‘Yellowstone’ Which Character is a Psycho And Why?
Note: I am not a therapist; these aren’t real people. This post is intended to provoke introspection and help readers make possible nuanced connections between the characters and themselves.
Saddle up. This is going to be a winding cattle drive through the mental mayhem played out at ‘Y’ Ranch.
The TV show “Yellowstone” has gained much popularity in recent years, with its gritty and intense portrayal of the Dutton family, who are fighting to keep their land in Montana as a modern-day cult of cowpokes.
The show features three prominent characters: John Dutton, the presiding cult leader; his adopted son, Rip; and his daughter, Beth Dutton.
This essay looks at these three characters through a psychodynamic lens to help better understand who they would be in real life and why we are so attracted to them.
The hard part is seeing beyond the masks. We get wrapped up in the roller coaster of tragedy and hope. We idealize the qualities of characters on T.V. and in real life. By projecting our fantasies onto the other person.
The rescuer and the damsel in distress. Who doesn’t want to be the hero? Who doesn’t want to be rescued?
The problem is idealization clouds our judgment. And our culture is awfully cloudy these days. Considering the type of shows our culture consumes as entertainment today.
Shows like Yellowstone evoke a stress response in their audience — a real cocktail of fight-or-flight hormones and neurochemicals alerting us to danger. Firing up our sympathetic nervous system. Alerting us to what our bodies perceive as a real danger.
The problem is there is no real threat. You are on your couch safely at home.
Lace a little family tension, murder, sex, elation, and the audience is, in effect, trauma bonded.
Feels just like home.
John, Rip, and Beth all have some overlapping similarities in the case of personality disorders. In the study of psychological pathologies, these overlaps would be considered co-morbidities.
For this article, I only focus on their primary presentations to help illustrate a clear picture of who you’re fantasizing about or who may be most similar to yourself.
In other words, the type of person you would go home with after a night of Wranglers and a Wyoming Waltz.
John Dutton is likely a psychopath, Rip is likely a sociopath, and Beth Dutton is like someone with classic [untreated] Borderline Personality Disorder.
Psychopathy and sociopathy are two terms used to delineate between traits and behaviors nested within Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD).
On the other hand, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterized by severe vacillation split between all-good or all-bad thinking, an unstable mood, labile behavior, and a fleeting self-image.
John Dutton — Psychopath:
Lack of Empathy: John Dutton displays a severe lack of empathy towards others. He is ruthless and often takes extreme measures to protect his family and land. He does not hesitate to use violence, blackmail, or intimidation to get what he wants.
Impulsivity: John Dutton is impulsive and often acts without thinking through the consequences of his actions. This is evident in his decision to kill the developers who threatened his land without considering the legal and ethical implications of his actions.
Grandiosity: John Dutton has a grandiose sense of self-importance. He sees himself as a protector of his family and land and is willing to go to extreme lengths to protect them.
Lack of Remorse: John Dutton does not feel remorse for his actions. He justifies his actions as necessary to protect his family and his land. He does not consider his actions’ impact on others and shows no remorse for those hurt or killed due to his actions.
Superficial Charm: John Dutton is charming and charismatic. He uses his charm to manipulate and control others, especially vulnerable ones.
Despite John’s machiavellian, malignant narcissistic qualities, he embodies the mind of a true psychopath. Many viewers are drawn to John Dutton’s character image.
This may be because he is portrayed as a confident, authoritarian, no-nonsense leader willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family and his land. That’s the way of the wild west and the heritage of an all-American cowboy.
Indeed. And it very well may be a good survival strategy.
That’s what I grew up thinking as a young cowboy myself.
Until I had a real wake-up call and realized the way of a real cowboy and family man was simple:
Taking the long empathetic trail in life is the true mark of a man. Any path filled with deception, manipulation, usery, and hurting people to reach a goal is a shortcut taken by an adult man-child or [woman-child] too afraid to face his or her inner demons.
You see, John isn’t protecting his family or his ranch. He uses his family and the land as an excuse to compulsively play out unresolved psycho-trauma from his own childhood.
If John was truly protecting his family. He would do anything to protect the emotional well-being of his kids and do whatever it takes to get them out of harm’s way to lead stable and healthy lives.
