Starting off with a flashback, we see the beginning of young Rip (Kyle Red Silverstein) and Beth's (Kylie Rogers) relationship. Rip is just going about his duties and about to catch a horse loose in the field when Beth comes up and tells him not to catch it, as it's the one that her mother was riding when she died. They have a slightly contentious conversation, but Beth flirts with him as she leaves.
The other cowboys see this and poke fun at Rip for it, as well as the fact he's an orphan now. Rip gets angry and starts a fight, but it's broken up by a young Lloyd (Forrest Smith), who tells Rip to go to his room in the barn. Beth is waiting for him there, wondering why he is upset. Rip says he's angry because he "killed" his family by not being big enough. Beth tells him she killed her mother because she was scared, but she doesn't get scared anymore. They then share their first kiss.
Back in the present, Beth (Kelly Reilly) apologizes to Rip (Cole Hauser) for her actions with Walker (Ryan Bingham), but Rip says she never has to say sorry to him.
Read on to see what else happened in Yellowstone season 2 episode 5, "Touching Your Enemy," including what gets Beth scared again.
Honest discussions
At breakfast, Kayce (Luke Grimes) and Jamie (Wes Bentley) update John (Kevin Costner) about their search for the plane that dumped the clover. Beth points out the hypocrisy of discussing work over breakfast when they can't talk about it at dinner and leaves in a huff. John tells Kayce to confront Dan (Danny Huston) about the plane directly. When Jamie questions him, John scolds him, saying he lost that privilege.
John catches up with Beth to figure out what is really bothering her. It's Rip being relegated to the bunkhouse, wondering how John could do that to him. He says he's not punishing Rip, that Rip is making a sacrifice for the ranch, one that should be rewarded later. Beth seems to accept this.
Elsewhere, Monica (Kelsey Asbille) takes her class to see Martin's (Martin Sensmeier) Indian relay race practice. He tells them the different cultural aspects of Native Americans on how boys would become men (including touching your enemy) and how it is represented in the relay race. When one student asks what this has to do with Christopher Columbus, Monica says nothing, but she points out that they are still learning something valuable. Afterward, Martin invites Monica to a real Indian relay race event.
Back on the ranch, Jimmy (Jefferson White) talks to Lloyd about how he can make some extra money to pay off the goons hounding him. Lloyd says the only way to do that is with rodeo events.
Then we check in on a meeting with John, Jamie and Cassidy (Kelly Rohrbach) discussing the shooting at the end of episode 4. Cassidy says the sheriff's report is vague, making it seem like Kayce and the other Livestock agent were at fault. Jamie, however, is distracted, receiving texts and calls from Sarah Nguyen, who wants to confirm things for her story on John. Jamie tries to back out of the story, even threatening to sue, but Sarah tells him that won't be happening.
Showdown at Jenkins'
Dan has hired a bodyguard, Torry (Wolé Parks), who teaches him how to shoot a gun. Dan admits holding the gun makes him feel like a god. It's that feeling that has Dan pull a gun on Ryan (Ian Bohen) when he finds him outside his house. However, Kayce comes out from behind Dan and takes the gun from him. They go have a talk inside.
Dan is living alone now, having sent his family away in fear the Duttons would try to kill them. But Kayce explains they don't want to kill him, just for him to leave and let them live their lives. However, when Kayce brings up the cattle, Dan is confused and says he doesn't know anything about it.
Outside, Torry sneaks up on Ryan and gets him to cuff himself before going to help Dan. As Torry approaches, Kayce spots him and they fight. Kayce knocks Torry's gun away and they body slam into a table. Kayce holds a piece of glass to Torry's throat, while Dan grabs the gun and points it at Kayce. But Ryan comes in (Torry forgot to ask for the keys to the handcuffs) and takes the gun away from Dan. Kayce, riled up, shoves Dan against the railing and demands the truth. Dan says he doesn't know how to kill cattle, but he wishes he did seeing the pain it's causing the Duttons.
Kayce tells John it wasn’t Jenkins. John notices Kayce is rattled, so he finally asks Kayce to talk about his experience in the military, hoping it can help him understand the man Kayce has become. Kayce details a raid he did in Pakistan, where a target used his wife and young daughter as shields while killing members of Kayce's squad. Kayce had to make a split decision, so he killed the target, his wife and daughter. He says soldiers nowadays don't tell war stories, because now war is just trying to live through them.
Learning who you're dealing with
Sheriff Donnie (Hugh Dillon) is at home when he receives a package. It consists of a bottle of bourbon, a single bullet and a note that reads "don't forget who you work for." The next day, he gives a press conference where he has the police take full responsibility for the shooting incident and offers an apology to the Livestock agency (in essence, John). Watching on TV, Beth asks John how he got him to say that, but John is as surprised as them, which makes it feel like it was the Beck brothers.
On the ranch, the cowboys are having some fun sliding horses with Travis (Taylor Sheridan). Jimmy, hoping he can earn some money to pay off his debt, attempts to get in on it. He is actually able to slide his horse, but he quickly learns he is outclassed by Travis and the others. Rip tells Jimmy there are sharks and minnows in the world, if you don't know which one you are, you're not a shark.
Jamie finds out he may be a minnow in his family when he tells Beth about Sarah Nguyen's story. Furious, she drags him to John, hitting him and demanding he tell their father. John has Beth wait outside and asks what Jamie could have done that could actually scare Beth. Jamie is too ashamed to say, which makes John realize how dangerous this situation could truly be.
Yellowstone season 2 episodes are airing Sundays on CBS and are available to stream on Peacock in the US. International viewers can stream the show on Paramount Plus.
