Warning: SPOILERS for Dutton Ranch Season 1, Episode 4 – “Start With A Bullet”Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) can’t ride to Dutton Ranch‘s rescue. Marshals season 1 just ended, and fans hope to see Kayce cross over and visit Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) in Rio Paloma, Texas. But even if that happened in the next episode of Dutton Ranch, Kayce can’t help Beth and Rip with their existential crisis.

At the end of Dutton Ranch episode 4, Beth and Rip are essentially bankrupt. The Dutton-Wheelers had to cull their prized herd of black angus cattle, which became infected with foot-and-mouth disease. The loss of their cattle ends Beth and Rip’s burgeoning beef business and leaves the Dutton Ranch insolvent.

Following the devastating fire in Dillon, Montana, six months prior, Beth, Rip, and Carter (Finn Little), moved to South Texas to rebuild. The fire destroyed their Montana ranch, and Beth and Rip committed their remaining resources to buy the Edwards Ranch in Rio Paloma. Beth and Rip are now bankrupt, and Kayce can’t save them.

Why Beth & Rip Can’t Call On Kayce For Help With Dutton Ranch

Even if Beth and Rip called Kayce for help, there’s not much that the youngest son of John Dutton (Kevin Costner) can do to help them financially. As a U.S. Marshal, Kayce now earns something in the mid-five figures or possibly even the lower six figures, but Beth and Rip’s lost black angus cattle were worth millions.

In Marshals season 1’s finale, Kayce turned down a lucrative offer from Thomas Weaver (Chris Mulkey) to buy East Camp, the last piece of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch that wasn’t sold to the Broken Rock Reservation. It’s unknown how much Weaver offered for East Camp, but Kayce turned down a great deal of money to hold onto his remnant of the Yellowstone.

Beth and Rip didn’t exactly cash in from Kayce selling the Yellowstone to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) in Yellowstone‘s series finale. Broken Rock paid 19th-century prices for the Yellowstone, amounting to $1.1-million total. If Kayce split it evenly with his sister, then Beth’s half of it is now gone.

If Beth asked Kayce for financial help, her brother would likely give her whatever he has. Yet it wouldn’t be enough to rescue the Dutton Ranch, buy replacement cattle, and pay Rip’s wranglers, Azul Ramos (J.R. Villarreal) and Zachariah (Marc Menchaca).

The Duttons Were Never As Rich As They Seemed

Despite owning the largest ranch in the United States for 140 years, the Duttons weren’t quite as rich as they seemed. The land that the Duttons owned and defended was worth exponentially more than the $1.1 million Kayce eventually sold it for. Yet that doesn’t mean it was an ATM of liquid capital for the Duttons.

John Dutton notwithstanding, Beth was the Dutton with the most independent wealth. For most of Yellowstone, Beth was a highly successful banking executive and likely had a seven-figure net worth, given her favored luxury automobiles. However, Beth gave up her career to help her father, and her personal wealth was tied to the Dutton Ranch.

Kayce was never rolling in dough, and the married father of one was eking out a living as a horse trainer at the Broken Rock Reservation when Yellowstone began. Kayce earned more as Livestock Commissioner, and now as a U.S. Marshal, but he was never a millionaire, nor will he likely be.

The Dutton Ranch was Rip’s chance to run his own ranch after working for the Yellowstone for 25 years. Beth was projecting a lucrative future supplying Dutton Ranch certified black angus steaks to high-end Dallas restaurants, but that plan went up in smoke with the loss of their cattle.

Even though Marshals season 1 is over on CBS, there was no indication that Luke Grimes filmed a guest spot in Dutton Ranch season 1. A Yellowstone reunion is something Paramount+ would have hyped up to maximize viewers, and fans still look forward to a future crossover.

Regardless of Kayce, Beth and Rip will have to come up with their own solution to the crisis that is bound to take Dutton Ranch in exciting and unpredictable directions.