Yellowstone official trailer
Yellowstone devotees have concocted a wild theory speculating the potential return of leading character John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner) in the ongoing fifth season.
As the latest episode aired, titled Desire Is All You Need, the shocking discovery of John lifeless within the Governor's abode, seemingly by his own hand, occurs within just moments of the opening scene.
Yet, John's daughter Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) smells something fishy from the onset, and soon enough it unravels that the supposed suicide was a crafty setup by Jamie's (Wes Bentley) ally, Sarah Atwood (Dawn Olivieri).
The gripping midseason opener has left fans reeling and they're propelling some rather far-fetched theories about John Dutton's fate.
Despite Kevin Costner severing his links with the series as of June, whispers among the viewers continue suggesting he might shock everyone with an unexpected return, claiming to be masterminding the entire scenario, reports the Mirror.
A Reddit thread buzzing with speculative Yellowstone ideas saw one fan suggest: "John is not dead, the hit was intercepted and he is working to bring down the fixer who is hooking up with Jamie."
This daring assumption gained traction despite the obvious Costner's hiatus makes any glimpse of him impossible, but notably, the show didn't conclusively identify John's body before the cameras, hinting perhaps at substantial facial wounds.
While theory isn't necessarily meant to be taken seriously, it intrigued another user who speculated further, saying: "The dead body was a double where the face was too badly injured to truly identify.
"Late in the season, as Beth and Kayce (Luke Grimes) are facing off against Jamie, what looks like a tornado hits the ranch. What it is really is two riders doing horse twirlies and kicking up dust."
"The first is John, who set this in motion to see who he could trust. The second is Travis (showrunner Taylor Sheridan's character), who is revealed as the one true hero of the show and saves everything and everyone before triumphantly twirling off into the sunset. The end."
One fan spotted another potential clue that suggests the body the police are analysing actually belongs to someone else.
"I saw them dusting for powder residue on the left hand of the body, but Costner is right handed?" they mused.
Could the victim simply be a body double set up by John after he caught wind of Sarah's schemes?
Plenty of fans agreed, with one saying: "I think John comes back, I really do.
"I think this whole beef is manufactured and it'll be part of a big reveal."
And another said: "I said to my husband, I had a feeling that John isn't actually dead. I think he knew he had a hit on him, so he's currently in hiding with the vegan until he can take down Jamie and the b***h who ordered the hit."
Did John set up a body double to throw off his enemies? Many fans believe that John will return, and that his supposed death is just a ploy to set up a bigger reveal later on.
The most probable scenario is that John has indeed been written out, but a substantial segment of the fanbase appears to be still clinging to the hope of Costner's dramatic comeback in the finale.
Yellowstone continues Sundays on Paramount and the following Monday on Paramount+.
