Yellowstone Season 5 Episode 8 Review: A Knife and No Coin

The snippet this week is merely a continuation of how John first took in Young Rip (Kyle Red Silverstein) and gave the future dark protector of the ranch the Yellowstone brand, but there are some excellent smaller moments of further character development. Most notably, the juxtaposition of a younger John, who was a man of action to the older John (Costner) shows us what Sheridan has been reinforcing all season – this world is not for the classic cowboys anymore. Costner’s John, for quite some time, has merely been REacting to a situation that is seemingly getting more and more out of control, and perhaps we need this reminder of who John used to be, as perhaps that man may one day reappear when the ranch needs him most. 

Trekking across state lines, we then join Jimmy (Jefferson White) and the adorable veterinarian Emily (Kathryn Kelly) for the first time this season. Any fan can surmise that the faction of the Yellowstone ranch hands that are transporting cattle to Texas are bound to cross paths with Jimmy and Emily, so perhaps this was inevitable, but it was refreshing to see, none-the-less. Sheridan, as savvy a salesman as he is a writer, is becoming an expert in not just world building, but universe building, and the proposed spin-off surrounding Jimmy’s 6666 ranch was beginning to creep to the back of every fan’s mind. It could have remained there well into this new year if it weren’t for this cameo appearance by Jimmy and Emily. It begs the question why the audience couldn’t have seen a snippet of Jimmy and Emily’s life together before this episode. 

It did, however, fit with the rest of the motif of the episode. Sheridan’s writing and the direction of Christina Alexandra Voros create a series of vignettes to set up the latter half of this super-sized season, and this is by no means meant to sound disparaging. “A Knife and No Coin” is a wonderful sampler of smaller stories that have all been touched upon, and for perhaps the first time this season never feels like it dwelled too long on any of those subplots. 

Even the all-too-brief exchange between Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and John plays to one of the previous episode’s greatest strengths. We once again get the chance to see these two great characters actually bond. It wasn’t until this season that we were given the opportunity to realize how much the Duttons consider Monica a part of this family, and any time Asbille and the character of Monica is elevated to a point where she is equal with the other Duttons, is time well-invested.

Summer (Piper Parabo) and Beth (Kelly Reilly) also have an all-too-brief exchange where they seem to foster a strangely sororal-like relationship. This writer will dare not touch the Freudian implications of that definition of their relationship, but it creates another beautiful moment within this family dynamic that is fresh and new. Something this season has been severely lacking.

The crowning achievement of “A Knife and No Coin” however, is undoubtedly the final push to all out war between Jamie (Wes Bentley) and the Duttons. This reviewer has long pushed for the antagonistic awakening of Jamie – for him to go full-fledged villain, and this episode gave audiences more than enough. It was one last indulgent meal this holiday season with how much delicious melodramatic villainy we got from start to finish with Jamie. Many fans, whether you love him or hate him, will recognize that Jamie needed a moment like the one he got in “A Knife and No Coin.” He finally showed strength, he finally stood up to Beth and actually shut her up for once. He finally proved that he may in fact, be the smartest one in the Dutton family (adopted or not), and that his plan may actually be the one and only way to save the Yellowstone ranch.