Yellowstone is not done with shock and awe. After the last season tragically ended John Dutton’s arc, season 5 revealed who betrayed him. Fans have been up in arms about the show’s shocking twists and turns, and this most recent episode dropped another bombshell in the form of another major character dying. (Also read: Kevin Costner explains why exactly he is leaving Yellowstone behind)

In the opening episode of season 5, part 2 of Yellowstone, it was revealed that Claire Dutton (played by Dawn Olivieri) was the one behind the death of the series protagonist John Dutton (Kevin Costner). In the most recent episode, Claire finally had her comeuppance as her plan was exposed. The Montana Police now deem John’s death as a homicide and reopen the investigation into his death. This spooks the hitman who had been hired by Sarah to kill him. We see the hitman send two of his men to assassinate Sarah to save himself. The last scene of the episode sees Sarah being riddled with bullets and being left for dead. This brought an end to a character that has been hated and reviled by fans of the series.

Dawn Olivieri on Yellowstone ending

Olivieri, in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, joked that she has always played characters that are hated and good to kill, having played the villain in Yellowstone’s prequel 1883 as well. “For a long time in my career, I play a really good character to kill,” she said with a laugh, adding that when the show began, she had no idea she would be ‘the most hated villain in all of the world’.

However, Olivieri added that Kevin Costner’s character was always going to die, but she didn’t know how it will accelerate the show’s end. “I did know there was an exit strategy for him, but I don’t think I was supposed to go as soon as I did. I think that was going to happen [with John], but because we had to wrap this all up in lightning speed, I think it had to go down the way it went. I believe I was meant to go into the next season and continue on as a character. So I think because of the situation, everything got changed around. The storyline had to go full throttle to figure out how to tie up every end and move things along. I’m grateful.”

Yellowstone is an American neo-Western drama television series created by Taylor Sheridan and John Linson. It premiered on Paramount in 2018 and is set to conclude with season 5B on December 15 this year. The show also stars Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, and Cole Hauser.