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Spoilers Ahead For Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 12: “Counting Coup”

A fan-favorite Yellowstone actor is reacting to his character’s tragic fate on the show. Warning: this post contains spoilers for Season 5, Episode 12, titled “Counting Coup.”

After an extended hiatus, Yellowstone finally returned in November with its midseason premiere. Unfortunately for John Dutton fans, the show immediately revealed that the series’ patriarch had died.

The following episodes have highlighted how the surviving Dutton family members are coping with John’s death. Multiple characters, including Beth and Kayce, are thirsty for revenge after losing their father.

We later learned that Market Equities’ Sarah Atwood ordered the hit on John. Sarah herself was killed in Episode 11.

Another death occurred in Episode 12, and it was perhaps the most shocking death of the season so far.

The beloved Yellowstone ranch hand, Colby, was killed after being kicked by a horse while trying to protect Carter. Colby’s death had a deep impact on everyone from the ranch, especially his girlfriend, Teeter. He just shared his love for her shortly before his death.

Teeter was not at the ranch at the time, which she deeply regrets. After learning about Colby’s death, she said, “He is a cowboy, suffering is the job. I just wish he would have suffered a little longer so I could say goodbye.”

Yellowstone Actor Denim Richards Reacts To His Character’s Tragic Fate

Christina Voros, who directed Episode 12, says Colby’s death has a profound impact because it has a real-life element. She said:

“In a world of very high-stakes drama, this death comes as a shock because it’s so simple and it’s so grounded in the world in which all these characters work that it’s profoundly tragic because there’s no enemy here. It’s the risk of the job.”

Christina believes that Colby’s passing was made extra “gut-wrenching” because of his strong bond with Teeter, which “had really just begun to take root in a different way.”

Denim Richards, the actor who plays Colby on Yellowstone, reacted to his character’s tragic fate during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Denim said he first learned about Colby’s fate when he was sent the scripts in May. Admittedly, he was shocked at first but then realized how Colby’s death would play a pivotal role in the story of Yellowstone.

“And as much as we, the individuals, get very attached to the outcome for our characters; they are part of a larger story and that is what we ultimately get hired to do,” he said. “We get hired to service a story and to do it, hopefully, at top level. And that’s ultimately what became of it.”

Denim also spoke about the tragedy in Colby’s death as his relationship with Teeter was growing stronger:

“We are always walking this very intentional tightrope between the human and the artist where you finally get to say ‘I love you’ and finally feel like there’s a path, and then some type of tragic ending occurs, which could only happen in Shakespeare. So that was definitely very tough.”

Denim was touched to see that fans were sad and angry over Colby’s death. He said, “The death moved people and as an artist, that’s all I could hope for. That if you do get killed off, people care that your character goes.”

While Denim admits he was “sad to be killed,” he feels good knowing that Colby’s death “was impactful.” We’ll certainly miss seeing him on the show…

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