Yellowstone viewers appalled by major character’s death at beginning of final season: ‘That’s so savage’

*Warning – Major spoilers ahead for Yellowstone season five, part two, ahead*

Questions over Kevin Costner’s involvement in the second part of Yellowstone’s fifth and final season were answered almost immediately in the series’ return on Sunday.

At the start of the ninth episode, titled “Desire Is All You Need,” Costner’s family patriarch John Dutton is found dead in the bathroom of the Montana governor’s mansion. It appears he suffered a gunshot wound to the head but it’s unclear how he sustained the fatal injury. The body of a man is seen – in part – lying dead on the ground; though, Costner’s face is not shown.

John’s son Jamie (Wes Bentley) – who is the Montana attorney general – then calls a press conference where he announces that his father was found dead by suicide.

It comes after Yellowstone director Christina Voros teased that Costner would play an “integral” role in the drama’s conclusion despite his exit being announced in June.

On Twitter/X, many fans reacted in dismay to the way Costner’s lead character was dispatched so quickly.

“If THAT'S how they decide to end a great character like John Dutton... THAT'S BULLS***,” one furious viewer wrote.

“John Dutton was a fantastic character, and despite the Kevin Costner drama, he deserved a better goodbye than Yellowstone gave him,” wrote another.

A third added: “So @Yellowstone already lame for killing off John Dutton. I know it was issues with getting Costner onboard. But this was so lame.”

“Damn. They killed John Dutton off in the first minute. That's so freaking savage,” wrote a fourth.

Costner, who led Yellowstone as the Montana landowner for four and a half seasons, announced he was departing the hit series due to scheduling issues.

“I did it for five years, and I wanted to work more than once a year,” he said on a June episode of the Today Show. “We lost an entire year at one point, and I thought, that can’t happen again.”

He added that he “would love to go back” to Yellowstone, albeit “under the right circumstances.”

Reports had initially suggested that his departure was due to a falling out with the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, over conflicts caused by the actor’s desire to shoot his Western passion project, Horizon – An American Saga.

In an April interview with The Independent, Luke Grimes – who plays Kayce Dutton – said of Costner’s exit: “Whatever happened there is unfortunate if it’s changed anything about how the show was going to unfold. I know, [Costner] got busy with his movies that were like passion projects. At a certain point, you gotta do what you gotta do, man; you gotta do what you love.”

Costner remains the first cast member named in the opening credits and appears in the end credits in his capacity as an executive producer.

Yellowstone airs weekly on Paramount Plus at 8pm ET.