranch overlord had led to consequences too horrible to imagine, which he surely never thought would happen.
All about the hit TV drama series, “Yellowstone”
“Yellowstone” was Paramount Network’s first scripted series, which was primarily accessible on its own streaming service, Paramount Plus. It was promoted as a neo-western drama, which was headlined by Academy Award winner Kevin Costner, and made its television premiere on 13 November 2022.
The main story arc of the series
Generations of the Dutton family lived in the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in the state of Montana, It was described as the biggest ranch in the US, and captured the interest of many business entrepreneurs who would like some piece of it by using legal or illegal ways to acquire it. It didn’t help that the vast property was situated in Paradise Valley in Park County where it was bordered by its namesake, the country’s first National Park on one side, an Indian reservation called Broken Rock Reservation on another side, and land developers on a third side. The Dutton family developed enemies over the years, as its widowed patriarch, John Dutton, refused to play their game.
Meet Yellowstone’s main cast of characters
The current generation of the Dutton family includes John Dutton III portrayed by Kevin Costner, who would do everything in his power to protect his property from outsiders, in fulfilling a promise he made to his late father, John Dutton Jr. He was married to Evelyn Dutton, who died on 30 March 1997 in a horse riding accident, and they were blessed with four children.
The eldest, Lee (David Annable), who was supposed to take over the reins from his father, died protecting the land from interlopers during the first season. Jamie (Wes Bentley), the lawyer in the family, became the Attorney General in Montana. Beth (Kelly Reilley), the only daughter in the family, was a former corporate shark for a successful mergers and acquisitions company. Kaycee (Luke Grimes), the rebellious one in the family, married the granddaughter of an Indian elder from the Broken Rock Reservation, which created tension between father and son, causing the son to leave the ranch, but later return home to help the family. Also is Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), the head ranch hand in Yellowstone, whom John trusted the most because the man wouldn’t gain anything from his death.
Garrett Randall and his personal connection with the Dutton family
“Yellowstone” had a great run in its first two seasons but fans never thought that the story would become even more compelling during the third season. It was in this season that the character of Garrett Randall first appeared, and all hell broke loose in the already tumultuous situation in the Dutton family.
Jamie Dutton’s birth secret – Garrett Randall was his biological father
In the seventh episode of the third season, it was revealed that Jamie Dutton was adopted; it happened when his secretary reminded him that the elections division needed a certified copy of his birth certificate, which he had to sign so that the government agency could ratify his appointment as the acting Attorney General. During the process, Jamie couldn’t believe it when the clerk showed him a copy of his birth certificate, even telling the clerk that it wasn’t his, denying that he was adopted. However, the clerk showed him his official adoption papers in which a certain Garrett Randall executed an Affidavit of Waiver of All Parental Rights, Relinquishment of Child, and Consent to Adoption. It was indicated on the paperwork that the adoption rights were awarded to John and Evelyn Dutton and that Garrett Randall waived his right to be notified of the adoption proceeding so it could be heard at any time without his knowledge.
The details about Jamie Dutton’s adoption
James Michael Randall was born on 12 May 1979, at Bozeman General Hospital in Montana. The City Hall clerk advised Jamie not to go hard on his adoptive father for lying to him, showing him another folder containing the criminal record of his biological father, and telling him, ‘I wouldn’t want you to know that either.’ It turned out that Garrett Randall was Jamie Dutton’s biological father, but was adopted by John Dutton when he was just a three-month-old baby, after Garrett killed his wife, Phyllis Mary Randall, Jamie’s biological mother.
John talked about Garrett’s character with Jamie
Jamie confronted John about lying to him all this time, questioning why they called each other father and son. His adoptive father said that it was because he earned it after he and his wife fed him, taught him, and protected him. John admitted that they knew Jamie’s biological parents; they’d tried to stop Phyllis from marrying Garrett, because they knew how rotten his father’s character was, but his mother had a strong attraction to his father, which they couldn’t understand. Garrett ended up beating Phyllis to death with a showerhead pipe.
