Juan Pablo Raba Teases Threat of Joaquin’s Father After 10-Petal Twist

The Jackson family origins were revealed in Dutton Ranch Season 1 Episode 7, bringing with it the first glimpse of the mysterious Mariano, the father of Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba), who has a looming presence over Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening) and the 10-Petal Ranch. After two shocking events went down at the 10-Petal anniversary party, Raba tells us what’s next. Warning: Dutton Ranch Episode 7 spoilers ahead!

We’ve only heard Mariano make ominous phone calls to Beulah in the Yellowstone spinoff so far, but Episode 7 revealed young Mariano and Beulah in flashbacks. He was tasked with looking after 10-Petal heiress Beulah on a night out in Texas, and she wound up leaving with a dangerous man who attacked her. Mariano helped Beulah in the aftermath.

In the present day, Beulah prepared for the 10-Petal’s big anniversary party, at which she was going to name Joaquin as her successor. Joaquin isn’t Beulah’s son by blood, but she raised him in honor of her relationship with his father, Mariano. The depths of their history will be revealed later, but Joaquin has spent his entire life trying to win Beulah’s love and become her heir. He was about to succeed before Rob-Will (Jai Courtney), Beulah’s biological son, returned and threatened his mother about the line of succession. He convinced her that the bloodline had to be prioritized or else.

Beulah betrayed Joaquin by throwing out their original plan and announcing Rob-Will as her successor at the party. Raba tells TV Insider that it was pure “heartbreak” for Joaquin. Here, he teases what’s next now that Joaquin has lost everything he ever cared about. Plus, what to expect from the “Cain and Abel” dynamic between Joaquin and Rob-Will moving forward, and how Mariano’s present-day arrival is still a looming issue.

Episode 7 has most of the cast all in one place. How did having everyone together elevate the stakes of the episode?

I think every show has that. I always say that’s when writers get tired, and they’re like, “OK, let’s have a funeral, let’s have a wedding or a party.” [Laughs] In this case, it is a heavy episode. I would call it the switch. It’s like the on switch for everything related to the Jackson family. The Duttons are, of course, there, and they are observing the dynamics, but it is definitely the point of no return for our family in the way that everything that Joaquin had worked all his life towards, which was getting Rob-Will out of the picture so his mother could pick him, Joaquin, as the heir. Does not go as planned.

There are a lot of questions now. How are the characters going to react to this? Is Rob-Will going to be a rightful heir? Is he going to do right? Is he clean? Is he going to act correctly? Where does Oreana [Natalie Alyn Lind] stand in all of this? Is Beulah really going to let the reins go? And concerning my character, what is Joaquin going to do now when you took away everything from him? A lot of questions.

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

It certainly has a lot of questions, like if Beulah is going to survive after this episode. But I wonder too, what do you think it says about Beulah that she did betray him in this way?

Well, the thing is that for Joaquin, it’s just straightforward betrayal, right? But the audience knows a little more. And then Joaquin will also realize what really happened. So, it’s a huge heartbreak, and then it just sets off all these mechanisms in Joaquin of: I did everything right. You did not give this to me. I can’t believe you gave it to him. What am I going to do about it? Because, as I said, that’s all he has.

Joaquin doesn’t have a family. Joaquin was left in that ranch by his parents 40 years ago. He’s got nothing. That’s all he has. And he has been fighting hard not only for that, but for that woman’s love. He really wants to be loved by Beulah because he really loves her. I know you’re not going to accept me as a Jackson, but I still need your love, and I really want to have this position, so now the real question is, what is he willing to do? He’s got some cards under his sleeve. Now the question is, will he use them?

We meet Mariano in flashbacks in this episode. Beulah says, “Your father would be proud,” past tense. And then Joaquin says, “He will be proud,” present tense. What’s that about?

That, my dear Kelli, is everything. You just paid attention to the very, very right piece of information because that is a huge part of what’s going to happen. And it’s a huge part of the dynamic between Beulah and Mariano, Joaquin and Mariano, especially between Beulah and Joaquin. What I love about this show is the nuance. It’s like I love the slow burner. You see some shows nowadays that everything you need to know is said in Episode 1. This is a completely different ballgame, and just the nuance and all the details and all the important information is given in stuff like that.

