With the final season of on the horizon, fans are wondering when does Rip find out what Jamie did to Beth. While John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and the other male characters might be stoic and emotionally reserved, most purely entertaining character is Kelly Reilly's Beth. John's only daughter is unfiltered in her thoughts and opinions and often spouts the best one-liners. At the center of her character is two main relationships, one based on love, with her husband Rip, and the other based on hate, with her brother Jamie.
From first episode, Beth's sheer contempt for Jamie was apparent, and she bullied and belittled him at every opportunity.
It was eventually revealed in season 3 that when she was a teenager, she became pregnant by Rip. Terrified of her father finding out, she confided in Jamie to help her get an abortion. Jamie took her to a clinic on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation to keep it secret but kept the fact Beth would also be sterilized from her. Once she learned the truth, she could never forgive him. With on its way, it seems like only a matter of time before Rip finds out what Jamie did to Beth.
While Beth later revealed this to John, she hasn't told Rip the truth about her feud with Jamie. The duo got married during season 4, where she made it clear they could never have children of their own. This was never an issue for Rip, but the fact she hasn't disclosed what happened when they were teenagers yet suggests the show is saving it for an important purpose. Of course, if John himself had learned back then that Rip got Beth pregnant, he either would have kicked him off the ranch - or taken him on a trip to .
Whatever his response to the news that Beth had an abortion will be, Rip will almost certainly be furious that Jamie's actions caused her so much pain.
has often shown that Rip would do anything for the Duttons, down to committing multiple killings. If his fury over Beth's secret turns murderous, he might just want to kill Jamie in revenge. This would lead to a feud between him and father figure John; the Dutton patriarch might have his own issues with Jamie, but he still considers him a son. He would then have to prevent his surrogate son from going after Jamie, which is destined to end poorly.
Putting Rip's potential reaction to Beth's secret aside, it's not like Jamie is short of enemies in . The fifth season took that to another level when Jamie - in his role as attorney general - called for the impeachment of his father as the Governor of Montana. This means battle lines have been drawn, and that Jamie and Beth now want each other dead. Again, that's not something John himself would sign off on, but it does make the chances of a lot greater. With his latest power play, he might have finally sealed his fate.
While fans are waiting to see what happens when Rip finds out what Jamie did to Beth, there is still the question of how the secret will affect the . actor Kelly Reilly plays Beth and hints that this secret will play a big role in Beth and Rip. Reilly explains () that Beth is hiding the secret to protect Rip, perhaps fearing what he will do when he finds out. She goes on to say "."
Beth's fear of Rip finding out is interesting. Given the man Rip is and how much he loves Beth, it doesn't seem likely that he would cast any blame on her for it and such a character development would make him, one of the , a lot less likable. So the fear may come from Beth knowing what Rip will do to Jamie when he finds out. With tensions building in season 5 of , perhaps she will be more willing to have Rip and Jamie finally faceoff.
