‘Dutton Ranch’ Episode 4 Recap: Rip & Beth Confront Ultimate Loss
on May 29, 2026
The fourth episode of Dutton Ranch dropped on Paramount+ on Friday, May 29.
Not only did the show shatter records on being the most-watched premiere on the streamer, beating out Mobland’s 8.8. million viewers for its series premiere in 2025.
The Dutton Ranch premiere reached 12.9 million views within seven days of its release.
Cole Hauser, who has played Rip Wheeler since 2018, celebrated the huge feat on Instagram, writing, “Writing in the caption, Hauser said, “Thank you to all the fans that have been around from the ground up… and to all you new fans for making this the most successful show on @paramountplus ever! Let’s keep @duttonranch rollin!!“
Dutton Ranch started off at Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser)’s gorgeous Montana ranch as they continue their next chapter after selling the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to the broken Rock Reservation in the series finale of Yellowstone.
Not long into Episode 1, a fire broke out and burned their land and ranch down, leaving them with just the clothes on their back. They managed to set their cattle free and the put their horses in a trailer and drive to safety.
After calling all his contacts, Rip found a 500,000-acre ranch in Rio Paloma, Texas, where they could rebuild. This is where they meet their new adversary, Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening), who owns the nearby 10Petal Ranch, along with her sons Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba) and Rob-Will (Jai Courtney), who come with their own set of problems.
Beth befriends the local veterinarian (Ed Harris) who helps her secure a butcher, as well as nurse a hurt horse back to health.
Read our full recaps of Episode 1 & 2, and Episode 3 to get all caught up. Episode 3 ended with Rip and his cowboys discovering that they have an infected cow, who could pass along the disease to the entire herd.
Dutton Ranch Episode 4: “Start With A Bullet”
The episode begins the next morning, where we can see that the entire herd of cattle is now infected with Foot And Mouth Disease, and they are going to have to put them all down. Rip deduces that the new bull they bought at the auction had to be a carrier, since everyone was healthy before it arrived.
From here, we will break down the episode by character.
Carter and Oreana
Beth goes back to the house to get Carter off the property so he doesn’t have to see the killing of all the cattle. But inside, he and Oreana are still in bed from their steamy night. Beth walks in an finds out Oreana is Beulah’s granddaughter before driving her home, where Oreana reveals the reason she likes Carter is because he doesn’t pretend to be someone he’s not.
When dropping Oreana off, Beulah asks Beth to a drink to makeup for “getting off on the wrong foot,” but Beth declines.
“Rio Paloma’s a small town, Beth,” Beulah reminds her.
On his way to school, Carter stops at the feed store to see if anyone needs a ranch hand. He finds a rancher named Dwight and heads off to work. During his break, he shares a beer with Dwight and they practice roping.
Carter and Dwight have clearly been drinking all day and Dwight takes them for a joy ride in his 4×4 to show him that he owns an African leopard. Carter leaves to meet up with Oreana for their date, which was Beth’s idea to keep Carter out of the house.
At the 10Petal, Oreana attempts to steal a truck to meet Carter, since her vehicle was taken away from her, but her grandmother’s bodyguard doesn’t let her go. They see the injured ranch hand return from the hospital.
Everett and Beulah
Meanwhile, the 10Petal calls Everett McKinney because of a pregnant horse about to give birth. Even though he doesn’t service the 10Petal, they claim their usual vet is out of town and it is an emergency. But upon arrival, Chet, the interim foreman, reveals they don’t have any pregnant horses, leading Everett to believe Beulah made the call just to get him to her ranch.
In her interaction with Everett, she reveals that Rob-Will is in rehab for the third time. Everett believes he still has some good in him. We find out that Everett has a son named Levi, who passed away. This strikes an emotional chord for Beulah, leading us to believe she is Levi’s mother.
“We have too many demons to be good for each other,” he tells her as she tries to hold his hand.
In the middle of the night, Beulah finds Joaquin outside and she reveals that she is tired of running the ranch. Joaquin offers to take over and she replies, “I wish I could,.”
Our theory is that she is required by her ex-husband to run the ranch until he says so, and she isn’t allowed to let Joaquin or Rob-Will take it over. This is a storyline to keep an eye on, especially since we learned last episode Joaquin and Rob-Will are not her biological children.
Beth and Rip
Beth calls the doctor who performed the medical examination prior to the cattle auction, but the doctor has no record of performing the exam on this bull.
Foreman Azul (J.R. Villarreal) and cowboy Zachariah Moss (Marc Menchaca) load up to get supples for their job of killing the infected herd. The heaviness is weighing on them both,
“God’s plan ain’t always a blessing,” Zachariah says.
Upon their return, they start loading bullets into their rifles to get ready.
“This’ll be one of those days that follow you to the grave,” Rip says. “If either one of you want to walk, I won’t hold it against you.”
Both men agree, “We’re with you.”
The plan is to dig a pit to drive the cattle into before they have to kill them. Despite his warnings to Beth, she demands to help.
It’s clear this job is taking an emotional toll on Beth, who jumps at every sound of Rip’s gun.
We see just how many cows are killed by all the bullet casings on the ground. The last cow, a baby, he tells it, “You don’t deserve this.”
Back at their house, Beth reveals that the cattle broker “f*cked” them, which obviously angers Rip.
Rip confronts the cattle broker in his office trailer, where he is asleep in his underwear. This goes just as you would imagine. Simon, the broker, claims he doesn’t know what Rip is talking about. Rip tells him to leave the town and if he ever comes back, he will kill him.
Rip douses the trailer in gasoline while Beth dramatically smokes a cigarette outside. Once he’s done, she tosses her cigarette inside, setting the trailer on fire as the two walk away side-by-side.
Don’t mess with Rip and Beth.
Now, they must rebuild again…with no cattle.
When Beth walks in the house, Carter confronts her about sending him away for the evening. He wanted to be there to help, but Beth admits she didn’t want him to see what they had to do. Carter calls her a liar, which cuts deep for Beth.
Rip stays outside to sit with what he had to do, and finishes the episode laying on the grass, looking up at the stars.
There are five episodes left, so we know this is nowhere near the end of Rip and Beth’s story in Texas. Tune in next week to see what happens next.
