‘Yellowstone’ Season 4: Did Cole Hauser Accidentally Confirm the Fate of Another Fan-Favorite Character?

Yellowstone season 4 is coming this fall, but the Paramount Network has yet to reveal the premiere date. As fans wait for more details, they continue to share their theories about who survived the explosive season 3 finale.

Meanwhile, the stars of Yellowstone have been staying pretty quiet on social media. But some fans believe Cole Hauser (Rip Wheeler) may have accidentally confirmed one fan-favorite character’s fate.

Who made it out of ‘Yellowstone’ season 3 alive?

The final moments of the Yellowstone season 3 finale saw three members of the Dutton family under attack. Dutton patriarch John (Kevin Costner) was helping a woman change a flat tire on the side of the road when a van pulled up and an unknown gunman shot him.

At the same time, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) was in her office when a package exploded. And Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) was taking cover behind a desk after a group of armed men stormed his office.

Fans have been waiting almost a year to find out which member of the Dutton family survived the seemingly coordinated attacks. They are also desperate to find out who’s responsible.

Will Jimmy Hurdstrom make it to season 4?

Just before the attacks on the Duttons, ranch hand Jimmy Hurdstrom (Jefferson White) found himself in some serious trouble. Earlier in season 3, Jimmy had discovered his love of rodeo and tried to make some extra cash by bronc riding. But he ended up getting seriously injured.

John took care of Jimmy’s medical bills, but he made the ranch hand promise that he wouldn’t go back to rodeo and land himself in the hospital again. But in the season 3 finale, Jimmy was bucked off a horse and lying prone in the corral. That’s the last image fans saw of the fan-favorite character.

‘Yellowstone’ fans think Cole Hauser confirmed Jimmy’s fate in an Instagram post

The cast and crew of Yellowstone wrapped the majority of filming for season 4 last fall in Montana. While he was on set, Hauser posted a few behind-the-scenes pics. Some fans think one post accidentally confirmed Jimmy’s fate.

The pic featured Hauser on horseback alongside all of the bunkhouse ranch hands — Jennifer Landon (Teeter), Denim Richards (Colby), Forrie J. Smith (Lloyd), Ian Bohen (Ryan), and Jake Ream (Jake). In the caption, Hauser simply wrote, “Time to go to work.”

Fans immediately noticed that Jefferson White wasn’t in the pic. This led many to conclude that Hauser had accidentally confirmed that Jimmy didn’t make it out of season 3 alive.

More clues about Jimmy’s fate

In a Yellowstone Reddit thread, one fan argued that Jimmy’s fate was hinted at when he was bucked off his horse. They pointed to the fact that Jimmy was last seen wearing a baseball cap instead of a cowboy hat, which could be an indication that his time at the Yellowstone ranch is over. Another fan pointed to White’s Instagram page for clues about Jimmy.

“I follow [White] on Instagram and on almost every post leading up to the finale, he mentions about the past week being difficult. Struck me as odd at the time, but now it is kinda making me wonder if his character plot ran its course?” the fan wrote.

A third fan pointed out that when Jimmy was bucked off his horse, they heard “a huge snap” and thought he had broken his neck. They also noted that the closed captioning said “crunch.”

‘Yellowstone’ fans are pretty sure all of the Duttons survived

While fans continue to worry about Jimmy, they are starting to get pretty confident that all three Duttons survived. In a recent TVLine poll, almost 50 percent of fans said John, Beth, and Kayce made it out of season 3 alive.

One thing about season 4 is for sure — it will be all about revenge for what happened in season 3. When the Paramount Network dropped a one-minute teaser in early July, the clip showed the explosive final moments of the season 3 finale while telling fans that “revenge will be worth the wait.”

Season 4 of Yellowstone will premiere in November 2021 on the Paramount Network. Seasons 1 through 3 are available on Peacock.