Editor's note: The below interview contains spoilers for Dutton Ranch Episode 7.
Although Yellowstone concluded with its fifth and final season two years ago, Taylor Sheridan's neo-Western franchise has been able to live on via two spin-offs about John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) offspring. While Kayce (Luke Grimes) is kicking around on his home turf of Montana on the CBS procedural Marshals, his sister Beth (Kelly Reilly) and her husband Rip (Cole Hauser) are starting over in Texas on Dutton Ranch. Making a fresh start is easier said than done when they have a prominent rival — and now, unexpected boss — in Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening).
The couple's employment at the 10-Petal Ranch isn't their only link to Beulah's family, though; their adoptive son, Carter (Finn Little), has found himself falling head over heels for Beulah's granddaughter Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind). While Beth and Rip attempt to use their professional ties to the Jacksons to dig up any ounce of dirt they can — including who was responsible for dumping a 10-Petal ranch hand's body on their property — Carter is nursing a newly broken heart after confessing his love to Oreana and not hearing the answer he expected.
Everything comes to a head in this week's episode, "Den of Sin," in which a party originally intended for Beulah to confirm her son, Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba), as her official successor, climaxes with an unexpected betrayal, an embarrassing drunken display, and a shocking heart attack. Ahead of the episode's premiere, Collider spoke with Lind about why viewers should be paying close attention to Oreana, the family's complicated dynamics, why Beulah's health scare might actually bring the Jacksons closer together, and more.
COLLIDER: As much as Dutton Ranch is the Beth and Rip show, there is the Jackson family, their big rivals, and the relationships within. As we've seen so far, your character Oreana is kind of a free spirit. She's definitely someone who doesn't want to be confined in any way, and that butts up against her grandmother Beulah’s desire to control everything. What are some of your biggest memories of working with Annette [Bening] and getting to find that dynamic between those two women?
NATALIE ALYN LIND: As an actor on this show, one of the best parts of developing any character is knowing where they're coming from and knowing their background. Like you said, my character is so free-spirited, which is a very nice way to put it, but we were able to sit down with some of the creatives on our show and go over where these characters were for years before. For the Duttons specifically, people have been watching them for years and have seen the prequels, so you have such a great understanding of what their family bloodline looks like. When you're meeting a new family and you're meeting these characters, you want them to feel lived-in.
Before we started, we sat down, and me and Annette talked, me and Jai [Courtney] talked, me and J.P. [Raba] talked, and we really squared away what these relationships were going to look like, because, in general, family relationships are definitely the messiest, and the people that you love the most can definitely hurt you the most. Working with Annette, she has perfected her craft. She is just iconic. When she walks on the set, the entire vibe changes in such a positive way because she's so passionate. There's a lot of trauma that comes with the Jacksons that, even in Season 1, I'm not sure the full lengths are going to be seen. There's so much more behind what their families come from, and I think that Oreana is the type that is trying to break generational curses, and she's trying to do something different than what's been done in the past.
Trying to find that line between me and Annette was definitely something that we had to work on, because you want there to be a mutual respect to a degree, but [Oreana] does feel like she has this youthful energy to her where she's just trying to rebel, but there are going to be things that come out later, hopefully, fingers crossed, in Season 2 that will explain those dynamics more. Being able to talk about those dynamics before even filming what we filmed so far, with the idea of developing those storylines down the line, was such a blessing. Annette cares so deeply about the characters that she creates, so hearing her perspective on what this dynamic should look like and being able to give her my perspective, as well, and have her listen and take it in, and have that mutual understanding of where our characters are coming from, it's something that you don't get a lot in this industry, and it's not something that you get a lot in TV, specifically. It's such a creatively rewarding process, doing it with her.
As the audience, we've been made privy to the fact that the Jacksons are involved in some less-than-legal activity. Literally, in the first episode, Oreana’s dad, Rob-Will, murders someone, and that mystery has been hanging over the show. But it's very clear that Oreana has a lot of affection for her father, as well as her grandmother and uncle. Did you have any conversations, or try to decide for yourself how much Oreana knows about what's going on behind the scenes? Has she put two and two together about the family's dirty dealings, despite their efforts to keep it from her?