Instead, he uses them as extensions of himself.
The nonconsensual branding on the cost of death John inflicts on his newfound servants is a hallmark of a sadistic cult leader.
If you don’t take the brand after being offered, you die. If you attempt to leave the ranch without John’s blessing, you die.
Clear evidence of John’s psychopathically sadistic grandiosity.
Not to mention how John selects recruits. He preys upon the vulnerable, impressionable, needy, and downtrodden.
Victims of life’s circumstances just waiting to be rescued by a savior.
Wolves in sheep’s clothing.
But, John is shown as a complex character with a tragic backstory, which adds to his appeal and is likely the root cause of his mental dysfunction.
We root for John Dutton because we see him as an underdog fighting against powerful forces trying to take away what is rightfully his. Who can’t relate, and what real cowboy doesn’t see themselves fighting for home and family?
Rip — Sociopath:
Impulsivity: Like John Dutton, Rip is impulsive and often acts without thinking through the consequences of his actions. This is evident in his willingness to use violence and intimidation to get what he wants.
Lack of Empathy: Rip lacks empathy towards others. He will hurt or kill others to prove his superiority. He is also willing to use violence and intimidation to control those around him.
Irresponsibility: Rip is irresponsible and does not take responsibility for his actions. He often blames others for his problems and does not take accountability for his mistakes.
Deceitfulness: Rip is deceitful and often lies to others to get what he wants. He is manipulative and uses his charm to deceive those around him.
Recklessness: Rip is reckless and often endangers himself and others. He is willing to take risks without considering the consequences of his actions.
One of the reasons we may be attracted to Rip is his fierce loyalty to the Dutton family. He will protect them at all costs and the ranch, even if it means resorting to extreme measures.
This unwavering loyalty and dedication can be seen as admirable, particularly in a world where loyalty and trust are hard to come by.
Rip’s character is often portrayed as self-assured, protective, and calm.
Combined with his quiet, brooding, mysterious demeanor and endless inhuman capacity to endure Beth’s wrath is a panty dropper for many women. Especially, those who did not have a healthy father figure to measure a man by and those who feel they’re not being seen, heard, protected, or desired.
Here in lies the mystery and the conundrum women face today. Told in the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast.
She needs to know the man she has captivated is as wild and strong as a beast, but for her and only her, the beast is tame and emotionally empathetic to her needs and would never hurt her.
A rare combination. Probably a near-extinct combination today.
In my opinion, if you find a man who embodies both. Give him your all, and he will do the same for you without compromise.
Rip has a traumatic childhood and a tendency to keep his emotions bottled up, which can make him seem more enigmatic and interesting. Playing on those nurturing motherly instincts.
This air of mystery and unpredictability can be alluring to viewers, particularly those drawn to characters with a darker or more complex side.
The show is inconsistent with his primary presentions. The sociopathic side of Rip not shown in the show would be a very different kind of leather, and All Spice in real life — especially to someone as emotionally volatile and uncontrollable as Beth.
The Hollywood script. The fantasy. The ideal.
Beth Dutton — Borderline Personality Disorder:
Intense Emotions: Beth Dutton experiences intense and unstable emotions. She often becomes angry, anxious, or depressed for no apparent reason.
Impulsivity: Beth Dutton is impulsive and often acts without thinking through the consequences of her actions. This is evident in her decision to sleep with a stranger and her tendency to engage in self-destructive behaviors.
Fear of Abandonment: Beth Dutton has a deep-seated fear of abandonment. She often fears that her family will abandon her and constantly seeks reassurance from them.
Unstable Relationships: Beth Dutton has unstable relationships with others. She often alternates between idealizing and devaluing those around her and may engage in risky exploitative behaviors to keep others close to her.
Identity Disturbance: Beth Dutton struggles with her sense of self. She may have difficulty understanding who she is and struggle to establish a stable sense of identity.
Impulsive Behaviors: Beth Dutton engages in impulsive behaviors, such as substance abuse and self-harm. These behaviors may provide her with a temporary sense of relief from her emotional pain, but they ultimately cause her harm.
