Dutton Ranch Season 1 Finale Kills Off A Major Character — And It's Bittersweet

Spoilers for the "Dutton Ranch" Season 1 finale ahead.

Well, Jai Courtney's Rob-Will Jackson certainly had it coming. From the very beginning of "Dutton Ranch," when he got into a tussle with Cole Hauser's Rip Wheeler, the twisted drug addict scion of the Jackson clan was doomed. Now, he's finally gotten his comeuppance, and it was suitably brutal — perhaps even a little too brutal. At the very least, it all felt a little too soon, given that Rob-Will hasn't actually been in the show all that much. What's more, Courtney's villain was easily one of the best characters on "Dutton Ranch." Now, we'll never again see the actor have an absolute blast in the role, and it all feels a little bittersweet.

The "Dutton Ranch" Season 1 finale sees Raoul Trujillo's Mariano Reyes appear for the very first time. We saw a younger version of the character, played by Bobby Soto, in "Dutton Ranch" Episode 7 when this "secret villain" was revealed for the first time. But now we've seen the modern-day version in all his sinister glory. In the finale, Mariano arrives in Rio Paloma to clean up the mess made by Annette Bening's Beulah Jackson, her son Rob-Will, and Beulah and Mariano's son Joaquin Reyes (Juan Pablo Raba). Upon his arrival, Mariano immediately threatens Beulah, promising that if she doesn't hand over the 10 Petal Ranch to Joaquin, he'll take care of Rob-Will himself.

Well, he doesn't hang around. In fact, Mariano doesn't even give Beulah a chance to follow his instructions. Instead, the cartel boss instructs Joaquin to murder Rob-Will and take control of the 10 Petal. He dutifully complies, shooting Rob-Will in the foyer of the 10 Petal mansion and leaving Oreana Jackson (Natalie Alyn Lind) grieving over her father's body.

"Dutton Ranch" Episode 9 doesn't start out well for Rob-Will Jackson. He approaches Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) as they investigate claims of cattle smuggling at the 10 Petal Ranch. But Rip's in no mood for Rob-Will's vulgarity and gives him a thorough beating in front of the ranch hands. That beat down has been a long time coming. Not only did Rob-Will murder former 10 Petal foreman Wes Ayers (Nakoa DeCoite) in the premiere episode, he's also been a chaotic and violent force ever since, causing the deaths of several others and blackmailing his own mother to take control of their ranch. As such, viewers surely expected him to be killed off.

The thing is, Rob-Will hasn't actually been in "Dutton Ranch" as much as he should. Early in Season 1, he's shipped off to a rehab facility to both address his drug addiction and put some distance between 10 Petal and the man who murdered their ranch foreman. He's then absent for three episodes, returning at the end of Episode 5 to cause more trouble for his family. Once he did return, however, things had changed dramatically.

"Dutton Ranch" Episode 5 ruined one of the shows most interesting storylines, scrapping the ranch-vs.-ranch dynamic that made the show so compelling and having Rip and Beth cozy up to Beulah and her ranching operation. What's more, by that point "Dutton Ranch" clearly had a secret villain hiding in the shadows (later revealed to be Mariano Reyes) and Rob-Will was no longer quite as big a threat as he had been. In all, then, the show didn't really do as much with Rob-Will as it should have, especially considering Jai Courtney was excellent in the role.

Part of Rob-Will Jackson's appeal was that he was so slimy and obnoxious fans couldn't wait to see him get what he deserved at the hands of Rip Wheeler. The "Dutton Ranch" Season 1 finale delivers in that regard, but it also goes a step further and has Rob-Will shot dead in his own home with his daughter in the next room. As much as he deserved his fate, the show's creatives arguably should have kept the character alive, if only because Jai Courtney was doing a fantastic job of portraying this absolute sleaze bag.

Courtney himself knows why audiences love Rob-Will Jackson. The actor has spoken about how much fun he had portraying the villain, which he saw as the key to drawing in viewers. Sure, Rob-Will was despicable, but Courtney's enjoyment in his various scenes was palpable, which made watching the character an absolute delight. Now, that aspect of the show has been removed entirely, and it feels a tad premature, seeing as Rob-Will was absent from several episodes and was ultimately overshadowed by larger villains.

"Dutton Ranch" Season 2 has already been confirmed, so we'll have to see how the show recalibrates for the next run of episodes. Mariano Reyes certainly looks set to be the main villain moving forward. Having kidnapped Finn Little's Carter Green, Mariano has placed himself firmly in Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton's crosshairs, and, no doubt, they'll cause untold carnage in Season 2. It just feels as though Rob-Will would have relished being part of that carnage, and it's a shame we won't get to see Courtney having a ball while making things worse for Rip and Beth.