Rip Hiding The Dead Body & Impact On Dutton Ranch Cowboys Addressed By Yellowstone Spinoff Star

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Be warned, this contains spoilers for the first season of Dutton Ranch! Rip has revealed he secretly buried a body on the Dutton Ranch, and this confession could have serious consequences for others.

The first episodes of the Yellowstone spin-off revealed that Cole Hauser’s character found the body of Wes, the foreman of Beulah Jackson’s 10 Petal Ranch. Wes had been partially buried on the new Texas property by Jai Courtney’s character, Rob-Will. Hoping to protect his peaceful life with Beth, Rip initially concealed the body in an abandoned mineshaft. However, in episode 5 of Dutton Ranch, he confessed everything to his wife after discovering Rob-Will was working at the 10 Petal Ranch.

In a recent interview with ScreenRant’s Grant Hermanns, Marc Menchaca discussed how the discovery of a body will affect the cowboys at Dutton Ranch. Menchaca, who plays Zachariah, a new hire recently released from prison, explained that Beth and Rip are both drawing him into their orbit and making him feel like part of the family.

Regarding the dead body and how it clashes with his newfound faith, Menchaca explained that Zachariah strongly feels Beth and Rip are genuinely good people, coming from a respectable cowboy background. Because of this, he’s confident that if they ask for help, their intentions are pure, and Zachariah will readily support their decision.

As a viewer, the moment Wes’s body turned up hidden on the Dutton Ranch, I immediately started worrying about Beth and Rip. Their relationship has always been complex, but one thing Yellowstone consistently showed us was Rip’s honesty with Beth, and how he was learning to truly communicate with her. Now, with this awful secret out in the open, it feels like they’re finally back to a place of complete honesty, which, while born from tragedy, allows them to face this crisis – and figure out what to do with the body – together. It’s a dark turn, but a necessary one for their dynamic.

In the latest episode of Dutton Ranch, both Beth and Rip are working to gain control of 10 Petal. Beth is becoming the Jackson family’s problem-solver and plans to make their brand widely known in five years, while Rip is taking over as foreman. It’s unclear what role Azul and Zachariah will play, but the increasing trust between them and Beth and Rip suggests they’ll continue to be involved.

Beth and Rip probably plan to hide Wes’ body in the old, abandoned mineshaft. This is likely to avoid trouble with Sheriff Wade, and to give them some control over Beulah. However, things might get complicated now that Rob-Will has returned to Rio Paloma after leaving rehab and checking in with Chet, who witnessed Wes’ murder.

Given Chet’s angry reaction to being fired and his threat to reveal information about Wes’s death to the Jacksons, Rob-Will’s reappearance might lead him back to the Dutton Ranch to resolve the issues he created and attempt to force Beth and Rip to leave Montana. Meanwhile, Zachariah, who has a long-standing connection with Azul stemming from his work with Azul’s father, would likely intervene to protect him, if nothing else.

It’s also possible Beth and Rip will decide to keep Wes’ death a secret from Zachariah and Azul as the first season of Dutton Ranch continues. Rip has hidden bodies before – remember the Train Station incident in Yellowstone – and he’s likely to do so again unless his cowboys absolutely need to know. Even then, according to Menchaca, he’ll probably follow their lead.

New episodes of Dutton Ranch air Fridays on Paramount+.

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2026-06-05 22:59