She’s the tornado. Beth Dutton has always been one of the most morally complicated characters on Yellowstone, but Kelly Reilly says there’s one moment that fans still can’t handle.
The U.K. native, 44, revealed that her character’s relationship with Carter (Finn Little) is still a source of tension among viewers. During season 4, Beth took in the boy after his father died, but in the finale, she stopped short of allowing him to call her mama.
“America went after me for that!” the Flight actress told TVLine in an interview published on Sunday, June 19. “I was like, ‘That’s the character, not me!’ But I get it. I wish she would [let herself be a mother to him] too.”
Still, Reilly thought the heartbreaking moment was true to Beth, who’s been cold and calculating since season 1. “If she’s telling this kid that she’s just met, ‘Yeah, I’ll be your mom,’ that’s not truthful to him,” she explained. “She goes, ‘You had a mom. She died. I can’t replace that. But I’ll be your friend.’ I think there’s something honorable about that.”
Little, 16, is coming back for season 5, though he doesn’t look quite the same as he did when he began filming season 4 in 2020. Last month, the Those Who Wish Me Dead actor revealed that he’s grown so much since he was last on set that some of the Yellowstone crew didn’t recognize him.
“When you say, ‘hi, nice to see you!’ to the film crew and they don’t know who you are! 
,” the Australia native joked via Instagram in May.
The fifth season of the western drama is set to premiere in November, but plot details remain scarce. Earlier this year, Kevin Costner told Us Weekly that he’s happy about where the story is going, though he didn’t offer any specifics about what might happen to his character, John Dutton, and his family.
“The foot is still down on the gas pedal,” the Oscar winner, 67, explained in May. “It’s holding up the way the first four seasons did. So, I was really happy about that.”
Like the rest of the cast, the Dances With Wolves star doesn’t know too much about where the plot is headed until he gets his scripts, but he thinks fans will be pleased by what’s coming. “I feel like we’re going the right direction,” he told Us, praising the show’s writing. “It’s not so easy to catch a high point. It’s not so easy to stay there. And I think the writing is really staying at a level that’s important.”
Season 5 of Yellowstone premieres on Paramount Sunday, November 13.