LIND: You are such an incredible viewer, because everything that you're thinking right now is exactly what you should be thinking. If I'm being so honest with you, I don't want to say, because it’ll give some stuff away! I feel so bad, but I love that you picked up on all of that.
I think that you should just take a look at Oreana. She's somebody who obviously has this youthful energy, and she's kind of out there, and says exactly what she's thinking, and she's hotheaded. What a lot of people don't know about her, though, is that she graduated at the top of her class. She has her degree in agricultural science and business, like Joaquin, so she's definitely a smart girl. But that's all I'm going to say. I think my character is very smart. She allows people to see the side of her that she wants them to see. That's all I'm actually going to say. I'm going to quit speaking. I need to make it to Season 2, so I'm going to leave it at that.
One moment that stands out with Oreana is the scene where Beth walks in on her with Carter and then drives her back to the 10-Petal. We've spent seasons watching Kelly [Reilly] develop the character. We've seen flashbacks to a younger Beth. Maybe Beth sees a bit of herself in this young woman. Were you ever struck by those parallels yourself?
LIND: Hey, if there are any footsteps that I, just individually as a person, am going to follow, I would run after Kelly Reilly. She has developed this character that is just so known worldwide, and she's created such an iconic character. I think that there are these beautiful parallels between Carter and Oreana and Beth and Rip, and it's like this messy, authentic love. One of the reasons that people love Beth and Rip so much is that Beth is such a powerful woman. There's a scene that I just absolutely love in Episode 1 where Beth comes in and sits down on the couch next to Rip, and she just goes, “That's not my blood. We have a new horse,” and he just kind of takes it. I think that there definitely is a degree of Beth seeing herself in Oreana, and there was such a natural path to go down.
'Dutton Ranch' star Cole Hauser reveals why Episode 4 is particularly tough for Rip and which moment he improvised during filming.
It's so funny seeing fan responses — even when the first-look photos came out, even before the trailer was out, where people were like, “Oh my gosh, Beth is going to absolutely destroy her.” I think that Kelly, as an executive producer on the show and knowing the universe so well, wanted to pivot away from this thing that's so frequently seen on TV of powerful women always having to disagree and not get along. The natural thing that people were expecting was for Beth to come in and rip [Oreana] off her son and give her some shit, but she's been in that position, and it shows that Beth is developing as a person to be able to have empathy and to be able to see other people's perspectives. It's that same feeling when, in the original Yellowstone, she finds Carter for the first time. It shows such a human side to her.
Working with Kelly and having these conversations before filming our first scene together, it was definitely something that was talked about. For me personally, I don't think that two powerful women on screen should fall into the same category because they're not afraid to speak their mind. With Oreana, I definitely want her to feel different, even though there are parallels. I want to be able to develop a character that feels authentically herself, and not just a parallel of somebody else's character. There's no way you're ever going to be able to parallel Beth. She is everything. She is probably my favorite female character on TV of all time. But yeah, it is a lot of fun being able to play with some of those dynamics while maintaining my own thing and developing Oreana in a much different way.
When Oreana and Carter first start hanging out — dating might be too formal a term — there is a bit of a Romeo and Juliet element to it because of the rival families, but they do take a step back because of what happens on the boat in Episode 6, when Carter says that he loves her. Does Oreana just not feel ready to say it back? Does she fear that he's mistaking infatuation for love? This is the first serious romance that he's ever been in. From a character standpoint, why do you think she reacts the way that she does?
LIND: Oreana has been hurt so many times in her life by the people that she loves, and she is somebody that's always having to fight for validation. The relationship between Carter and Oreana is probably the first authentic relationship that she's had that she hasn't had to fight for. So, from my perspective, there's definitely layers to it. I think it comes more from her feeling like she doesn't deserve love, and not being able to accept it. She obviously cares so deeply about the person that's sitting in front of her, and I think that it's a really sad moment internally for her, realizing that she's not able to say that back.
