With less than half a season remaining, Yellowstone is still finding ways to surprise viewers at home — and not just with jaw-dropping character deaths!
Season 5, Episode 9 featured an iconic Billy Klapper cameo, Episode 10 surprised viewers with actor and war veteran Jake McLaughlin, and Episode 11 welcomed another familiar face as a medical examiner: Vinessa Shaw.
Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 11, “Three Fifty-Three,” kicked off with — yep, you guessed it! — even more flashbacks! This time, the show gave viewers a front-row seat to John Dutton’s murder. We saw three men attack him while he was sleeping, drug him with a needle to the foot, carry him into the bathroom, and force his hand to pull the trigger. His suicide was carefully staged, just as Beth (Kelly Reilly) suspected. And after her convincing argument cast doubt about the cause of death in Kayce’s (Luke Grimes) mind, he headed to the Lewis & Clarke County Coroner’s Office to meet with the medical examiner.
So who was the medical examiner on Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 11? And what do we know about Vinessa Shaw, the actor who played her? Here’s everything to know about Yellowstone‘s latest exciting guest star, including a nostalgic Instagram post from Shaw herself.
After Kayce stormed the coroner’s office, he met with Dr. Everly (Shaw) and asked to see a report on John Dutton as well as his body. When the medical examiner informed him the Livestock Commissioner doesn’t have those rights, he reminded her that the next of kin does and she handed him the report.
Kayce swiftly requested a toxicology report, which was met with more pushback from Everly, who said the detective assigned to his dad’s case would have to order it. In an extremely Dutton move, Kayce dialed the detective, put him on speaker phone, and had him agree to the tox report and a re-exam for signs of struggle within seconds. The medical examiner agreed and said she’d report back with her findings, but that wasn’t good enough for Kayce, who asked, “What’s on that desk that’s more important than the death of the governor?”
After invoking the Livestock Commissioner’s right to enter any room without a warrant, the team wheeled out a naked body (as a reminder, Kevin Costner wasn’t in Season 5, Part 2) and Kayce asked, “If you were investigating this as a homicide, what would you look for?”
The medical examiner assured Kayce that had his father been murdered, there would have been “quite a struggle,” and Kayce reminded her that he would have been asleep when his hit men entered his room. He explained the “snatches” he was taught in Afghanistan and even mirrored the tactic on one of her medical assistants. After witnessing Kayce grab the man’s neck, the medical examiner checked John Dutton’s body to discover bruising on both sides of his neck and his forehead, which was questionable.
When Kayce encouraged her to look more closely through the lens of a possible homicide ruling, she noticed abrasions on the top of John’s toes that suggested he was dragged across the floor, indentions that suggested pressure against his skin, and bruises below his calves that suggested he could have been carried from his bed to the bathroom. Kayce even (correctly!) suspected that three men were on the job.
In wake of the new revelations, the medical examiner confirmed that the autopsy showed signs that John was “forcibly restrained.” Though she was unable to confidently deem the death a homicide, she told Kayce that she would update the cause of death to “undetermined,” which would keep the investigation open. She confirmed signs of resistance to the detective and suggested he open the case back up, and they even agreed to make corrections to the death certificate, which marked two crucial steps in the fight to reclaim and preserve John Dutton’s tarnished legacy.
Before Kayce left the coroner’s office, the medical examiner apologized for missing the signs, and he assured her that she was supposed to miss them. While it’s likely we wont see Dr. Everly again this season — considering there are only three episodes remaining — here’s everything you need to know about the actor who played her.
As noted above, Vinessa Shaw played Yellowstone‘s medical examiner in a truly exciting guest spot. If the 48-year-old actor and model looks familiar, you likely recognize her from one of more than 50 IMDb credits.
Shaw kickstarted her on-screen career in 1981 as a child actor and was best-known for her roles as Allison Watts on Hocus Pocus and Kimberly Mullen on Ladybugs. Over the years, she appeared in dozens of popular television series and movies, including Eyes Wide Shut, 40 Days and 40 Nights, The Hills Have Eyes, 3:10 to Yuma, House, Swagger, the new Cruel Intentions, and more.
Though her Yellowstone guest role came as a shock to many, Shaw did tease it on Instagram earlier this month, saying, “I had the pleasure of performing in the final season of Yellowstone! It debuts tonight! So, in case I’m cut out of the show, here’s proof that I enjoyed the gorgeous scenery of Montana with my sis, and a crew jacket that my dad keeps trying to steal from me! (He’s a huge fan of the show.)”
To keep up with Shaw outside of Yellowstone, you can follow her on Instagram at @vinessaofficial, where she had 74,300 followers after Season 5, Episode 11 premiered.
Does Yellowstone have any other star-studded guest roles in store for Season 5’s final three episodes? Fingers crossed, and we’ll see you next Sunday to find out!
New episodes of Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 premiere Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.