Now that you mentioned it, since Lee Dutton’s death, not much more has been said about the oldest Dutton child on “Yellowstone.”
Lee Dutton is the oldest biological son of John and Evelyn. However, in the first episode, the cowboy met his fate in a gun battle.
From the first episode of “Yellowstone,” we knew the series was going to be juicy. We were introduced to the whole Dutton family, as well as an issue that quickly arose between the ranch and the Broken Rock Reservation. After a fence broke, hundreds of cattle wander from the Yellowstone property to the reservation. The men whose land the cattle wandered into claimed the cattle as their own. Naturally, this didn’t sit well with John and the rest of his family. And they were not going to just roll over with thousands of dollars of profit on the line.
The two sides went to war for the animals, and during the gun battle, blood is shed on both sides. On the Duttons side, the oldest and most loyal brother, Lee Dutton, died. To avenge his death, Kayce (the youngest Dutton son) shot the man who killed his brother numerous times. That man just happened to be Kayce’s wife, Monica’s brother. There was a whole ordeal after the battle about cremating Lee’s body to destroy evidence and such, which they ended up doing to protect Kayce.
After Lee Dutton was nothing but ashes, his name pretty much died with his character on the show. But don’t think people didn’t notice!
Reddit Touchs On Lee Dutton’s Death
When someone dies, you generally mention them from time to time at least. But nope, not the Duttons. Lee is all but a memory at this point on the show. And Reddit fans are questioning why.
“I’m 4 episodes into season three and have noticed that they make no mention of Lee in the show,” wrote Audition89. “Did the show forget he existed?”
Another user noted how “weird” the choice was to never again mention Lee.
“I have the same complaint. There are brief mentions here or there that he existed, but I have always thought it was weird how his name is never spoken after his death.”
One fan couldn’t even remember who Lee was –that’s how little Lee is mentioned on the show!
The wrote, “Who is Lee?”
Furthermore, Lee Dutton would have been the front runner to inherit the ranch after John’s death. Kayce had packed up and moved to the reservation with Monica. Beth lived in Salt Lake and wanted nothing to do with the property, and Jamie wasn’t even blood. Lee was the only one mature enough and invested enough to take over after John.
However, Dave Annable, the actor who played Lee, posted on social media, possibly hinting that he will be returning to the show. Could Lee Dutton rise from the dead, or will we get throwback scenes that mention the forgotten child?