Garrett finally met the adult Jamie
In the ninth episode entitled “Meaner Than Evil” from the third season, Garrett finally met the adult version of Jamie. After Jamie’s confrontation with John about his adoption, he was advised to look at his biological father’s eyes and decide which one he wanted to call father. Apparently, Garrett was back to living a regular life in Montana, after serving his 30-year imprisonment sentence. Garrett told Jamie that he was grateful that his son took the good parts of him and his mother. He also said, ‘I’ve killed everything I ever loved and everything that ever loved me. You don’t want to know me…son.’
Jamie established a connection with Garrett
Jamie continued to seek answers from his father, curious about his biological family. Garrett informed him that he had cousins in East Montana, a half-brother somewhere, and a grandfather holed up in a nursing facility in Fargo. He also explained why he was forced to kill Jamie’s mother. According to Garrett, he went home and found her in the arms of another lover beside the kitchen sink, having sex while baby Jamie was sucking a crack pipe in between screams. He also told Jamie that his mother sold herself to drugs, and that he believed that the only way Jamie would have a better chance in life was if he killed his wife. This was his justification for the second-degree murder. Father and son started to develop a relationship and Garrett even accompanied Jamie in buying properties around the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch as a way to secure his future out from the shadow of his adoptive father.
Ordered the attacks on the Duttons
Initially, “Yellowstone” fans thought Garrett hatched a plan to kill John and all his biological children because he simply wanted to take the Dutton empire through Jamie, but apparently, he blamed John for the severity and length of his prison sentence. He ordered the hit on the Duttons through his former cellmate Terell Riggins, who was the leader of a militia based in Montana. In the final episode of the third season of the TV series, John and his children, Kaycee and Beth, were attacked. John was shot many times on the road, a bomb exploded in Beth’s office, and Kaycee exchanged fires with assassins in his office. The Duttons didn’t know who ordered the hit, but Beth suspected Jamie because he was the only Dutton who wasn’t targeted. Eventually, all of them including Jamie discovered that it was Garrett Randall who orchestrated everything.
Jamie and Garrett had a confrontation about the hit on the Duttons
After Jamie found out that it was Garrett who ordered the hit, he confronted his father but the latter pretended that he did it for his son, convincing Jamie that the latter should be the one to take over John Dutton’s empire. Things were rocky between John and Jamie, which made it quite easy for Garrett to manipulate his son. Garett told him that John was just using him and that he never loved him. Due to his insecurities and greed, Jamie sided with Garrett to take down the King. Jamie was overwhelmed that for the first time in his life someone was willing to commit murder and mayhem just for him, thinking it was the unconditional love that he felt from his biological father. He even divulged the secrets of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to an investigative reporter. However, at the last minute, he changed his mind, not wantjng to betray his adoptive father. When the reporter didn’t agree to destroy the article, he killed her to maintain the Dutton family secrets.
The three options Beth gave Jamie when it was revealed Garrett ordered the hit
When Beth Dutton discovered Garrett’s machinations, she assaulted Jamie and was flabbergasted as to why he didn’t kill Garrett when he found out about it. For Beth, it was a betrayal like no other. Jamie was on his knees begging, as Beth was raging mad with a gun in her hand. She gave her adoptive brother three choices – first, she would have both Garrett and Jamie arrested by the governor. Second, she would tell Rip Wheeler everything including Jamie’s involvement in why she could no longer have children, which was like giving him a death sentence because Rip would surely kill him. Third, Jamie could kill his own father, so everything would be back to as normal as it could be in the Dutton universe.
Garrett’s death in “Yellowstone”
Jamie, being the coward that he was, chose the third one. He found his biological father at his newly bought property, sitting comfortably on the grass and looking at the river. They had a brief conversation as if nothing was amiss. Garrett’s last words to him were, ‘Don’t you let those fucking Duttons deceive you into thinking you’re a bad man. You’re a good man, son, and I love you.’ Jamie replied, ‘Love you too, Dad.’ He pulled out a gun and shot him in the side of his head, killing him instantly, leaving Jamie sobbing his heart out beside his father’s body.
