Warning! SPOILERS ahead for Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, “Give The World Away.”

A seemingly out-of-place conversation between Rainwater and Mo in Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, “Give The World Away,” could foreshadow the way the neo-Western will wrap up what might be its final season. “Give The World Away” focused mostly on Beth’s attempt to sell off most of the Dutton ranch’s livestock to pay off part of the mortgage on the ranch following confirmation that Yellowstone‘s John Dutton is dead. However, it also includes a conversation between Mo and Rainwater that doesn’t seem connected to the rest of the story.

While most of Yelllowstone’s cast are involved in the Dutton ranch auction and John’s funeral, Yellowstone season 5, episode 13 has a scene where Mo and Rainwater discuss a proposed pipeline that would go through the reservation. Rainwater observes that the Indigenous population has “been at war for 160 years.“ This seemingly out-of-place moment offers a new conflict for the Indigenous people but does nothing to wrap up Yellowstone season 5, part 2. However, it may be more significant than it seems.

Yellowstone’s Pipeline Conflict Explained (& How It’s Similar To The Dutton Ranch’s Problem)

The Pipeline Would Disrupt Reservation Life Even Further

Rainwater’s issue is with a proposed pipeline that would go through the reservation. Although the land is supposed to belong to the Indigenous people, this pipeline would be commissioned by city officials and would be placed underneath the reservation without the permission of tribal leaders. Thus, Rainwater is determined to stop the pipeline from being built. To this end, he tells Mo that the pipeline cannot be built “if they do not have any pipe.“

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This conflict is parallel to the conflict over the ranch. Before John Dutton’s death, he and Beth were working together to stop developers from building an airport next to the ranch and buying most of the Dutton property to build a ski resort. However, Jamie has been working with the developers since John’s death to undo the steps he took to protect the property. Thus, Beth and Kayce may lose the ranch to the developers, just as the Indigenous people stand to lose their right to decide what happens to their land if the pipeline project goes ahead.

How The Pipeline Crisis Can Result In The Dutton Ranch’s Ultimate Fate

Kayce And Rainwater Could Work Together To Solve Both Problems

These similar crises give Kayce the opportunity to work with Rainwater to solve both problems. Kayce could use his influence with Rainwater to strike a deal in which he gives Rainwater the ranch and then buys it back from him in exchange for ensuring that the pipeline project is canceled, and Indigenous land is protected from future developments of this nature. Kayce alludes to such a deal during the ending of Yellowstone season 5, episode 13, though he keeps the specifics to himself.

Rainwater could also get other concessions from Kayce, such as following some Indigenous customs related to respecting the land’s sacredness. However, the pipeline is of prime importance, as its existence would squeeze the Indigenous population into an even smaller parcel of land and interfere with their right to make decisions about the land themselves. Thus, this seemingly irrelevant conflict might play a large role in Yellowstone‘s final wrap-up.

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Yellowstone

Yellowstone stars Kevin Costner and centers on his character John Dutton. Dutton and his family live on a cattle ranch just a few hours away from Yellowstone National Park. The series chronicles the family’s struggle to defend their home from an Indian reservation and land developers. As if their life wasn’t complicated enough, the Duttons also have medical issues, political aspirations, and family secrets stacked against them.

Release Date

June 20, 2018

Franchise(s)

Yellowstone

Seasons

5