I do think that there are levels of [her] not wanting to play with him, and something that certain people pick up on, certain people don't, is that we have such an age gap between our two characters. My character is supposed to be 24, his character is supposed to be 19, but it's been really cool to see their relationship play out because people have known Carter since he was little on Yellowstone. So, you see Carter growing into a man, and then you also see Oreana gaining back that whimsical feeling that she was robbed of as a kid because she was sent to college, and she was always told what to do in her life. She's trying to rebel, and at the same time, kind of gain back this independence that she feels like she hasn't had. The age difference between these two characters is something that I've always found very interesting. It's so funny, people online will say, “She doesn't look like she's in high school,” and I’m like, “Well, that's kind of the point. My character’s not supposed to be in high school.”
That moment specifically, there's so many different levels to it. The main point, and how I wanted to play it, is that Oreana’s response back wasn't angry or petty; it was hurt, and I wanted people to feel like it genuinely hurt her to say that. From my perspective, it hurt in the way of not being able to accept love, and that's something that I think a lot of people struggle with. Even in [Episode 4], when she's in bed and they have just had their sexy night together, he says something very basic, just, “You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met.” Obviously, Oreana is the type that dresses up and goes out and likes to be seen, but you see it almost makes her uncomfortable. She's not somebody who accepts compliments or true affection very well, and that makes her a very complicated character. Fingers crossed for Season 2, with what I know about the character, I'm excited for people to see why she is the way that she is.
The next moment for them is obviously at the Jacksons' big party.
LIND: People are going to hate me so much. Well, not me. When I read that paragraph, I was like, “What is she saying to him? Oh my God!” Because Carter is such a sweetheart and he has such a big heart. It broke me reading it as a fan.
They have that conversation at the bar, and he's already not doing well seeing her with someone else, and then she tells him to be the bull, not the steer. Is that her way of saying, “Fight for me,” without actually saying those words?
LIND: I haven't seen Episodes 7 and 8, and I think that there's a scene that was supposed to be in 6, where I go and meet up with Rob-Will at the hotel, and I'm not positive if that's still in there. But I think that in this moment, there is an element of her wanting Carter to fight for her, but this is the point in the season where her intentions start shifting, and she starts becoming intoxicated with her family and what that might mean, and her dad comes back into town. I think that the relationship between Rob-Will and Oreana is very toxic, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It goes into not accepting love, but it also goes into a much deeper idea of what should happen in this scenario from the last time that you saw them on the boat in [Episode] 6, and that kind of starts playing out even more.
One of the reasons that I love Yellowstone so much is that in the entire franchise with all of these characters, there's not one specific intention behind anything. There's always just so many different elements to it. In that moment specifically, I think that she also, at the end of the day, is somebody who likes to push boundaries and see how far she can take people. There's definitely a more sinister explanation for why she's being so cold.
What can you tease for fans about how Beulah’s heart attack is going to impact the dynamic within the family, especially now that she's formally announced Rob-Will as her successor? Joaquin clearly feels pretty burned, and I don't know that anyone can necessarily say that Rob-Will's the best choice to take over, but this is Oreana’s inheritance, too, so she has a stake in things.
LIND: Through every single storyline, there is a combativeness between Rob-Will and Joaquin, there's a combativeness between me and [Beulah], there's a combativeness between Joaquin and Beulah, Beulah and Rob-Will. We're such a messy family, full of so much deceitfulness and vengeance, and always trying to be the best and be at the top, that the moment something like this happens — and it happens in real life, as well — sometimes you have to take a step back and realize that there are bigger things in life. You haven't really seen a more sensitive and vulnerable side of the Jacksons, and [Episode] 8 is the first time that you actually see them as a real family.
New episodes of Dutton Ranch premiere Fridays on Paramount+.