Garrett’s body ended up in the ‘Train Station’ in Yellowstone Dutton Ranch
His choice was truly reprehensible, but it was self-preservation that pushed him to do it, and he probably considered the Duttons more his family than Garrett. Some fans said that he could easily tell Garrett that Beth blackmailed him and that they could find another way to kill the Duttons but he didn’t. Jamie took his father’s corpse to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch’s so-called ‘Train Station.’ It was the secret code word for the place in the property where they buried all the enemies that they killed; only the family and a few chosen ranch hands knew of the place. Jamie never thought that Beth would be waiting for him to dispose of Garrett’s body, and recorded the whole thing, telling him that it would have been better for him if he took the first two options instead of the third. That very night when Beth went home, John was waiting for her and asked if he still had a son – he knew that Beth was capable of anything, just to protect the family. Beth said that Jamie was still alive, saying ‘Now you own him.’
Can Garrett Randall be trusted? #YellowstoneTV pic.twitter.com/ECdZ3G67k8
— Yellowstone (@Yellowstone) February 19, 2021
Fans argued about a plot hole in the episode regarding the death of Garrett
“Yellowstone” fans discussed in several online forums and social media platforms what they referred to as a plot hole during the episode of Garrett Randall’s death. They couldn’t comprehend why Jamie Dutton and Beth Dutton knew about the ‘Train Station.’ Some fans said that each time it was mentioned in the series, they all assumed that Jamie as the lawyer in the family didn’t know about it due to plausible deniability. They also couldn’t imagine that Rip or any of the Dutton brothers would have told their only sister of that horrible secret. Other fans argued that if Jamie was aware of the place, why did he ask Rip to help him arrange to make the death of the investigative reporter look like a kayaking accident? They could have simply just dumped it at the ‘Train Station.’ If the showrunners followed online forums, fans could expect the issue to be resolved in future episodes.
So much left unanswered in the Garrett-John relationship
The TV show hadn’t explained the relationship of Phyllis to the Dutton family yet. Fans were curious about it, because John also adopted another boy, Rip, even if it wasn’t official, and it took John several years before he referred to him as his son. Why was it different from Jamie’s adoption? John never mentioned that Phyllis was an adulterer or that she was an addict when he discussed her death with Jamie. Interestingly, John was angry at Garrett, and never showed any hint of pity for the ex-convict. Garrett, on the other hand, never explained why Phyllis became like that, or what had occurred before her addiction.
What was apparent was that Garrett had extreme hate towards John Dutton, and that he used his son for his revenge on him. There was one conversation between John and Garrett during a chance meeting in a local diner that made fans salivate to know more about Phyllis Mary Randall. Garrett said, ‘You could have told the truth. You could have told them what she was.’ John replied, ‘She was what you made her.’
Garrett Randal portrayed by Will Patton
The veteran actor Will Patton was tapped to portray one of the interesting characters in “Yellowstone”. and was met with enthusiasm not only from the fans but from its cast as well, especially from its main lead, Kevin Costner. The two were already familiar with each other, as they’d worked together on movie projects, including “No Way Out” in 1987, and “The Postman” in 1998, which was produced and directed by Kevin himself.
In Will’s first few appearances in the third season of the series, viewers had conflicting feelings over his role but later his character turned out to be the main villain of the third and fourth seasons of the show. “Yellowstone” fans were ecstatic to see the two finally having a tense meeting at a diner, and most of them commented on social media that it was fun seeing two great actors trading meaningful barbs in one scene. Will was asked during an interview with Taste of Country online site if he saw Garrett Randall as a good guy. Will said that as an actor, he had to see something good in a character, and elaborated, ‘Why am I doing what I’m doing? I believe in what I’m doing. There’s a reason for this.’ If he didn’t feel that way, he would have a hard time portraying an evil role. During his final scene in the series, Will was a bit concerned for Wes Bentley, who portrayed his son, because it was difficult to kill one’s father, but Wes, he said, was able to deliver the scene wonderfully.
Stand by for the next season of the continuing intriguing story of “Yellowstone”.
