The explanation that makes the most sense for why this series is being shot down in Texas is that Beth and Rip have decided to move on

from Montana, instead staking their claim down in Texas after the way that Yellowstone ended. If you recall, throughout the first few

episodes of Season 5B, Rip and Beth spent time in Texas while the former was working cattle on the Four Sixes Ranch. While down there,

 

 

they spoke (on more than one occasion) about how living in a place where being a cowboy is actually cherished and honored would be more ideal than what Paradise Valley — and Montana in general — has become. Although the pair bought land outside of Dillon, Montana to restart after giving up the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, it’s possible that Rip, Beth, and Carter will be moving for good, and that may not be a bad thing.

For one thing, this move would allow the new spin-off to stand on its own legs apart from Yellowstone and all the Montana-based adventures that took place there. It would further distance Beth from any fallout post-Jamie’s (Wes Bentley) death, and it would likewise push Rip away from the bodies decomposing at the train station. The pair has already found elements of Texas that they like, and Rip and

 

 

Carter in particular would fit in with no problem. With so many cities peppered throughout the state — including Dallas, Huston, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso, Amarillo, and more — it’s not like there would be any shortage of things for Beth to do either, especially if she were to get back into corporate acquisitions. Moving from Montana to Texas would certainly open up the world of this Yellowstone spin-off beyond the borders of the ever-growing northwestern state.

Again, much of Yellowstone‘s final season flirted with the idea that Rip and Beth could one day leave Montana and venture further south. We see this especially in the episode “The Apocalypse of Change,” where Beth challenges Rip to wonder about “all the things that we could do if we’re not shackled to that ranch.” With the two getting their own sequel series, now seems like it may be the perfect time to see that concept through. Whether they’re run out of Montana after being rejected by the Western Montana community or they choose to move to the Lone Star State on their own accord, either option could be interesting ways to frame this continuation as something different from its predecessor. All the land-grabbing plots got old after a while, so however Taylor Sheridan decides to continue their story beyond the flagship series, it’ll have to be unique somehow.

Again, a move to Texas may be the best thing for a Rip and Beth story, as it would give the series its own unique identity. More than that, it would allow Sheridan the chance to write about the world that he knows best: Texas. Funny enough, it would also help explain Beth and Rip’s further absence from the upcoming CBS series Y: Marshals, especially if Kayce (Luke Grimes) ends up traveling across the state while on the job as Montana’s latest lawman. Who knows, Rio Palo could just be a detour that Sheridan is taking the sequel series for the sake of personal convenience, or maybe it’s just a step in a bold new direction for the franchise. Either way, there is a lot of potential for the Yellowstone Universe down in Texas, a state rife with Western and cowboy history that could easily be the launching point for several new Dutton-branded adventures.