The Yellowstone openings work well as a hook to keep the audience engaged. They represent a moment that evokes feelings of love, heartbreak, or even great humor. These scenes are unforgettable precisely because they intend to create a big impact on viewers. Some of these openings, however, became iconic among the rest.

10. Beth Has a Hilarious Conversation While in Jail

Season 5, Episode 4, “Horses in Heaven”

Beth is not often kind to people, but the woman she shares a cell with earns her respect. The woman admits she is a stripper, to which Beth has zero judgment. Beth can drive an expensive car and enter the most wealthy building in the city, and also spend a night in jail without feeling she is beyond the place. In the end, the two women bond over “bitches from California” and, when the police officer calls her Bethany, she tells the woman her name is Beth. Moments like this have turned Beth into a fan-favorite character on Yellowstone because, when people least expect it, she shows a surprisingly soft side.

9. Impressive Riding Skills on Scene

Season 3, Episode 8, “I Killed a Man Today”

There are many openings in Yellowstone showcasing horses or riding, but this one portrays the most commercial and show-oriented side of the job. This brief opening, lacking much context, sets the tone for the series while also illustrating a broader aspect of the business. After all, there must be a reason why these wealthy cowboys risk their lives to preserve their lifestyle; it might be that some aspects of it even resemble art.

8. A Flashback When John Sets Jamie on a Dangerous Path

Season 2, Episode 6, “Blood the Boy”

Later, Jamie not only resents John for turning him into a person John hates, but also for sending him so far away. Jamie Dutton was always going to be a controversial character, but the role John played in his personality is undeniable. John sent him to build a career and then punished him for trying to further it beyond the Yellowstone scope. This season sees the man becoming a monster, so Jamie’s flashbacks are essential to understanding the character, if not to redeem him.

7. John Dutton Sacrifices His Horse

Season 1, Episode 1, “Daybreak”

The very pilot of Yellowstone already includes a perfect John Dutton moment, but it also illustrates the kind of show this would be. As John gets up, hurt, after a car accident (or murder attempt), he has to put his horse down as the poor animal lost its leg. Before killing it, John tries to soothe the horse, showing both a compassionate and ruthless side.

John Dutton is a complicated character. He can murder people without a single ounce of regret, and also help a woman change her tire on the side of the road. He has love for his horses, but he’s willing to sacrifice them in the name of war. In a way, this scene foreshadows John’s relationship with his children, which is both peculiarly loving yet violent and manipulative. His eldest son dies in the very same episode, trying to get back cattle from the reservation. Perhaps this scene parallels John’s sacrifice of his own son, and later, most of his family.

Season 5, Episode 6, “Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow, and You”

“Cigarettes, Whiskey, a Meadow, and You” opens with a beautiful frame of the cowboys riding on open land during the sunset. The contrast of light and shadow highlights the horses’ shapes, creating a gorgeous scene. However, Beth hilariously breaks the moment by asking if anyone thought of packing a bit of vodka. John is outraged, but Beth explains that she has the same view from her room and that there is nothing special about it. When John leaves, she explains to Rip that beauty, for her, doesn’t lie in enormous landscapes, but in small, comprehensible scenarios, to which she has a special connection.

5. John Takes a Ride on His Horse Despite His Bullet Injury

Season 4, Episode 2, “Phantom Pain”

After the multiple shootings against the Dutton family in the Season 3 finale, John miraculously survives, but he is severely injured. Despite his family’s warnings, he rests as little as possible. In this opening scene, Kayce finds him riding a horse and bathing himself in natural bathing waters. Kayce questions him, and he says that the doctor told him he should take baths.

4. Teeter Wakes Up with a Rattlesnake on Top of Her Chest

Season 5, Episode 10, “The Apocalypse of Change”

When the cowboys are in Texas, Rip enters Teeter’s tent in the early morning to see why she hasn’t woken up. Teeter is shaking and sweating, and looks at him with great fear in her eyes. Rip carefully removes the snake without hurting Teeter, likely saving her life.

3. Tate and John Have a Meaningful Conversation

Season 3, Episode 2, “Freight Trains and Monsters”

John and Tate’s scenes are among the fandom’s favorites because they showcase a softer side of the Dutton patriarch. However, in this scene, Tate’s innocence is particularly fascinating. As a kid, he didn’t understand why people couldn’t just live in the wilderness. The irony is that society moved away from that on purpose, killing nature and subjugating others in the process. Even more ironic is the fact that John is part of that process. Tate cracks the code of how simple life can be.

2. Beth and Kayce Find Out Their Father Is Dead

Season 5, Episode 9, “Desire Is All You Need”

When John’s assistant, with running mascara and a grim expression, looks at her, Beth cries and yells. Kacey arrives and tries to console her by taking her inside the house and denying what is obvious, but things only get worse as they encounter their father’s body. Despite the toxic Dutton family dynamics, seeing Beth lose her cool in such a raw way is an unforgettable moment in Yellowstone, made even more poignant by Kelly Reilly’s harrowing portrayal.

1. John Dutton Says Goodbye To His Father

Season 2, Episode 10, “Sins of the Father”

This scene is not only flawlessly executed, but it’s also an essential piece to understanding John Dutton as a character. In a very patriarchal manner, the Dutton men inherit their father’s traumas and desires. John, much like his own children, likely wanted his father’s approval as he grew up admiring him. He continued the problematic cycle by holding too tightly to the Yellowstone land, arguably to honor his memory. John’s children would die, turn evil, and even sacrifice their own lives to please him, but fortunately, Beth and Kacey finally break the cycle when it becomes impossible to sustain.