Dutton Ranch Gives Rip Wheeler a Worthy Enemy

Dutton Ranch has emerged as a worthy successor to Yellowstone, driven in large part by the continued stories of Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler. Cole Hauser’s Rip remained a highlight throughout Yellowstone’s five-season run, embodying the Western antihero: a hard, sometimes violent man who will end lives that threaten his livelihood, his friends and loved ones, or the former interests of his adoptive father, John Dutton.

That brutality sits alongside unflinching loyalty, true compassion, a refusal to engage in cruelty, and unconditional love for his wife. On Yellowstone Rip usually battled on behalf of his employer, doing the dirty work to keep the Dutton family and ranch safe—often in ways grimmer and more violent than the corporate figures surrounding them would attempt.

Dutton Ranch has slowly built a villain who can match that willingness to get violent, creating a natural foil for the stern ranch foreman. Jai Courtney’s Rob-Will Jackson has been shaped as an outright villain.

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