During its run, Yellowstone was one of the most popular shows on television, and while it ended on a relatively high note, the final season faced a lot of challenges. The electric cast of Yellowstone was one of the show’s biggest strengths, with the Dutton family remaining the center of the narrative across all five seasons.

However, Kevin Costner left Yellowstone midway through season 5. Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone universe features incredibly complex characters across a variety of periods, with the Duttons being the focal point for most of it. While the family is naturally positioned as the protagonists of the show, there is much more to them than that.

Kevin Costner Thinks The Duttons Should All Be In Prison
John Dutton Himself Has Strong Feelings About The Family

For most of Yellowstone, Kevin Costner was the star, with everything happening at the Dutton Ranch being the will of John Dutton. Despite portraying the Dutton patriarch, Kevin Costner had some thoughts about the family’s ending. Speaking to ET, Costner talked about the series and how he thought that the Duttons could have ended up in prison, stating:

“Well, it’s modern-day ranching. Yellowstone was able to capture that really so beautifully. I mean, it’s a bit of a soap opera. I mean, we all should be in prison.”

Honestly, Kevin Costner is right about the Dutton family as well as the more soapy aspects of Yellowstone in general, but that is also what makes the show so compelling. It could have been easy to have them end up in prison, and that would have changed the fabric of the series and even Taylor Sheridan’s universe as a whole.