Yellowstone‘s own Kayce Dutton, Luke Grimes, is fed up with his character “trying to do all things at once, which doesn’t seem to work out.”
Like audiences, he’s pushing for big changes for Kayce before the biggest show on television wraps up. In the behind-the-scenes interviews conducted for the DVD/Blu-Ray release of Yellowstone Season 5 Part 1 (conducted well before the SAG-AFTRA strike and even before the cast knew the show would be ending this season), Grimes acknowledges that Kayce’s path so far has proven frustrating.
“The arc for Kayce is that he sort of hasn’t evolved as much as you wanted him to,” he offers. Which is, to say, his Dutton son hasn’t changed much – if at all – since we first met him in 2018.
“It’s always, ‘What do I chose and where do I go? And where do I stand? Where does my loyalty lie?’ He doesn’t know if it’s the Dutton legacy or if it’s his own personal family,” Grimes adds. But he does so without a hint of malaise.
You’ll never meet a bigger Yellowstone fan than Luke Grimes. The man now lives on a Montana ranch with his wife and, through a rocketing start to a country music career, is more embedded in the show’s America than most in the cast or crew. Yet he, like all of us, is ready to see Kayce finally step up.
Luke Grimes promises development from ‘huge moment in ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5, Part 1
Now is his moment, too, with Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) off handling business in Texas for bossman John Dutton (Kevin Costner), the latter being on his way out permanently due to heightened tension behind the scenes.
“I think this a huge moment for Kayce,” Grimes lights up. “It’s his legacy, and I’m honestly really excited about this chapter for Kayce and Monica, because I think we’re going to see a whole different side to them.”
The life Taylor Sheridan has crafted for Kayce and his nuclear family hasn’t been easy. His wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and their son Tate (Brecken Merrill) have been shot at, kidnapped, and have every reason in the world to hate the Dutton empire John has built. But when your family’s legacy is literally burning down around you, do you tuck tail and run? Or do you stick it out and help your kin rise above?
“You’ve wanted them to do that,” Grimes acknowledges again for Kayce’s past arcs (or lack thereof). “And obviously its been very hard for them.”
Which is, again, an understatement. Yet Yellowstone fans have been dying to see Kayce rise above for seasons now. And with the show now ending with Season 5, it’s got to happen in those last episodes. Right?
‘It’s time for Kayce to step up’
“Obviously it’s going to put him in a position where he has to take on a lot more than he probably has been comfortable with,” Grimes says. But “With what John’s got to go do, it’s time for Kayce to step up.”
Luke Grimes will return as Kayce Dutton for Yellowstone Season 5’s second half, which will now end the series, most likely in 2024. Initial word from Paramount cited November 2023 for their return, but the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike is delaying all projects in the franchise (and all others).