Since its November 10 premiere, Yellowstone Season 5, Part 2 has surprised fans with special guest appearances from Billy Klapper, Jake McLaughlin, and Vinessa Shaw — to name a few. Episode 13 kept the jaw-dropping guest star streak going with an unexpected blast from the past.
Spoilers for Yellowstone Season 5, Episode 13 ahead.
In addition to dropping a genuinely shocking casting reveal for Sadie, girlfriend to Taylor Sheridan’s character Travis, Season 5, Episode 13 also reunited viewers and Jamie (Wes Bentley) with Katherine Cunningham’s character, Christina.
“Give The World Away” saw Dillard (Rory Cochrane) and the FBI getting a warrant to search Sarah Atwood’s (Dawn Olivieri) office, and Jamie started spiraling after a news report revealed that he was Sarah’s last known contact, the two had a sexual relationship, and he stood to benefit from land at the center of the Market Equities development his dad was presumably killed over. With Sarah dead and his siblings turned against him, Jamie feared he had nowhere to turn before remembering there was still one person who would be in his corner — even if she didn’t want to be: Christina.
For those who need a refresher, Christina is the mother of Jamie’s son, James. The two met back in Season 1 when she worked as his campaign manager in the Attorney General race, but we haven’t seen her since Season 4 because of all the drama with Jamie and his biological father.
With authorities circling and the narrative slipping out of his control, a desperate Jamie showed up at Christina’s house in hopes that she could help him find a solution or provide some much-needed comfort. After Jamie told Christina he did sleep with Sarah but had nothing to do with his father’s murder, Christina invited him inside, told him James was asleep, and reluctantly switched into problem-solving mode to clean up his mess.
Before offering words of wisdom, Christina wisely pressed Jamie about his involvement in John’s murder again, and he assured her he “didn’t know anything until after the fact.” Christina reminded him that he’s “the definition of complicit” for not arresting Sarah after she confessed to him, but because they share a child and Jamie’s legacy will always reflect her child’s legacy, she proceeded to assist.
After learning that Jamie had no actual evidence tying Sarah to the murder, Christina effortlessly and passionately charted out his next steps:
“Call a press conference. Launch an investigation into her death and your father’s. Clarify that you worked closely with her to restore the development. Steer into the crash on that. Vehemently deny any affair, and blame those who insinuate it on purposefully spreading disinformation. Threaten them with obstruction of justice. Praise your father’s convictions. Harold his love of Montana and its people. Declare his death more than just a murder — it is an outright defiance of the rule of law. John Dutton’s murder was more than just the murder of the man; it was the murder of the citizens of Montana’s right to choose their representative, and for them to freely execute the will of the people. It was a murder of their freedom, and you will avenge them. And whatever you find in this investigation you make it public every step of the way. You try and connect her to it, no matter how thin the case. You must connect her to it. If she did it, then it died with her.”
As Christina spoke and attempted to pick up the pieces of Jamie’s shattered life, he smiled, exhaled in relief, and looked up at her in awe like the old days. The scene was so powerful as a direct result of Cunningham’s sharp, inquisitive, confident, eerily composed performance. Christina’s smarts, crisis management, and strategizing experience proved incredibly beneficial to Jamie, and Cunningham didn’t miss a beat. She brought just enough emotion into the conversation while setting Jamie straight in a way that no one in his corner has in quite some time, and it was exactly what he needed.
With her son’s legacy on the line, Christina has reason for Jamie to emerge from the ordeal unscathed, which she stresses again on his way out the door. “This speech will determine the course of your life, Jamie,” she said. “Your political future is tethered to it.”
Whether or not her plan will work remains to be determined. (There must be some evidence of his relationship with Sarah, right? Didn’t Beth once snap a photo of them hooking up?!) Regardless of the outcome, Yellowstone‘s decision to bring Christina back in this unexpected way was not only exhilarating, but a good reminder that although he feels alone, Jamie still has much more to lose.
New episodes of Yellowstone Season 5 premiere Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on Paramount Network.