Dutton Ranch Episode 4 Has The Most Disturbing Sequence In The Yellowstone Universe

Emmerson Miller/Paramount+

This article contains spoilers for "Dutton Ranch" Episode 4.

The "Yellowstone" franchise is full of disturbing moments, but "Dutton Ranch" might just have set a new bar for upsetting sequences. Episode 4, "Start with a Bullet," sees Rip (Cole Hauser), Beth (Kelly Reilly), Azul (J.R. Villareal), and Zachariah (Marc Menchaca) forced to deal with the foot and mouth disease crisis that's spread among their cattle. As is often the case with this franchise, it isn't a happy outcome.

In short, the sequence depicts the long, drawn-out slaughter of the entire herd. Rip and the gang lure the cows to a confined space, trap them in with their diggers, and proceed to shoot all of them until none remain. In one particularly upsetting scene, Rip says "you don't deserve this" to the last remaining cow before firing the shot. It's devastating, but it doesn't feel exploitative. This is a sad, albeit extreme, reality of farming sometimes.

Since the beginning, "Dutton Ranch" has avoided some of the issues that "Yellowstone" fans have with "Marshals." Folks complained about the latter series being too much of a procedural instead of a Western about family struggles and the ups and downs of ranch life. Well, "Start with a Bullet" goes all in on both of those themes, as the cow massacre leaves Beth and Rip facing a pretty dire future. Still, what makes this sequence more disturbing than other messed up "Yellowstone" saga moments?

Emerson Miller/Paramount+.

A couple of moments come to mind when discussing the most disturbing elements of the "Yellowstone" universe. The abuse faced by Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) and the Native American boarding school students in the first installment of "1923" is especially difficult to watch. Elsewhere, Beth being attacked by masked assailants in "Yellowstone" Season 2's "Resurrection Day" episode is all kinds of messed up. There are plenty of times when humans have been dealt a bad blow, but the cow massacre hits different.

Beth and Teonna both showed courage and resilience during their chilling plights, eventually getting payback against their attackers and surviving the events of the aforementioned series. By contrast, the "Dutton Ranch" cattle death sequence focuses on the slaughter of defenseless animals whose only mistake was getting infected. They were always going to suffer because of the foot and mouth disease, and the fact there was no saving them makes the sequence feel even more grueling.

Unlike other violent sequences from Taylor Sheridan's shows, the sequence isn't treated like a throwaway death. It casts a dark shadow over the rest of the episode, and you get the impression that it will have long-term consequences for Beth and Rip. The scene is both an effective example of how ranch life is challenging, and as a strong catalyst for some dramatic storytelling. Still, I hope we never see anything like it ever again. Stick to shooting people, and leave the cows alone.