Wild 'Yellowstone' Theory Involving Osama Bin Laden Goes Viral

An absolutely incredible/outrageous "Yellowstone" theory is going viral, and it might be the most entertaining thing you read all week.

The hit neo-Western series created by Taylor Sheridan wrapped up in December 2024, but despite being over for months, it's still constantly talked about.

People just can't let it rest. It's a testament to the incredible world Sheridan built over the course of five seasons starting back in 2018.

*READ A FULL FINALE BREAKDOWN HERE*

Did Kayce kill Osama bin Laden?

One of the major plot points in the series is that Kayce is a former elite Navy SEAL operator. It's the baseline for how he's so lethal against his enemies. There's also a famous scene where Kayce tells John Dutton a story about going into Pakistan on a secret mission to hit a high-value target.

Well, a person on Reddit believes they've tied the pieces together to uncover the target was known other than Osama bin Laden - who was killed in May 2011 by SEAL Team 6 in Pakistan.

The post floating the theory states the following:

An observation that I noticed during the war story of S2E5, Kayce says 'We were in Pakistan. We weren't supposed to be there, but that's where we were'.

We know Kayce was a Navy Seal from other scenes, and to public knowledge, the Seals only ever went to Pakistan once, During Op Neptune Spear, and they didn't ask the Pakistanis permission to go.

They were 'hitting a high value target.'

It is heavily implied during this scene that Kayce was one of the Seals that raided the Abbottabad compound and got Osama Bin Laden.

I think it's an interesting bit of writing, if not taking a large amount of artistic licence, and somewhat paints a picture of how dangerous Kayce actually is as an operator. It's also done fairly well because Kayce isn't the bragging type and wouldn't outright tell John 'we were hunting Osama Bin Laden.'

A viral "Yellowstone" theory claims Kayce killed Osama bin Laden. (Credit: Paramount Network)

Awesome.

Of all the stuff we've seen on Reddit lately, a viral post suggesting Kayce was the trigger man on the bin Laden raid is easily the coolest.

People also weighed in with plenty of reactions:

• I 100% would not put it past Taylor Sheridan to give one of his main characters this backstory
• I think it’s a solid theory and definitely plausible based off op reasoning, I like it
• I still want a Lioness/Yellowstone crossover episode. We get a flashback scene where Kayce’s SEAL platoon went on a mission with Joe’s team in Afghanistan.
• Add Landman. The reason they are in Afghanistan is to rescue Tommy Norris who has been taken hostage while trying to negotiate a lease outside of Tora Bora.
• I think if that was the intent it helps to add to the finality when Kayce threatens the hitman and his daughter. It felt a bit soft Kayce just threatening that he knew people but perhaps Kayce himself is a BFD in that world and as such this legend lives on.
• Nah, Kayce may have been there, but Travis was the one that killed Bin Laden with a spinning horse kick to the head.
• I mean, I already struggled to buy him as a Seal, so having him be bloody DEVGRU is just a bridge too far for me to get into, haha
• USA kills lots of High Value Targets this is just a stretch.
• We all know that Chris Pratt in Zero Dark Thirty killed Osama bin Laden.
• He would've been like 18 or 19 years old. Barely out of basic and team selection. The military sends the teams to places they aren't supposed to be all the time. If you think osbl was the only high value target we killed in Pakistan I've got a bridge to sell you.
• I was thinking the same thing. Kayce would have been pretty low man at the time and if he was there he probably wasn't "first in the door" and got assigned to guard the door.
• 21 if his wiki age is right, still probably too young. same goes for other posts that say John was a Vietnam vet and that’s what he refers to in those conversation in season 2, but he’d have just turned 18 when the war ended so equally unlikely.
• For those of us who were teenagers or older on 9/11 that is a very meaningful storyline
• I drew the same conclusion
• Yeah, it was pretty sus when I first heard him tell that. It was definitely pointing to OBL. Anyone who has watched zero dark thirty, should definitely watch it.
• I thought that too when seeing this episode. Didn’t know the facts about the seals you listed. But knew about the bin laden raid in Pakistan.
• Interesting theory. Sheridan definitely wants the audience to know what a dangerous man Kayce is, but it’s not exactly his style in this show to be subtle about anything. It’s sorta difficult to fit that into a timeline, but not impossible.
• Sheridan wrote in that Kayce won the Navy Cross, and that is a very big deal. It’s the 2nd highest honor you can get. They don’t hand out those out lightly. So, he did something major.
• Kayce is Red!?!?
• Good theory. May not be true, but it's for sure interesting.

It's common for popular shows to have fandom theories that extend past the series' universe. This is a great example of that, and people are having a lot of fun with it.

Also, anyone who thinks Taylor Sheridan wouldn't subtly cook something up like this clearly doesn't know his work. His writing is often very deep and complex.

Subtly hinting the youngest Dutton son shellacked target number one is definitely in his wheelhouse. I'm honestly not sure how I've never previously made the connection.

Did "Yellowstone" character Kayce Dutton kill Osama bin Laden? (Credit: Paramount Network)

What do you think of the theory? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.