'Yellowstone' Breaks Viewers' Hearts With Stunning Episode

The second to last episode of "Yellowstone" didn't disappoint.

*WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW. CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.*

Expectations were sky-high going into the second to last episode of the legendary neo-Western saga from Taylor Sheridan.

The alleged ending has already leaked online (you can read the leaked ending here), but that only seemed to spark even more interest.

Did the second to last episode live up to the hype? Let's dive in!

Latest "Yellowstone" episode stuns viewers.

There are several points to break down from the second to last episode, but above all else there is one message that is made clear:

The empire is on the brink of collapse.

The ending of the episode centered around everything being auctioned off in order to pay taxes due on the estate after John Dutton's death.

It's a reality many large families living on ranches and farms have had to face, and the episode did a brutally painful job of summing it up as we watched Beth try to scramble for answers.

There's a huge tax bill due, and the Dutton children are struggling to figure out a way to get it done in order to hang onto the empire.

To put it simply, the empire appears on the brink and everyone knows it. That also led to a moment at the auction honoring John Dutton that will absolutely break viewers. It will absolutely crush them to see all the farmers and ranchers pay tribute to the character "Yellowstone" viewers have loved since 2018.

He's gone and the empire he built feels like it's gasping to survive. That is until Kayce floats a tax idea (that I'm not sure would actually work in real life at all) in order to save it.

Is Kayce going to be the person to save the day? I'm excited to find out!

The second to last "Yellowstone" episode indicated John Dutton's empire might collapse. (Credit: Paramount Network)

The above was the main focus of the episode. Now, let's do some quick hitters of what happened:

• The FBI is investigating Market Equities and it seems the end is near.
• Jamie threatened Beth that if he goes down, then everyone goes down. Seems like his best card to play.
• Kayce indicated to Monica he's fine walking away.
• Taylor Sheridan literally wrote a storyline where he gets to party and drink like a badass. To paraphrase the great Dan Dakich, I ain't mad about it.
• Jamie seeing his baby's mother again was a curveball out of nowhere but I liked it.
• Can we pour one out for Teeter? Her heartbreaking scenes returning to the ranch and with Beth were brutal.
• Once again, it was referred to as the season finale. Time to seriously wonder if more is coming.

Overall, not an insane episode in terms of drama, but the stakes are incredibly high going into the season finale. Now, we wait until this upcoming Sunday. Hit me with all your theories at David.Hookstead@outkick.com!