While you may disagree with how the show ended its roller coaster final run of episodes, co-creator Taylor Sheridan has always done well with Yellowstone by honoring real figures and lifestyles in the American west.
The show's riding, ranching, and deal-making are grounded in reality and a world it respects. Sheridan has always worked hard to show this way of life to important audiences at home, whether through cameos or on-screen depictions.
The first episode of season 5, part 2 honored Billy Klapper, a cowboy with a legendary workshop who died before his cameo played. Thus, the final episode of Yellowstone should honor Bob Avila, another modern-west legend who made a cameo in season 3.
Bob Avila appeared briefly in Yellowstone's season 3 episode "I Killed a Man Today." Though that episode aired nearly four-and-a-half years ago, it's touching that the show and its creators remembered him.
Who is Bob Avila and why did Yellowstone honor him in the finale? With a father who was a rodeo cowboy and horse trainer and a mother who taught riding and worked in a Western store, Bob Avila was destined to work with horses.
Avila was known throughout the west for his horseback riding skills, including being named World's Greatest Horseman twice. Avila died at 72.