Dutton Ranch is close to wrapping its debut season, which means the hit Yellowstone spin-off is seriously dialing up the drama.
Episode 7, “Den of Sin,” saw Beulah (Annette Bening) host a fancy soirée for the 10-Petal’s 190th anniversary. After a surprise guest crashed the festivities and someone unexpected caused a drunken scene, the night ended with a major medical emergency. As Beulah reflected on her life and legacy, we also flashed back to her younger years and met the mysterious Mariano.
So what went down in Dutton Ranch Episode 7’s final minutes? What’s wrong with Beulah at the party? And who is Mariano?
Read on for a flashback recap and ending breakdown.
Dutton Ranch Episode 7 spoilers ahead.
What’s Wrong With Beulah? Doe Beulah Die On Dutton Ranch? Dutton Ranch Episode 7 Ending Explained:
“Den of Sin” shows Beulah throw one hell of a party to celebrate the 10-Petal’s milestone anniversary and welcome Zane Nash into the fold. But she also plans to use the event to pass the ranch down to the next generation, which comes as quite a surprise to some. (Though it shouldn’t, because we all saw immense relief wash over her when Beth and Rip swooped in to carry the burden of the business!)
She’s all ready to hand the 10-Petal off to Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba) at the party. She even tells him his father would be proud and writes a speech about seeing him as her flesh and blood. With her retirement plan in motion and the bunkhouse boys out at a bar, Beulah’s relaxed and enjoying her lavish event, until Oreana pulls her into her office and reveals that her dad, Rob-Will, has returned.
As Rob-Will sits before Beulah, fresh out of rehab (early!), she grows increasingly tense. “My name is Robert William Jackson III, and this is my fucking legacy,” he tells her, promising to kill Joaquin unless he changes her mind and passes the 10-Petal down to him instead. When Rob-Will reminds his mother that he’s “Clear-eyed, ruthless, a killer. Hell, I’m the image of your father,” she reminds him that she hated her “miserable” father and prayed her boys would turn out better.
“Announcing me isn’t just the right thing, it’s the only thing,” Rob-Will stresses. “I’ll never let Kino have it. Ever. You understand?” Feeling she has no choice, Beulah publicly crushes Joaquin’s dreams and announces Rob-Will as her successor. In case the whole “my son’s blackmailing me and threatening to kill my other son” thing wasn’t stressful enough, Beulah’s visibly shaken when a drunk Carter (heartbroken over Oreana with another man) emerges from her house carrying one of her mounted animal taxidermy heads. As Carter causes a scene, Beulah grabs at a pain in her chest/shoulder/neck and falls to the ground. Emmett quickly calls for a medevac to the 10-Petal Ranch and assures her help is on the way. As pleads for her to stay with him, Beulah slips back into the memory of her youth, and when the end credits roll her fate is up in the air — literally and figuratively.
So what’s wrong with Beulah at the end of Dutton Ranch Episode 7? Does Beulah die?! We’ll obviously have to wait and see what Episode 8 has in store, but we can’t imagine Dutton Ranch killing one of its main matriarchs who’s so essential to the plot — and certainly not a mere eight episodes in! Considering all that unfolds at the party and the stress of having to step back from her business, it’s possible the medical event is an anxiety-induced false alarm. But there’s also a chance Beulah does experience a serious life-threatening emergency like a heart attack, which would explain the chest pain. While we wait to find out, let’s unpack Beulah’s flashback featuring Mariano, shall we?
Who is Mariano on Dutton Ranch? And Who Plays Young Mariano On Dutton Ranch?
While we’ve never met Mariano in present-day, his presence in the business and ties to Beulah have loomed over Season 1. And in Episode 7, we finally get a clear idea of their connection — or how it started, at least…
The flashback to August 1981 shows young Beulah (Rebeca Robles) and friends being dropped off at Billy Bob’s Texas Honky Tonk bar for a fun night of mechanical bull riding, dancing, and live music. Before she heads inside, Beulah kisses her babysitter Mariano (Bobby Soto) on the cheek and thanks him for the ride, but he doesn’t leave. He posts up at the bar drinking only coffee and keeps an eye on Beulah from afar. “I’m on the clock, mam, babysitting my boss’ daughter,” he tells the bartender. Even back then, you clearly didn’t mess with Jacksons.
A handsome boy named Luke (Cameron Cowperthwaite) charms Beulah and asks her to dance. And eventually, the bartender hands Mariano a beer and tries to talk him up, too. When she learns he has a wife and a son, Joaquin, however, she reveals that Luke paid her $20 to distract him. Why? So he could take off with Beulah! Mariano races outside to catch them but he’s too late, he drives down the road and finds Beulah standing outside with a bloody nose, dress torn off, and one boot. It’s implied that she was sexually assaulted by Luke, but she makes Mariano promise to tell her dad she was thrown off a mechanical bull. Episode 7’s cold open ends there. But as present-day Beulah starts to lose consciousness at the end of the episode, she returns to the memory…
We pick up with Mariano finding an emotional Beulah sitting on the bathroom floor in front of a positive pregnancy test. He comforts her and agrees to drive her to see Luke so she can tell him he’s going to be a father, but when Beulah walks inside she shoots and kills Luke, emerging from his trailer with the other boot she lost that traumatic night.
It’s unclear if Beulah went forward with her pregnancy after that, but considering the timeline, it’s likely Rob-Will was have been her and Luke’s son. Was the pregnancy (or the murder) the reason Mariano — who seemingly cared for Beulah like a daughter — left the picture and left Joaquin to her? With two episodes left in Season 1, here’s hoping we learn more about Mariano and the Jackson lore!
Stay tuned for more Dutton Ranch coverage from Decider.