Dutton Ranch Episode 6 Feels Like The Cowboy Version Of Reacher Season 3 — And We Don't Hate It

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

"Reacher" Season 3 was based on the best Jack Reacher book, "Persuader," in which the titular ex-military police officer goes undercover in a mansion to solve the mystery of a missing informant. As /Film's Jacob Hall put in his "Reacher" Season 3 review, the result of unleashing this brawler in a stately home was "like watching the shark from 'Jaws' let loose in a swimming pool crowded with Bad Dudes Who Have It Coming." Now, with Kelly Reilly's Beth Dutton and Cole Hauser's Rip Wheeler similarly inserting themselves into their main rivals' mansion, "Dutton Ranch" is starting to feel like the cowboy version of "Reacher" Season 3.

"Dutton Ranch" started out as a show about dueling ranches in a small Texas town. But Episode 4 featured one of the most disturbing sequences in the "Yellowstone" universe wherein Rip was forced to cull his entire herd of cattle following an outbreak of foot and mouth. After that, the Dutton Ranch was no more and both Rip and Beth cozied up to the rival 10 Petal Ranch.

With Rip now the 10 Petal foreman and Beth working alongside Annette Bening's Beulah Jackson to expand the 10 Petal empire, the two "Dutton Ranch" leads are essentially embedded in enemy territory. For now, the agreement is supposedly a stopgap until Rip and Beth can get their ranch running again. But it seems likely the couple have ulterior motives, and may even be working to dismantle the 10 Petal Ranch from the inside. If so, that would make "Dutton Ranch" Season 1 reminiscent of "Reacher" Season 3, and the similarities don't stop at undercover mansion missions.

Prime Video

"Dutton Ranch" Episode 4 may have revealed the real villains behind the ranch attack when Rip Wheeler suggests the bull infected with foot and mouth came from Mexico. We know Beulah Jackson and the 10 Petal Ranch are overseen by a shady individual named Mariano Reyes, who many fans have speculated could be a cartel member. If that's the case, then the cartel could have transported the bull from Mexico to destroy the 10 Petal Ranch's main rival. As such, Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton might well be embedding themselves in the 10 Petal mansion in order to take revenge.

The going-undercover-in-a-stately-home storyline immediately calls to mind "Reacher" Season 3, but there's more to it than that. The third season of Alan Ritchson's Prime Video series introduced Olivier Richters' Paul Van Hoven, aka Paulie — a hulking giant of a man that somehow made Ritchson's titanic frame look small. This was one of the best storylines in "Reacher" Season 3, and culminated in the most brutal showdown in the show's history when Reacher and Paulie finally clashed.

Wouldn't you know it, "Dutton Ranch" has a similar (though comparatively tiny) character in Berto Colon's Miguel. Like Paulie, Miguel is the 10 Petal's muscle, and essentially acts as a bodyguard for Beulah Jackson, her adopted son Joaquin Reyes (Juan Pablo Raba), and Beulah's granddaughter Oreana Jackson (Natalie Alyn Lind). Like Paulie, he's a laconic muscle-bound tough guy who hasn't had much to do thus far. But in "Dutton Ranch" Episode 6 Rip saves Joaquin from being killed by an aggrieved former employee. As Rip watches that particular incident play out, it's hard not to imagine he and Miguel will eventually come to blows in a Jack Reacher vs. Paulie-esque showdown.

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

"Dutton Ranch" Episode 5 ruined the show's best storyline by having Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton's herd decimated and thereby essentially removing their ability to compete with 10 Petal Ranch. Episode 6 was very much about re-establishing the stakes following that colossal loss for the titular ranch, and it seems that moving forward we'll have a very different show on our hands.

If you're going to re-work the central tension of the series, then, making it a "Reacher" Season 3-esque tale of cowboy espionage with plenty of skulking around grand old mansions isn't a bad way to recalibrate. The third season of Alan Ritchson's Prime Video series was the best so far, with "Reacher" breaking ratings records and restoring the show's standing as one of the best action series on TV after a rocky sophomore season. We didn't necessarily predict "Dutton Ranch" emulating that particular storyline, but it's tough to resist the promise of a Rip vs Miguel fight while Beth secretly gathers evidence against the 10 Petal Ranch from inside its own headquarters.

Still, it feels as though this whole thing could have been another season of the show entirely. Dutton Ranch vs 10 Petal was set to be a ranching showdown for the ages, and it's sort of a shame to think we won't be getting that version of the show. That said, there's more than enough to keep fans watching now that Beth and Rip are firmly established inside the very organization that might be responsible for destroying their herd. The only thing more terrifying than having a ticked-off Rip Wheeler in your midst is Jack Reacher himself.