‘Yellowstone’: Rip Wheeler’s Story So Far
Yellowstone’s Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) is the most important non-Dutton in Taylor Sheridan’s popular western. He’s John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) loyal ranch foreman and enforcer who does all of the dirty work. And now, he’s John’s son-in-law after marrying Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) in the season 4 finale. Ahead of the season 5 premiere, let’s take a look back at Rip Wheeler’s story so far on Yellowstone.
‘Yellowstone’ season 1 flashed back to Rip Wheeler’s tragic backstory
Fans didn’t learn a lot about Rip in the first season of Yellowstone — other than his unwavering loyalty to John Dutton — until episode 8 “The Unraveling, Part One.” It opened with a flashback to 1997, and viewers saw a teenage boy knocked unconscious with his face bloodied.
When the boy wakes up, he finds his younger brother dead on the floor and sees his father viciously beating his mother to death. This young teen is Rip Wheeler (Kyle Red Silverstein), who grew up near Miles City, Montana, on a pig farm.
His dad had returned to the farm to kill his ex-wife and sons — but Rip was able to save himself. He got out alive by cracking his father’s skull open with a frying pan and killing him.
John Dutton gave him a second chance
After killing his father, Rip was found sleeping in a hayloft. This prompted the sheriff to call the commissioner of the Montana Livestock Association — which at the time was John Dutton — to take a look. John had heard about what happened at the farm, and Rip confirmed it was true.
The locals branded Rip a “monster” and blamed him for what happened. But when John talked with the teenager, he didn’t feel the same way. The Dutton patriarch decided Rip deserved a second chance. So, he offered to take him in and give him a job at the Yellowstone Ranch.
Rip doesn’t have an identity outside of the ranch — no birth certificate or driver’s license. But, he is marked with the Yellowstone brand, which proved he would accept the “second chance” that John had given him.
As time passed, Rip worked his way up and gained some authority over the other ranch hands. He eventually became foreman, and John tasked him with doing “what is best for the ranch.” Rip took that to mean protecting the Dutton family, no matter what.
Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton’s ‘Yellowstone’ love affair began when they were teenagers
At the same time he was working his way up on the ranch, Rip had a love affair with John’s daughter Beth that began in their teens. What he doesn’t know is that he got Beth pregnant, and she turned to her adopted brother Jamie (Wes Bentley) to help her terminate the pregnancy.
In season 3 flashbacks, it was revealed that Jamie took Beth to the free clinic at the Broken Rock Reservation in order to keep the abortion a secret. But, the clinic required sterilization after terminating the pregnancy — which Jamie agreed to without Beth’s consent.
The only thing that Rip knows is that Beth can’t have children. He doesn’t know the reason why, he definitely doesn’t know Jamie is to blame, and he doesn’t know that Beth was once pregnant with his child.
The Dutton Ranch foreman has taken a number of men to the train station
Aside from his on-again, off-again love affair with Beth, Rip’s story has always been focused on his job of protecting the Dutton family. He’s committed a number of felonious acts during the first four seasons — including quite a few murders — as John’s enforcer for his criminal activities. And this has resulted in Rip taking a few people to the train station.
Saying you’re going to take someone to the train station is code for killing someone and dumping the body, but there’s a bit more to it than that. There’s actually a specific place where the “train station” is located.
The mythical train station is in Wyoming, just across the Montana state line. The ledge where they dump the bodies is in “a county with no people, no sheriff, and no 12 jurors of your peers.”
Rip Wheeler is the ‘Yellowstone’ enforcer
During the first four seasons of Yellowstone, Rip has been involved in a number of incidents that fall into the category of “just doing his job.” In the very first season, John sent Rip to murder the local medical examiner so Kayce (Luke Grimes) could avoid prosecution. He was able to make the death look like a lab accident.
Rip took part in the hanging of Dan Jenkins, an enemy of the ranch. He saved Beth when she was being victimized in her office by two men, and he rescued Tate Dutton (Brecken Merrill) when he was kidnapped by a white supremacist militia.
It would take all day to list the number of crimes Rip has committed to protect the Dutton family. The one thing to know about Rip is that he is always loyal to John and Beth, and he’s had a number of bada** moments in the first four seasons.
Rip has become much more than a ranch foreman and enforcer, though. In season 2, John wrote Rip a letter and told him he was part of the family and like a son to him. John also gave Rip a cabin that once belonged to his oldest son, Lee (Dave Annable).
Rip and Beth got married in the ‘Yellowstone’ Season 4 finale
Yellowstone Season 4 ended with Rip and Beth’s surprise wedding. Fans knew the couple would eventually tie the knot, but no one expected Beth to kidnap a priest and marry Rip while wearing a revealing gold chainmail dress — not even Rip himself.
In addition to tying the knot, the couple has also welcomed a young teen named Carter (Finn Little) into their home. He has a troubled past just like Rip, and was given his own “second chance” by Beth. The new family of three is now living with John in the main log cabin on the ranch.
Yellowstone Season 5 premieres Sunday, November 13 with a special two-hour event on the Paramount Network.
