Rip (Hauser) hired Zachariah (Marc Menchaca<\/a>) after Rip’s ranch hand Azul (J. R. Villarreal) vouched for him. Viewers learned Zachariah was recently released from prison, although it wasn’t clear why he had been in jail. What was clear is that Zachariah is somewhat of a pariah in town.<\/p>\n Friday’s episode made Zachariah’s history abundantly clear: A woman arrived on the ranch with a gun in her hand, threatening Zachariah’s life for what he did to her daughter, Theresa.<\/p>\n Rip stepped in to calm Anna (Dale Dickey), and she left without hurting Zachariah. In the moment though, he was more than willing to take a bullet and die.<\/p>\n Later, around a campfire, Rip asked Zachariah to explain what happened, and he revealed that he’d gone to prison for killing Theresa, who was his lover, in an accident. “We got in an argument. I was drunk. I was blinded by hurt,” he said. “I tried to run away. Threw my truck in reverse.”<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n J.R. Villarreal as Azul, Marc Menchaca as Zachariah and Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler in ‘Dutton Ranch’ “It was an accident that don’t really feel like an accident,” Zachariah said. “Makes you wonder if some things are unforgivable. Everybody thought I was the devil. I did, too.”<\/p>\n Everett (Ed Harris<\/a>) told Rip that the town took Theresa’s death “hard,” and “Zach took the brunt of it. Big time.”<\/p>\n For Menchaca, 50, both the campfire confession scene and the intense moment in which his character was held at gunpoint were things he didn’t see coming. “Well, one, Dale Dickey is a rockstar. So getting to work with her, she was amazing,” he tells PEOPLE.<\/p>\n His character’s full backstory wasn’t known until after he signed on to the show. “I found out before we started shooting,” he says. “I had a meeting with [director] Christina Voros<\/a> and the showrunner<\/a>.”<\/p>\n Marc Menchaca as Zachariah and Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton in ‘Dutton Ranch’ “It definitely took on a whole new meaning behind who Zach is for me,” Menchaca says.<\/p>\n Those emotional moments with Hauser revealed another surprise. “You don’t ever really expect to be vulnerable with Rip,” Menchaca says. “And I think that was kind of the first moment that was like, two boys can touch each other’s hearts for a second.”<\/p>\n The Ozark<\/a> star admits he had never watched Yellowstone<\/a> in full, but that didn’t make the chance to join the universe any less exciting. “I very much respect Cole and Kelly’s work in it, and I’ve seen a lot of what they have done,” he says. “I feel like with John Papsidera, the casting director, I feel like I was always like, ‘Man, Papsidera calls me in for everything but Yellowstone.’ It was very exciting to get a job in this world.”<\/p>\n Dutton Ranch also happens to be a perfect fit, as Menchaca himself hails from Texas. “Now that Beth and Ripp have started a new life in Texas, I welcomed the opportunity to work on a shared and inspired journey in Texas.”<\/p>\n New episodes of Dutton Ranch drop Fridays on Paramount+<\/p>\n![\"J.R.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/af60bda9c8d0d4b284b774d066b7a815.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Lauren Smith\/Paramount+<\/p>\n![\"Marc](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/e1d3874ed0c76d38ce4d047c1b0d5e03.jpeg\"\/)
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Credit: Emerson Miller\/Paramount+<\/p>\n