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Major spoilers for Yellowstone, season 5 to follow.

It's been an emotional roller coaster for Yellowstone fans ever since the premiere of season 5B on November 10. It also might have been a bit of a confusing time for casual fans, as a major casting change-up happens in the first few moments of the episode. To alleviate that confusion, Popverse is has put together a guide of everything you need to know about Kevin Costner and his character John Dutton, the (ex) main character of Yellowstone. 

Check out the video above and the article below for more information, and if it hasn't already been made painfully obvious, know that you're getting into some serious spoiler territory.

Why did Kevin Costner leave Yellowstone?

Fortunately, the first answer here is a simple one. Kevin Costner left Yellowstone because of his commitment to the Horizon film series, an epic Western that will stretch over four huge films. Costner remains committed to the project, even after it was announced that the second film in the series, originally intended to release just a few months after the first, would be delayed. It's clearly an effort with a lot of moving parts, and there was no room for Costner to continue as John Dutton as it evolved.

What happened to John Dutton on Yellowstone?

With Costner's departure, Yellowstone viewers knew that John Dutton's exit from the series was only a matter of time. Then in the highly-anticipated season premiere of the second half of Yellowstone's season 5 (starting with episode 9), his fate was revealed. John Dutton's body was found in a manner that suggested suicide, though fans already suspected that wasn't the whole story. In fact, even Kevin Costner himself suspected there was something deeper going on in that episode, though he hadn't watched at at the time he made the claim.

Did John Dutton kill himself? 

Both Kevin Costner and the fans at home were right, of course; John Dutton did not kill himself. A call to his son Jamie that was shown in episode 10 revealed that Dutton's death was a cleverly disguised assassination, although we're not 100% sure of the details as of this writing. One thing we do know, however, is that fans online are pretty up in arms about the situation, a reaction that director Christina Voros says was intended by the show's creators.

And she's got a pretty great point there. Even if the actor has gone, you don't just kill off a show's main character without stoking some flames.

Yellowstone season 5 is currently airing on Paramount Network. Seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Peacock.

Cowboy up with our key articles to learn and love the hit neo-western series Yellowstone:

• Understanding the idyllic modern cowboy appeal of Yellowstone
• How to watch Yellowstone (and its spinoffs) in order
• A guide to all the Yellowstone spinoffs
• Five shows to watch after Yellowstone