Many "Yellowstone" fans are not pleased with Sunday night's season premiere.
Almost two years after the last episode of the show aired, Taylor Sheridan's beloved western series finally returned to television for the premiere of season 5B. While it was widely known that former star Kevin Costner would not appear, viewers were not sure how his absence would be handled.
The fate of Costner's character, John Dutton, was quickly revealed – the episode began with Kelly Reilly and Luke Grimes' characters, Beth and Kayce Dutton, discovering that he has been shot and killed.
‘YELLOWSTONE’ STAR LUKE GRIMES ADMITS ‘NONE OF US SAW’ KEVIN COSTNER'S EXIT COMING
The death appeared to be a suicide, but there seems to be some suspicion that he was actually murdered.
Judging by comments made on social media, longtime fans of the series were not impressed at the way the show handled Costner's departure.
"Honestly show creator missed the audience mark on this one by a million miles," one person wrote on X.
Another person complained, "I dont even want to finish the show anymore."
"John Dutton was a fantastic character, and despite the Kevin Costner drama, he deserved a better goodbye than Yellowstone gave him," someone posted, with another joking, "can I sue the producers of Yellowstone for permanent emotional damage 30 seconds into this episode?"
"Yellowstone has its first episode without Kevin Costner and they already ruined it in the first 5 minutes," a critique read.
One person wrote, "John Dutton deserved to go out like a gladiator, not a victim. Completely undoes the series. I’m not a fan at all how #Yellowstone handled Costner’s departure."
When another person replied by asking what other options the show had, the same person replied, "I hear you. Not sure, but I don’t like this version. It jumped the shark so badly it reminded me of how they undid Game of Thrones with the final season."
A particularly upset fan wrote, "Waited 2 years for a new episode just to watch 3 minutes and change the channel. F--- you Taylor Sheridan, and f--- you [Kevin Costner] for not settling your differences."
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Some fans solely blamed Sheridan, with one person saying that he "threw the baby out with the bathwater."
"He was so pissed off at Kevin Costner for quitting," that person theorized. "He just threw his show away. He don’t even care. It’s crap and I don’t even see any reason to watch the rest of the season. We already know how it ends and we know who did it."
Another person said, "Not happy with the ego of Taylor Sheridan. Not watching anything else he's involved in if this is the way he treats his fans who have so much invested in Yellowstone & esp John Dutton."
Meanwhile, some people blamed Costner for the way the story is playing out.
One fan plainly said, "I blame Kevin Costner for leaving the show & where the storyline is now. He can take his ‘Horizon’ and shove it! Will it make me stop watching? No. I’m a loyal fan. To the show. Not to Kevin Costner."
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Another X user also referenced Costner's "Horizon" movie series, writing, "It’s not like Costner gave them a choice. He wanted to sink his fortune into his failed passion project. Not much they could do in a 6 episode arc. I’d love to see [Sheridan's] original treatment. I’m sure it was fantastic."
One post read, "I love Kevin Costner and I have no idea what happened between he and Taylor but it looks like Kevin just left right as they were FINALLY starting to shoot for the new season. Didn’t offer one day, one hour, one scene to help close his character. I’m not mad at Taylor at all."
Representatives for Sheridan and Costner did not return Fox News Digital's immediate request for comment.
Originally, the current season, which will span six episodes, was set to be the last of the series. Recently though, despite Costner's departure as the show's star, there has been talk about continuing the story.
Deadline reported in August that talks are in place to film a sixth season with a focus on Reilly and Cole Hauser, who plays Rip Wheeler, the husband of Reilly's character.
Costner himself said in September that he believes there's more to explore, telling Entertainment Tonight, "That's been a wonderful part of my life, you know, making 'Yellowstone.' And who knows, sometimes some things have a way of circling back. I haven't seen that dust trail coming toward me. But I've always been open to what I started. And the five seasons was a lot for us to do. I think that, you know, that story is not finished."
