Yellowstone fans were met with a romantic surprise after season 5, episode 7 of the Paramount Network western drama: John Dutton (Kevin Costner) and Summer Higgins (Piper Perabo) finally made good on their flirtatious advances. They kissed, and with that kiss brought a whole new world of change and questions with it. But was it a simulated kiss, since it was behind a hat and all? And did Costner actually know what he was doing? According to actress Piper Perabo, he certainly did.
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"We actually kissed," Perabo told TV Guide in a recent interview. "Because you can see us moving. Adults know," she explained.
The newly-crowned Governor Dutton and his sultry advisor came together for their romantic union at the county fair, but only after going back and forth together over whether the pair should actually be behaving that way. What if someone saw? The solution? The hat. And despite the fact that they remained hidden from view from the others around them, there was some very real lip-locking going on.
"Like, have you ever seen actors pretend to drive a car, and you're like that's not really how you drive a car? It's the same way with kissing. And I mean, Kevin Costner's a pro," she gushed over her costar.
As Dutton, Costner has portrayed a man thus far who's been dealing with a lot. Not only has he been working to field a number of lawsuits while dealing with ailing cattle, but there's some serious loneliness behind those eyes. It's been there for some time now, and with season 5 in full swing, it was about time to see the character get romantic with the love interest the show has been teasing for some time now. And Perabo, playing his foil when the pair first met, got a kick out of the fact that the production team actually bought a fair for the cast to film that special kiss at.
"We make Yellowstone way out in Montana, middle of nowhere, and the only thing to do is go to the rodeo, but there's really nowhere to go," Perabo explained to TV Guide. "So we got a whole fair to come to the rodeo grounds to make this. In the rides, you have to put dressed mannequins, because any normal person would have a stomachache from riding the Tilt-a-Whirl all day." She explained that she went to check and see if the funnel cake guy was "real" on lunch, only to find the entire crew had gotten on the fair rides and was screaming at the top of their lungs!
"Imagine if you were like 15 and somebody told you, "Here's a whole fair," she said. "You can ride any ride you want as many times as you want. You have one hour. Go." It was just the funnest time." But after the fireworks were over, the fair disbanded, and Summer and John parted, fans were wondering what might be next for the couple in upcoming episodes. Perabo took the time to answer that question to the best of her ability.
"I can't wait for you to see episode 8," she said. "I don't even know. Like, I don't even know what to say. So much is coming, and then I don't know what's coming next. Then there's like a giant, unanswered thing." She did comment that we'll get to see Beth's (Kelly Reilly) reaction -- and whether she'll be "okay" with watching Summer kiss her father. But only time will tell what we can expect from this new couple -- and if they're built to last or if this is just a "summer" fling.