Dutton Ranch star Juan Pablo Raba has revealed he was certain his character Joaquin was being written off the show during Season 1 — specifically in Episode 6, when Chet approached him with a gun. The actor, who plays Beulah’s scorned “son,” opened up about the suspense of reading scripts on the Yellowstone spin-off and the relief of surviving another season.
“When I first got the episode, I had no idea what was going to happen,” Raba told TVLine. “Cole [Hauser] and Kelly [Reilly] know because they’re producers, but for the rest of us, every single script is a wild card. So I started reading the script, and when I saw Chet pulls a gun and walks towards Joaquin, I was like, ‘Well, this is it. It was fun while it lasted.’”
Raba admitted he expected a call from producers warning him about his character’s demise. “I’m thinking, oh my God, I would have hoped that somebody would have called me to tell me, ‘Hey, buddy, this is it,’” he said. “But I’m just like, damn it, it feels so soon.”
Fortunately, Raba turned the page and discovered it wasn’t Joaquin’s time. Instead, Chet was shot and killed by Miguel, who had been lurking in the shadows. Raba called the twist “a big surprise story-wise.”
The positive outcome for Joaquin proved crucial for the Season 1 finale cliffhanger. When Joaquin’s father Mariano returns, he orders his son to “kill your brother.” Joaquin is horrified but more afraid of Mariano than Rob-Will, so he doesn’t refuse. Later, we see Joaquin agonizing in his car with a gun — just before Rob-Will is gunned down in the Jackson family home.
Raba is adamant Joaquin didn’t pull the trigger. “As I flip through the pages, I don’t see an actual scene where Joaquin kills him,” he pointed out. “All we see is Joaquin in his car giving some hard thought to something. And then we see him later, in the same car with the same gun, but did he do it?” Raba suggests Mariano, sensing Joaquin’s hesitation, likely sent a “back-up” to ensure Rob-Will was eliminated.
Regardless, Raba knows his character remains at risk. “I don’t know how much longer Joaquin could live,” he said. “Maybe it’s 10 seasons, maybe it’s one more season, you have no idea.”
The uncertainty is part of what makes Dutton Ranch compelling. With Yellowstone spin-offs known for shocking deaths, no one is truly safe — unless your name is Beth or Rip. Raba’s experience highlights the tension actors face reading new scripts, fingers crossed their characters survive.
As the series continues, fans remain divided on whether Joaquin killed Rob-Will or if someone else pulled the trigger. Raba’s comments only add fuel to the speculation. For now, Joaquin lives to fight another day — but in the dangerous world of Dutton Ranch, tomorrow is never guaranteed.
