Taylor Sheridan has failed to answer a John Dutton III mystery from the Yellowstone series premiere. The corresponding scene is a deep pull from Lee Dutton’s funeral, but it contains mysterious information about the Dutton family tree that the show didn’t touch for another 5 seasons. Yellowstone’s conclusion elicited a mixed reaction from fans and critics. The ending leaned into the expansive lore of long-forgotten Dutton family members, fulfilling a prophecy set up in 1883, Sheridan’s prequel series that explains how John Dutton’s ancestors arrived in Paradise Valley, Montana.

Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequels, titled 1883 and 1923, respectively, for the year they occur, weave together a rich tapestry that makes up the Dutton family. The Yellowstone prequels inform viewers about the seven generations of characters who exist within the 140 years the family occupies what became the largest contiguous ranch in the US — from Elsa Dutton’s 1883 tragedy to Spencer’s heroic journey in 1923. Still, one mystery critically linked to John III remains unsolved, leaving Sheridan with sparse options to clear up the identity of two mysterious characters from the series premiere.

John Dutton III’s Connection To Chance & Ned Dutton Explained
John Dutton Remembers Chance And Ned Dutton In Yellowstone Season 1

The Yellowstone series premiere set the tone for the franchise, with a modern range war erupting between the Dutton family and the Broken Rock Tribe. After a herd of cattle mysteriously migrates to the Broken Rock Reservation, the tribe’s new chief claims the cattle as his people’s. Unwilling to accept he’s lost a fraction of his herd, John III plays into Thomas Rainwater’s setup and arrives with a convoy of livestock agents and cowboys to take the beef back. Unfortunately, it’s a fatal mission, and John’s oldest son never makes it home.

After Lee Dutton’s death in Yellowstone season 1, episode 1, John III and his loved ones attend his eldest son’s funeral. As the sorrowful music plays and the service begins, John closes his eyes and lifts his head to the sky, momentarily transcending. As he does this, he remembers something, with the scene cutting to a picture of two tombstones within the family’s grassy graveyard. The weathered tombstones read the names of Chance and Ned Dutton as they flashed on the small screen. While one could expect the names to reappear, Yellowstone doesn’t mention these characters again in five seasons.

What Yellowstone Has Revealed About Ned & Chance Dutton Thus Far
We Know Virtually Nothing About Chance And Ned Dutton