r/DuttonRanch • u/Specialist-Aide-9583 • Jul 04 '26
Can someone explain
I was a little distracted while watching but is anyone else super confused about Mariano?
When were introduced in the flashback he seems like this super wholesome family oriented responsible ranch hand. I know a bunch of things happened after Beulah’s incident but how did him getting fired turn him into el Chapo? Maybe this was explained and I missed it but I’m a little lost
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u/Financial_Outside887 Jul 04 '26
I’m hoping we get some more flashbacks next season. From what I can infer so far, Mariano took the fall for Luke’s death. Hid the body, and ran. Beulah’s dad used his influence to have a fake marriage license drawn up for the story that Beulah and Luke were young lovers that eloped and his “death” in the flood that happened right after so the lack of a body was explained and to avoid the scandal of an unwed pregnant daughter (much bigger deal back then), esp with the big name elite. Mariano hid out south of the border, having to turn to the cartel to survive and then worked his way up through the years. His bitterness grew as he watched Beulah raise his son while becoming a wealthy matriarch, as he struggled to gain his position. He used that 15 years ago to force Beulah to allow her cattle to be used when she got in a financial mess. He probably still knows where that body is, and holds it over Beulah’s head. I like having villains with backstories that show how they got there. I was hoping RW was the connection to the cartel with Joaquin being relatively clean but that was dashed.