Mood Swings: Beth Dutton experiences intense and rapid mood swings. She may go from happy and optimistic to depressed and hopeless within a short time.
Self-Harm: Beth Dutton engages in self-harm behaviors, such as cutting and burning herself. This may be a way for her to release her emotional pain and feel a sense of control over her life.
Black-and-White Thinking: Beth Dutton tends to see the world in black-and-white terms. She may view others as good or bad and struggle to see the gray areas in between.
Fear of Intimacy: Beth Dutton struggles with intimacy. She uses sex to quench her anxiety. In doing so, she uses and objectifies men. Using a human as an object is a type of goal-oriented manipulation. This is something a sex or love addict would do. This behavior can be described as facto 2 psychopathy or, in other words, a situational psychopath. * See citations
Beth has difficulty forming close relationships with others and shows different sides to people to paint different pictures. She fears being abandoned at a core subconscious level. She self-sabotages by pushing others away to protect herself from being hurt. What’s known as the Approach, Avoidant repetition compulsion cycle.
Despite her unstable and destructive behavior, many viewers are drawn to Beth Dutton’s character.
Beth’s daily vibe is, I just walked out of the sauna after hot, sweaty sex wearing a Sundance-style knee-high sundress that’s low cut to an eyelash above the nipples and ready to play boss bitch.
She grandiosely believes she could have any guy with her seductive Lilith-like charm, including your husband. As we all know, runny mascara 24/7 and a face covered in lacerations is every man’s fantasy.
Rather, Beth is the poster child for what the classic [untreated] Borderline often looks like.
Beth wields power and quippy wit as weapons of small-town, big-corp destruction and seemingly always wins or gets what she desires. Including Rip.
Even after treating him like a used tampon for all his life.She brings him close to lick her bloody wounds when she needs him once a month for a few days. After she has regained her fighting strength for her next hostile mission, she emotionally, verbally, or physically discards him.
But, She’s married now and is a dedicated, loving wifey. You’re right. A lifetime of sex addiction and playing Hot/ Cold, Push/ pull, and hard-to-get power games with men miraculously vanished without therapy.
I know. You know. We know. Rip’s undying love won her over.
I can tell you from over 15 years of direct experience being married to a, let’s say, ‘Beth type’ that love without therapy does not heal all, and I almost died trying, literally.
The vow of every stoic cowboy who has confessed his undying devotion to the sweet yet terrifying Jykell and Hyde known as the Borderline roller-coaster.
She idealizes those she seeks to gain from. Once the target has been acquired, her fear of engulfment creeps in, and she begins the emotional or verbal devaluation stage.
In preparation for a total internal emotional meltdown, a cycle her illness dictates. A cycle she will eventually blame her partner for.
In a psychanalytical sense, she would be like a succubus. Attaching to lessen the anxiety of emptiness, then avoid decreasing the anxiety of engulfment. While projecting blame onto her prey as she flys-off-the-handle so to speak.
What’s not to like about Beth in modern terms? She is portrayed as a strong, independent woman unafraid to speak her mind, take an equal beating with the boys, and take charge.
Her troubled past adds to her appeal. She suffered severe childhood trauma around the death of her punitive mother or, in psychological terms, her metaphorical, ‘dead mother’ or ‘devouring mother,’ the link to her adulthood disorder. *
Viewers may root for Beth Dutton because they see her as a survivor who has overcome adversity and is now fighting to protect her family and land.
On a brighter side, the show did portray Beth having an introspective dream waking her up in tears over how she had treated Rip.
Is this a healthy sign of remorse and empathy? See, she’s better, no? That’s not unusual, as Borderline personalities are highly attuned to emotions and can be deeply empathetic.
All to repeat the same patterns soon enough.
These lucid and warm kindhearted moments keep people stuck in toxic cycles. It kept me stuck, triggered, and reactive for most of my adult life.
You become so emotionally atrophied from managing your partner’s tumult while being their punching bag you lose touch with reality.
Desperately hungry for the smallest crumbs, a morsel feels like a feast for your starving soul. This is called intermittent reinforcement — the unspoken vows of toxic bonds where one or both people refuse to grow together.
In that same scene, Rip responds stoically dismissive. That sounds cool, but Beth needed to be validated at that moment. The scene accurately portrays what a Cowboy like Rip may do.
