'Yellowstone' director breaks down finale, how John Dutton was really in the coffin

Whatever "Yellowstone" fans felt about the Season 5 finale, it's impossible to deny that the probable series-ender finally gave a cowboy-worthy send-off to patriarch John Dutton (Kevin Costner).

The episode − which drew 11.4 million viewers Sunday night per data released by Paramount Network − featured a tear-filled funeral for Dutton, who was buried among his ancestors in the Yellowstone Ranch's Paradise Valley cemetery.

Costner did not appear in the final six episodes of "Yellowstone" after formally announcing his departure in June. Yet, his John Dutton was on the funeral set and even in the elegant coffin to remind everyone of the moment's gravity, director and executive producer Christina A. Voros tells USA TODAY.

"The casket was originally empty," Voros says. "But then one of the departments put a life-size John Dutton cut-out in the casket. So we could all remember what was actually happening."

What happened in 'Yellowstone' finale? John Dutton's funeral, a bloody death, that '1883' ranch sale

Why did Rip get the final word over the buried John Dutton?

After poignant family goodbyes at the gravesite, ranch foreman Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) literally buries his life mentor using the gleaming funeral showpiece shovel. "It ain't symbolic today," Rip tells the objecting preacher. "Today, this shovel works."

Crouched alone in the fresh dirt after the exhausting job, Rip gives a solemn goodbye to the man who took him in as a troubled youngster.

"Rip's always been a spiritual son to John Dutton, even if not by birth," says Voros. "The moment embraces that relationship. Rip's past is such a mysterious thing. So it couldn't be public."

Beth has the scar from the 'fight to end all fights' with Jamie

The facial scar under Beth Dutton's right eye, which she got from an explosion in the epic Season 3 finale, has become an undisguised and unapologetic character trademark.

The tough daughter (Kelly Reilly) added another permanent mark following the brutal finale battle against brother Jamie (Wes Bentley). The siblings have fought many times before. But Beth's savage effort to avenge her father's death, in which Attorney General Jamie played a significant role, turns next-level.

"This had to be the fight to end all fights, quite literally," says Voros. "The biggest, the bloodiest and most brutal."

Voros gives props to Bentley and Reilly for performing most of the filmed violence, with stunt doubles only for major physical moments. "Wes and Beth were taking and throwing the punches and keeping in that heightened emotional space to show the rage and the violence," says Voros. "It was an ultra marathon."

Both characters end with bloody bodies and faces. But Jamie takes the lethal knife to the sternum from Beth to end it and him. Jamie gets tossed into the family's "train station" grave.

Beth recovers from her wounds but shows a new scar on her left cheek in the final shots.

How Elsa Dutton's '1883' voice tied up 'Yellowstone' with a black bow

In the "Yellowstone" finale, the ranch is sold to the Native American tribes who originally lived on the land seven generations ago. Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) fixes the Dutton grave markers knocked over by vandals, keeping his word to protect the past generations buried on the land. The first headstone lovingly replaced is that of Elsa Dutton, the doomed "1883" ancestor (played by Elsa May) who narrates the prequel series from beyond the grave and whose family founded the ranch around Paradise Valley after her death.

The Dutton family tree From '1883' to 'Yellowstone'

Elsa's voiceover makes a "Yellowstone" appearance as Mo fixes more graves, ending with John Dutton's new stone. The haunting voice ties the "Yellowstone" generations and the show universe together with a black bow.

"It's the end of a legacy, and that's where it began," says Voros. "You can't end the story of a patriarch, whose entire life is built around sustaining the legacy built by his family, without bringing it back to the legacy origin. It gives a nod to the very beginning."

Rip and Beth end 'Yellowstone' content but ready to roll with any spinoff

Dutton's son Kayce (Luke Grimes) finally finds peace in the "Yellowstone" finale, herding cattle with his wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) on a portion of the Yellowstone Ranch.

Beth and husband Rip end the season (and reportedly the series) unexpectedly happy, living on a new ranch Beth bought in picturesque Dillon. Voros won't answer whether the couple will ride on in a spinoff series, as reported, insisting she doesn't know.

But Voros says both pivotal couples end the series with "their own little slice of heaven."

"It's that cowboy dream of 300 head of cattle, a couple of horses, and a bar down the street where old guys are playing dominoes. This is the end of the fairy tale. You can close the book," says Voros. "Or you can ask, 'How long is Beth going to be comfortable playing dominoes?'"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Yellowstone' finale: Director on Rip and Beth spinoff, fairytale end