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Did Colby die in Yellowstone?

The following story contains spoilers for Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12, “Counting Coup.”


AS YELLOWSTONE FURTHER his march towards what theoretically could (and maybe should) be the end of the show, One would think that with the end of the second half of season five, valuable screen time would be used to at least begin to wrap up the many storylines that are still unresolved. But that’s not it Yellowstone does, or what Yellowstone did.

Instead of all that, Yellowstone I decided that Season 5, Episode 12, “Counting Coup,” was a good time to create an entirely new problem by having ranch hand Colby (Denim Richards), a staple of the series since season one, die after being thrown from a horse was trampled down. It was a noble death as it helped the overwhelmed and inexperienced young cowboy Carter (Finn Little), but still as this storyline was unmotivated and completely unhinged nowhere, It makes us wonder, uh, Why?

Since there are only two episodes left in season 5 of Yellowstone (and possibly/probably the series as a whole) it seems like the wrong time to randomly kill off an otherwise uninvolved supporting character and spend most of the episode informing people of and mourning his untimely death. Aren’t there other important things to complete? Well, at least Kayce got to put a gun in a little girl’s face at the end of the episode, so there’s that. But I digress.

All that did happen. And Colby is no longer with us. Poor Teeter.

Did Colby really die? Yellowstone?

Yellowstone Colby Death Why Season 5 Episode 12

Of utmost importance

Getting back to our main topic: Yes, Colby actually died in the final episode of Yellowstone. When Carter tried to get water for an unruly and hard-to-tame horse, the horse began to react – and Colby, the experienced cowboy, just happened to be in the right place at the right time (to save Carter), but also in the wrong place at the wrong time (because he was eventually trampled and killed).

Actor Denim Richards, who plays Colby, confirmed it on his Instagram. “Grateful🙏🏾✊🏾🙏🏾,” he wrote in a short but bittersweet caption.

Why? Yellowstone Kill Colby?

Yellowstone Colby Death Why Season 5 Episode 12

Of utmost importance

Right in the foreground, while Colby’s death comes as a complete surprise Yellowstone and creates a new storyline and theme that wasn’t there at all before, there was also the possibility for emotional moments between other characters. Apparently, Teeter (Jen Landon), who was romantically involved with Colby, experiences an emotionally devastating moment. Rip (Cole Hauser) is sad for a moment, feeling like he has failed not only Colby, but his entire stable of cowboys. Carter and Beth (Kelly Reilly) share a heartfelt moment in a place that is extremely important to her. And Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Tate (Brecken Merrill) have an important and heartfelt conversation about death.

But that Yellowstone Powers also explained the reasons behind the shocking decision to kill off a character who has been part of the series since the beginning.

“In a season where there are all these twists and dark forces and huge narrative shifts, Colby’s death is so powerful because it’s so simple,” says Christina Voros, executive producer and director of all four Yellowstone Season 5, part 2 episodes so far, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview. “For anyone who really understands the cowboy lifestyle and working with animals and the risks of the job – and Rip says this about himself – it’s a dangerous job and something like this happens in a split second.”

Your explanation makes sense. It’s just that such a shocking narrative choice probably would have worked better in the middle of a season, when there’s still a lot of show to come – and not when things theoretically need to come to an end. We still have two episodes left Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2, and we just have to see how they try to get this jet from unknown air onto some kind of runway.

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