Dawn Olivieri on Playing Yellowstone's Most Hated Villain and Her Shocking Exit

The actor discusses their character's fate with three episodes left in Season 5B.

[Major spoilers for Yellowstone Season 5B, Episode 3]

Dawn Olivieri knew her casting in Yellowstone was for a significant role. While she couldn't have predicted the exact trajectory of her character's arc, she wasn't entirely surprised by the shocking turn of events in the third episode of Season 5B.

"I always kind of know it's coming," she says of the fates of her formidable female characters, like Claire Dutton in 1883 and Sarah Atwood in Yellowstone, both created by Taylor Sheridan. "And to read it is like, 'Okay, here we go.' We got what we all wanted. I think everyone is happy that the train station came."

[Spoilers Ahead]

The "train station," a term used in the series for victims of the Dutton family, arrived for Sarah at the end of the episode. After the season's premiere revealed her as the mastermind behind the hit on John Dutton, karma caught up with her. The Montana police reclassified John's death as a homicide, sending shockwaves through those involved, including Sarah and Jamie. The hired hitman, fearing exposure, sent his men to eliminate Sarah, who was fatally shot in her car.

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Olivieri delved into Sarah's character, her final moments, and the impact of Kevin Costner's departure on the show's accelerated timeline. She also revealed her upcoming role in Lioness, marking her third death and rebirth in the Sheridan-verse.

[Interview Excerpts]

• On Sarah's Final Moments: "It's the only moment [Sheridan wrote for Sarah] to potentially even expose that [human part of her] — and I was like, 'I'm going for it.'"
• On Sarah's Relationship with Jamie: "They could have been an insane powerful couple, who would have been very scary to work up against!"
• On Kevin Costner's Departure: "I think that was going to happen [with John], but because we had to wrap this all up in lightning speed, I think it had to go down the way it went."
• On Her Future Roles: "I'm playing the good guy. That is a challenge for me. I'm playing the matriarch who is working to balance the homestead..."

Yellowstone concludes Season 5B with its final three episodes on Sundays at 8 p.m. on Paramount Network, followed by a linear premiere on CBS at 10 p.m.