It accurately shows how Rip is so disconnected from his emotions that he casually brushes off a lifetime of bone-crushing betrayals and emotional abuse from Beth.
Again, these characters are multi-dimensional and complex. They are not one-dimensional stereotypes but have a range of emotions, thoughts, and motivations that make them addictive to watch.
For example, John Dutton is a powerful and wealthy man who is also a loving father and a fierce protector of his land.
Rip Wheeler is a loyal and dedicated ranch hand who struggles with emotional regulation and a history of senseless violence.
Beth Dutton is a fierce and independent woman who also grapples with the pain of her traumatic childhood.
Suppose you are either attracted to or identify with one of the characters in the show. As an exorcise consider engaging in self-reflection and introspection to understand why you may feel this way to grow into a whole person.
Notice how all of them have had childhood trauma. That’s the link and the work that must be done in therapy.
You got to go back to move forward.
If you do identify or find a strong sexual attraction to one of these characters, I encourage you to seek out a good therapist and stick with it.
This may be the first step in a long series of steps leading to a life worth living.
Additionally, it is important to recognize that seeking help is a sign of true strength and that there is no shame in acknowledging and addressing one’s struggles. A lesson I had to learn.
Taking steps to learn the skills to manage emotions, stop toxic cycles, stop hurting loved ones, and learn how to feel or deepen empathy towards others while ending destructive behaviors is the necessary trail we all must saddle up and ride down.
For the analysis of John Dutton as a psychopath:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Coid, J., & Ullrich, S. (2010). The Psychopath in Film. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 9(3), 181–189. doi: 10.1080/14999013.2010.510759
Hare, R. D. (1999). Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. New York: The Guilford Press.
For analyzing Rip as a sociopath:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Kiehl, K. A. (2006). A cognitive neuroscience perspective on psychopathy: Evidence for paralimbic system dysfunction. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 142(2–3), 107–128. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.08.006
Cleckley, H. M. (1941). The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality. Mosby.
M.E. Thomas. (2013). “Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight.” Crown.
For the analysis of Beth Dutton as a Borderline Personality Disorder:
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: The Guilford Press.
Paris, J. (2012). “The Emotional Rollercoaster of Borderline Personality Disorder.” Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-trauma/201208/the-emotional-rollercoaster-borderline-personality-disorder
* Levy, K. N., Meehan, K. B., Kelly, K. M., Reynoso, J. S., Weber, M., Clarkin, J. F., & Kernberg, O. F. (2006). Change in attachment patterns and reflective function in a randomized control trial of transference-focused psychotherapy for borderline personality disorder. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 74(6), 1027–1040. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.74.6.1027
Note: Transference-focused psychotherapy (TFP) improved attachment patterns and reflective function in individuals with a borderline personality disorder. TFP is a specific type of psychotherapy that focuses on identifying and exploring the client’s internalized object relations, particularly their transference reactions to the therapist. This therapy is based on the concept that early experiences with caregivers influence a client’s current patterns of relating and that exploring these patterns in the therapeutic relationship can promote change.
While there is some overlap in the symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and psychopathy, it is important to note that these are distinct mental health conditions with their own diagnostic criteria.
That being said, there is some research suggesting that a subset of individuals with BPD may exhibit psychopathic traits:
Black, D. W., Gunter, T., Loveless, P., Allen, J., & Sieleni, B. (2010). Antisocial personality disorder in patients with borderline personality disorder: A study of comorbidity and aggression. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 198(4), 170–175. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181d1435e
Rasmussen, K., Levander, S., & Aberg-Wistedt, A. (1999). Psychopathy and borderline personality disorder: Similarities and differences in terms of impulsivity and behavioral and emotional dysregulation. Journal of Personality Disorders, 13(1), 10–30. doi: 10.1521/pedi.1999.13.1.10
Verona, E., Patrick, C. J., & Joiner, T. E. (2001). Psychopathy, antisocial personality, and suicide risk. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110(3), 462–470. doi: 10.1037/0021–843X.110.3.462
The above sources are general references to the topics discussed and may not directly reference the specific characters or situations in “Yellowstone.”