“That boy lived a perfect life, Monica,” those seven words were a piece of easily the most emotionally charged moment in Yellowstone history, and Kevin Costner and Kelsey Asbille were at the heart of the heavy and life-altering conversation as John and Monica Dutton. The father and daughter-in-law pair haven’t always seen eye to eye, but a profound tragedy allowed them both a space to see one another through a new light.
The season five opener saw Monica and Kayce lose their second child, who they named John, after a car accident. As Costner’s John Dutton goes to the hospital to visit his family, his grandson Tate tells him that he had a brother “for an hour,” giving fans the confirmation that the baby passed away, and it was devastating.
While undoubtedly heavy, the scene Asbille was opening up about was a conversation that Monica shared with John about the vulnerable way in which he opened up about the loss of his brother in a similar set of circumstances. Asbille first read the script for the scene between Monica and John Dutton while on a plane. Needless to say, she had an extremely emotional reaction, as she explains to the New York Post.
“I felt so much responsibility, because we wanted to approach that with such a sensitivity. Yeah, you shouldn’t read that scene in a public space. I was just trying to cover my face.”
The scene was such a vulnerable and somehow beautiful experience for Asbille, Costner, and fans at home. She reveals that, by and large, that was possible because of a conversation she had with her mom on the way to Montana before filming the season where she revealed something Asbille hadn’t known before.
“My mom and I drove to Montana together this year. Knowing that big storyline, it actually gave me those conversations with my mom about her own experiences with child loss, in a way that we had never talked about it before. So that was a really beautiful part of the process.”
Child loss is something challenging to talk about, and Yellowstone is a series that’s already been hailed as powerful as it opens doors for challenging conversations. This storyline allowed for those doors to open for those who needed it most. The beautiful and honest way that John and Monica spoke to, and held space for one another isn’t something audiences will soon forget.
You can see the first half of Yellowstone’s fifth season on DVD now, and Peacock just revealed that episodes would soon appear on the streaming platform, with a debut date of May 25.