Right. We’re sprinkling a bit of a mystery with Mariano.

Exactly. As I said, Joaquin has a lot of cards, and now the question is, will he play them?

[Joaquin and Mariano] don’t have a father-son relationship like the usual thing, but you will see, but he’s very, very, very well aware of him and they’re always in communication.

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

How does being Beulah’s chosen son define Joaquin’s work ethic and his overall identity?

That’s all he ever wanted. I mean, he knew from the start that he had the brains. He knew from the start that he was not a Jackson, so he was going to have to work hard. And he knows his mom, she’s a hard worker, and she will make you earn stuff, so he did the right stuff. He went to college, he got his degree, he’s ready for it.

He doesn’t even have a family. He doesn’t even care about a romantic life. All he wants is that ranch and to be loved by that woman, so for him, it’s everything. When he feels that he’s going to be chosen, he’s like, “This is all I ever wanted.” It’s like, “Oh, my life is about to start.” When they take that away from him, it’s like the worst thing you can do to a human being. You’re taking everything from him.

Define those feelings right when he hears Beulah say she’s going to give the ranch to Rob-Will.

It’s very easy. It’s only one word: heartbreak. It’s heartbreak. From that moment on, everything we will see from Joaquin is built on heartbreak. Whatever he does, good or bad, everything comes from heartbreak. And that’s such an interesting place to work from because it’s very ethereal. If they take money away from you, you want to get the money back. If they take away a romantic relationship, you want that back. If they take away the power, you want it back, but working from heartbreak from something that’s so nuanced, so hard to grasp, so difficult to explain — it’s a completely different universe. I’m very excited to see where this actually could take us.

Lauren Smith/Paramount+

There’s a scene in this episode where Beulah is watching Joaquin and Rob-Will from afar at the party, and you guys are talking to each other, but we don’t know what was said. I wonder if that moment was scripted or if you improvised it, and what was said.

I think that moment is not so much for us, but for Beulah. It’s like she’s working her gears. Everything also changed for her when Rob-Will comes back, and she sees them. I think this is a moment that was shot, not for us but for her. It really doesn’t matter what we said. It’s about what she’s feeling seeing her two sons, her two possible heirs, together, and how she’s still making up her mind.

What kind of conversations did you and Annette have about the moment she changed her mind?

Well, the thing is that the way this show works is that we don’t have that information. We don’t know. As we are reading the episodes, we’re getting the information. You get the script, you start working in your mind, and then you get to set, and you start working around it. And my feelings never changed. We’re like, “Oh, wow, you just broke my heart.” But also then, when we talked about it, she said, “Imagine what it is for me, not being able to give you something that I know belongs to you, but the blood or the last name prevails.” You have the heart prevailing over the mind, but it’s the business, and it has to work. It’s a very gut-wrenching moment for everyone.

Except Rob-Will, he got what he wanted. Tell me what to expect between those two moving forward, because I don’t think they can come back from this.

No bueno, amiga. It’s no bueno. You know Cain and Abel? We get into a little bit of that dynamic of what’s going to happen between two human beings that just can’t agree to be in each other’s presence.

Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Are the gloves off for Joaquin now? Is he really angry?

One-hundred percent. But the fun thing about Joaquin and what I like is just the human aspect of it. It’s like, yeah, you can say, “Oh, the gloves are off,” but this guy doesn’t know how to fight. He’s entering a world where he doesn’t know how it works.

He never chose violence. He always chose tactics, money, whatever it was. But this is a guy who never chose violence, and suddenly he’s pulled into this very violent world. He doesn’t know how to react or act. And I think that’s beautiful, especially in such a macho-driven universe as the cowboy world. He doesn’t know how to do that. He doesn’t want to have a gun pointed to his head. He’s scared. He’s really afraid of it. This is all very new to him, so it’s all developing. He’s discovering himself, by the way, as he’s doing this.

Could Beth [Kelly Reilly] and Rip [Cole Hauser] be an ally to him?

I don’t know. Why not? In his mind, I think he’ll make any alliance he can make to keep his throne, but he doesn’t. As for now, we don’t know what can happen.

Dutton Ranch, Fridays, 8/7c, Paramount Network, Streaming on Paramount+

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