For three seasons so far, Yellowstone fans have tuned in to see how the Dutton family will retain control of their ranch, which is the largest contiguous ranch in the United States of America — at least within the fictional world of the Western-tinged series. The patriarch of the family, John Dutton (Kevin Costner), controls the ranch, and he’s often tasked with defending it from politicians and corporations who want access to his land. All the while, he has to contend with issues in his own family.
From sudden pregnancies to horrifying betrayals, the characters of Yellowstone have been put on quite the roller coaster ride over the last three seasons, and fans have stuck with them through it all. With Yellowstone season 3 ending on a shocking cliffhanger and season 4 coming fast around the corner, there’s bound to be plenty more revelations that will have fans talking for days. Even simple lines of dialogue can set off heated discussions, as evidenced by one piece of a conversation that had a lot of Yellowstone loyals wondering what’s the deal with Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes).
Kayce is arguably the kindest member of the Dutton family, and on one episode of the series, he has a memorable exchange with his brother Jamie (Wes Bentley). “I need some advice … brother. That is, if I can still call you that,” says Jamie. Kayce replies, “‘Til the day you die, you better not call me anything else.”
It’s a sweet moment that sparked viewers to talk at length about just how nice Kayce is. However, for as kind-hearted as Kayce is, many Yellowstone fans believe that he should actually be much tougher in a certain regard due to his past profession.
Shouldn’t Kayce be a better fighter?
In a Reddit thread started by u/spacemonkster, fans quickly noted how Kayce can’t fight. There have been several instances throughout the series in which Kayce got into a fight with Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), and in each fight, Kayce got his butt handed to him. There was one exception, but Rip threw that fight.
The fact that Kayce isn’t as skilled in the art of fisticuffs is a little weird because, as fans know, he used to be a hardcore, medal-winning Navy SEAL. Many have argued that with a background like that, Kayce should have at least won a couple of brawls against Rip — but as far as Yellowstone is concerned, Rip is an unstoppable punching machine even in the face of a former Navy SEAL.
However, fans were quick to point out a possible explanation for this. Redditor u/Sks44 stated that just because someone was a Navy SEAL doesn’t mean they’re necessarily going to be incredible at hand-to-hand combat. After all, SEALs are capable of handling a variety of different weapons, and perhaps Kayce was an expert gunman. It’s possible that in his tangoes with Rip, Kayce just wasn’t operating at full capacity.
Additionally, the fights between Kayce and Rip could mean something else from a different perspective: They could be used to highlight how tough Rip is. If Rip can best a Navy SEAL, it makes sense why no one else would want to take him on. Kayce may not be able to win against Rip, but he could probably take down most everyone else on the ranch.
Yellowstone season 4 is just ahead of us, so don’t be surprised if Kayce finally wins one (for real) when taking on Rip. The new season is expected to debut sometime in 2021.
