once you’ve seen the show before. And though most of the episodes are somehow innovative and introduce new problems for the Duttons

(and even between them), some are just lacking and feel like placeholders. This is normal in a long-running series, which is why it’s also OK to skip, fast-forward, or watch some episodes at a faster speed.

Out of those 53, I only actually skip around eight while rewatching. To me, they feel like emotionally exhausting loops if they’re not obvious spin-off promos, and they simply don’t move the main story forward. These are the episodes of Yellowstone I always skip on a rewatch.

TopicsI’m a ‘Yellowstone’ Fan, and I Always Skip These 8 Mid Episodes on RewatchPublished 1 month agoon 24th July 2025By SKJ

Reporter
Yellowstone has a lot of episodes — 53 to be precise — and they’re all about an hour or so long. Rewatching takes some time, but it’s easier once you’ve seen the show before. And though most of the episodes are somehow innovative and introduce new problems for the Duttons (and even between them), some are just lacking and feel like placeholders. This is normal in a long-running series, which is why it’s also OK to skip, fast-forward, or watch some episodes at a faster speed.

Out of those 53, I only actually skip around eight while rewatching. To me, they feel like emotionally exhausting loops if they’re not obvious spin-off promos, and they simply don’t move the main story forward. These are the episodes of Yellowstone I always skip on a rewatch.

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Season 1, Episode 5
Kevin Costner and Luke Grimes standing in front of a barn in Yellowstone, Coming Home.
Image via Paramount Network
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The show still finds its rhythm in the first season, but Episode 5 feels skippable, mostly because it just treads water and looks for ways to make the characters closer to us while still telling us little about them overall. Kayce (Luke Grimes) wishes to leave Montana with his family, so his father, John (Kevin Costner), cozies up to Kayce’s son to prevent them from leaving. Beth (Kelly Reilly) is brooding and getting drunk, Jamie (Wes Bentley) is maneuvering the law, and so on. Vulture even called the episode “dismal” in their review, and truly, the episode is structurally scattered and light on plot.

The most interesting part about this episode, though it’s not deeply driven, is Rip (Cole Hauser) waiting outside a prison to recruit a new cowboy for the ranch. The cowboy just accepts, and we don’t really get much more than that. Was this insight into how Yellowstone hires workers? While this interesting part isn’t reiterated later, all the events with the Duttons are, so soap beats dominate the episode. If you skip it, you won’t really miss much at all.

TopicsI’m a ‘Yellowstone’ Fan, and I Always Skip These 8 Mid Episodes on RewatchPublished 1 month agoon 24th July 2025By SKJ Reporter
Yellowstone has a lot of episodes — 53 to be precise — and they’re all about an hour or so long. Rewatching takes some time, but it’s easier once you’ve seen the show before. And though most of the episodes are somehow innovative and introduce new problems for the Duttons (and even between them), some are just lacking and feel like placeholders. This is normal in a long-running series, which is why it’s also OK to skip, fast-forward, or watch some episodes at a faster speed.

Out of those 53, I only actually skip around eight while rewatching. To me, they feel like emotionally exhausting loops if they’re not obvious spin-off promos, and they simply don’t move the main story forward. These are the episodes of Yellowstone I always skip on a rewatch.

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“Coming Home”

Season 1, Episode 5
Kevin Costner and Luke Grimes standing in front of a barn in Yellowstone, Coming Home.
Image via Paramount Network
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The show still finds its rhythm in the first season, but Episode 5 feels skippable, mostly because it just treads water and looks for ways to make the characters closer to us while still telling us little about them overall. Kayce (Luke Grimes) wishes to leave Montana with his family, so his father, John (Kevin Costner), cozies up to Kayce’s son to prevent them from leaving. Beth (Kelly Reilly) is brooding and getting drunk, Jamie (Wes Bentley) is maneuvering the law, and so on. Vulture even called the episode “dismal” in their review, and truly, the episode is structurally scattered and light on plot.

The most interesting part about this episode, though it’s not deeply driven, is Rip (Cole Hauser) waiting outside a prison to recruit a new cowboy for the ranch. The cowboy just accepts, and we don’t really get much more than that. Was this insight into how Yellowstone hires workers? While this interesting part isn’t reiterated later, all the events with the Duttons are, so soap beats dominate the episode. If you skip it, you won’t really miss much at all.

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7

“All for Nothing”

Season 3, Episode 6
Monica and Thomas Rainwater talking in a field in Yellowstone, All for Nothing.
Image via Paramount Network
Season 3, Episode 6, “All for Nothing,” is another one full of emotional wheel spinning. It has a pretty frustrating pace, and I remember the frustration of watching the show once a week and experiencing this mid-season. The complex psychology of the story was somehow just glossed over, covered in a frustrating and flattening manner. This is quite surprising, considering the root of the drama between Beth and Jamie finally gets revealed, and it’s one of the show’s most controversial moments.

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…Instead of giving this story some more nuance and life, it just feels like giving Monica something to do to not be a wasted character.

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If you skip this episode, know that Beth tells John about Jamie’s role in her teen abortion/hysterectomy, causing family tensions to spike. That’s it. There’s a complex story about Native American women being murdered, prompting Kayce’s wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), to engage in the search for justice. However, instead of giving this story some more nuance and life, it just feels like giving Monica something to do to not be a wasted character.