DUTTON RANCH S1 E6 Recap: Becoming More Ruthless

Loosen the leash, reap the consequences.

Dutton Ranch
The first six episodes are now streaming on Paramount Plus. The series also airs Fridays on the Paramount Network at 8pm ET/PT.

As I noted in my recap of Episode 5, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and her husband Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) have both made big decisions. As Episode 6 begins, they are both now employed by Beaulah Jackson (Annette Bening), the big ranch that looms over Rio Paloma, a small town in South Texas.

Beth and Rip's adopted teenage son Carter (Finn Little) suffered a personal loss in Episode 5, but was warned not to talk about it. That makes breakfast with his parents doubly awkward, since Beth is trying to broker peace with him, after she and Rip excluded Carter from a momentous decision they made in Episode 4.

On Beth's first day as a strategy manager for Beaulah, they fly to Chicago in hopes of making a deal for the ranch's beef with a man in a big office and an up-scale suit. They each apply their selling skills in the meeting. Afterwards, they learn more about each other.

Also learning more about each other are Carter and Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind). Her grandmother Beaulah "loosened the leash" and allows her take the young man out with her in the family boat. They enjoy spending time together, but when Carter professes his deeper feelings for her, Orean suggests slowing down, before speeding off in the boat when she receives an urgent text message, a trip that is not resolved in this episode.

After making only a cameo appearance in Episode 5, Ed Harris returns as veterinarian Everett McKinney. We see him and Beaulah together in the morning; that evening, his skills as a vet are put to human use after Rip comes to the aid of Someone Important.

Dutton Ranch keeps up its ruthless ways in Episode 6, perhaps even increasing in intensity. Even so, it still makes time for the cowboys to spent time quality time baiting and bickering with each other, and engaging in fun cowboy games on the ranch.

The balance between cowboy games, corporate intrigue, and murder-minded wild cards has not yet fully flowered, but it's encouraging to see. The series has three more episodes to go for this season, so I'll be interested to see which storylines are resolved and which are left open for further development in a possible Season 2.

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