Tate Dutton

Tate Dutton is the son of ranch owner Kayce Dutton and schoolteacher/professor Monica Dutton. He is played by Brecken Merrill in Yellowstone.

I want to know him, Kayce. We've met, but I don't really know him. And he doesn't know me. Is it too much to ask that you help make that happen? - John Dutton the 3rd

Beware of 'spoilers' from here on down!

Personal life[]

Family[]

Click here for the main page of the Dutton family.
Tate was raised on the Broken Rock Indian Reservation, where he lived with his father Kayce Dutton and his mother Monica Dutton-Long. His uncle Robert Long and his three sons lived nearby and his great-grandfather Felix Long also lived on the Reservation. ^[1]

His grandfather John Dutton is the owner of the nearby Yellowstone Ranch, the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. ^[1] He never got to know his grandmother Evelyn Dutton. She died when she was out riding one day and fell off her horse. ^[2]

His uncle Robert and uncle Lee Dutton both died when they ended up facing each other in a feud between the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and the Reservation. Robert shot Lee and was about to finish the job when Tate's father Kayce interfered. He saw that his brother got shot by Robert, his brother-in-law, and had to kill him to protect himself and his brother. He soon found out he had not only killed his brother-in-law but was too late to save his own brother as his gunshot wound turned out to be fatal. ^[1]

His mother Monica was pregnant once again while Tate was in his teens. He went with his mother to the hospital when she was about to give birth to her child, but they had a car accident and even though she gave birth to a son, who she and her huband named John, he died shortly after, probably due to complications suffered because of the accident. ^[3]

Hobbies[]

Growing up around cowboys had its impact on Tate. He came to a point where he wanted to be one of them and was happy to get a horse from his granddad. ^[4]

Incident(s)[]

Once, when out driving with his father, they stumbled upon an abandoned van. It turned out there was an abducted girl in it and his father went after her abductors. Tate was told to wait for him in a culvert nearby but was attacked by a rattlesnake. When his father came back and had dealt with the kidnappers Tate had killed the snake. ^[2]
Tate went out to the forest one day with his grandfather John Dutton. While making a fire Tate went to look for firewood but he accidentally fell into a nearby river. His grandfather jumped after him and saved him. ^[5]
His mother Monica brought him to school one day when he witnessed how she was hit while trying to stop a fight between two school boys. Later, she passed out while recovering at home ^[6] and in the hospital it turned out she had suffered an epidural hematoma and had to have brain surgery. ^[7] She was able to fully recover afterwards, partly by way of physical therapy.
When the rivalry between the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and businessmen Malcolm & Teal Beck got out of hand, the Becks went after Tate. He was found missing when he was feeding his horse at night. ^[8]