Western-themed series Yellowstone is currently airing its fifth season on the Paramount Network. Sunday night's episode (Nov. 27) featured the heartbreaking revelation about family patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner), as told to his daughter-in-law, Monica (Kelsey Asbille).
The episode found the Dutton crew in the middle of an anguished situation in which they were tasked with burying Kayce and Monica Dutton's baby, John Dutton IV, who passed away after a car crash in the season's first episode. The family dug the grave for the baby and then held the funeral service. The parents, Kayce and Monica, put final pieces of dirt over their son's grave at the end of the service. It was then that John Dutton offered some empathy and comfort to a despondent Monica, sharing a heartbreaking experience from his own past.
While she was sitting alone after the funeral, Dutton approached Monica, telling her, "I know how you feel." Dutton was referencing the passing of his son, Lee Dutton, which Monica already knew about. Having been in a similar situation, Dutton guessed that Monica may be blaming herself for her son's death. He shared that he did the same thing and still does "some days." But there was another family tragedy, in addition to his son's death, which allowed Dutton to uniquely relate to Monica's situation.
The Dutton ranch owner, and newly elected governor of Montana, told Monica that he once had a brother — for "eighteen hours." He explained that the baby, who was named Peter, was born prematurely, and he, unfortunately, didn't make it.
"His little heart wasn't strong enough," he said. "Not much they could do back in those days; not a lot they can do now. So they just gave him back to my mother. Doctors hoped, we prayed, and neither worked."
Dutton continued, saying the death of his brother "hardened" his mother, and she never had another child. When his son Lee was born, however, his father made a beautiful statement about their late son, Peter, and it is a sentiment that Monica, too, can take solace in.
"Both my parents are looking at him, taking turns holding him," Dutton says, referencing his parents holding his son. "And my father got white as a ghost, looked at my mother and said 'Peter lived a perfect life. All he saw of this planet was you, and all he knew was that you loved him.'"
"That boy lived a perfect life, Monica," Dutton continues of Monica's late baby. "We're the only ones who know it was brief. All he knew was you. And that you loved him."
We're not crying. Nope. Definitely not. #YellowstoneTV pic.twitter.com/xXiDb5ko7P
— Yellowstone (@Yellowstone) November 28, 2022
Keep up with the Dutton family on new episodes of Yellowstone, airing Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT on Paramount Network.
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