Could Yellowstone Make Beth Any More Useless? Absolutely, Here's Proof
Fans come up with various explanations for her lack of involvement, but the real reason may be much simpler than it seems.
Yellowstone, an American neo-western drama TV series, has introduced viewers to a wide variety of characters over its five-season run.
The plot revolves around the Dutton family, owners of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, the largest in Montana, and focuses on the dramatic relationships between its members.
However, not every member of the family is equally loved by fans, the most notable example being Beth Dutton, the second youngest child and only daughter of ranch owners John and Evelyn Dutton.
First of all, she's not the most pleasant person to be around. Second... she doesn't even seem to help when she can (probably this has something to do with the first thing...).
Some fans accuse her of being one of the most useless characters in the entire series, as she routinely makes deals worth many times more than the ranch's gross income, while seeming to know exactly how much she brings in and pays out.
She has money and knows how to make it. So you wonder why she never tried to shorten the supply chain and get paid more per pound of cattle or develop other revenue streams.
While the ranch struggles with money, Beth, who is clearly a savvy when it comes to business, doesn't use her skills at all.
Even though her father did not want the ranch to be a venue for weddings and parties, that could have been established on more recently acquired land out of sight of the lodge.
Even though she may not have considered buying show horses, as a banker she probably knows a lot of rich clients who would buy some at a steep markup.
Fans have come up with various theories to explain her lack of involvement, from her being so distant for years that she wanted nothing to do with the ranch until her father called her back to help him, to her hating the ranch after the incident with her mother.
But the real reason is probably painfully simple — it's bad writing. After all, this is not the first time the Paramount Plus series is accused of it.
As Reddit user Shoddy_Budget_1533 pointed out:
"Yeah no one behaves like a human being. Jamie never brings up Lee the one brother he lived with on the ranch. And John can just ignore years of hard work from Jamie and not talk to him."
The release of the second part of the fifth season of Yellowstone is scheduled for Summer 2023.