Wes Bentley Compares Beth And Jamie's Yellowstone Feud To A Greek Tragedy
There's always turmoil on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch where Jamie (Wes Bentley) and his sister, Beth (Kelly Reilly), are concerned. In Season 3, Episode 5 of the Paramount Network show, we learned the origins of their animosity: seeking an abortion, Beth went to Jamie when they were teenagers, and Jamie violated her trust by bringing her to a clinic where she was given not only an abortion but sterilization as well. That, combined with Jamie's animosity toward his adoptive family that he's been building throughout the show, led to quite the fireworks show in Season 5.
In Episode 8, "A Knife and No Coin," the two go at it. After Jamie calls to impeach their father, John (Kevin Costner), who was elected governor of Montana this season, Beth pays him a visit. She clocks him on the head and threatens to go public with photos of Jamie disposing of his biological father's (Will Patton) body if he doesn't resign. Jamie fires back, saying that John and his ranchhands have also put their share of bodies into the ground in that part of Yellowstone.
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Bentley discussed his character's fraught relationship with his family, particularly with his sister Beth.
Bentley said he and Taylor Sheridan envisioned the feud as a Greek tragedy
Talking to Yahoo Entertainment, Wes Bentley said that he and series creator and writer Taylor Sheridan always envisioned the show as a "Greek tragedy in big sky country." Bentley continued, saying, "Well, that's how I [would describe] Beth and Jamie, that's a bold Greek play relationship between them that [is] complicated."
The quarrels between a brother and his sister, the important role of parentage and multiple generations, the animosity toward his father, sleeping with the family's enemy — yeah, checks a lot of Greek tragedy boxes. John, as the rancher of grey morals with a cutthroat family and a recently attained governorship, makes a good Greek tyrant figure. Perhaps the "Greek tragedy" comment also sheds some light on where the rest of Season 5 will go. Is Jamie headed for a downfall?
Bentley dished on his big scene with Reilly in Episode 8 and his relationship with actress Kelly Reiley, saying, "We together worked on how nasty she could be to Jamie because it was key ... She went to a place I've never seen her go, which was horrifying and terrifying and so sad, crushing, and so amazing. But that was because we can let each other go there and feel safe." He talked about how that scene not only gives Jamie power for once in the family but also sews some distrust between Beth and her husband, Rip (Cole Hauser). We'll have to wait to see where Beth and Jamie's relationship goes when the show returns in the summer of 2023.