Did Joaquin Really Kill [SPOILER]? ‘Dutton Ranch’ Star Juan Pablo Raba Teases Doubt

The season 1 finale of Dutton Ranch, titled “El Padrino,” has left viewers with a major question hanging over one of its biggest deaths: who actually killed Rob-Will (Jai Courtney)?

Juan Pablo Raba, who plays Joaquin in the series, has now spoken out about the moment and made it clear he is not fully convinced his character is responsible for the killing. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Raba directly addressed the theory that Joaquin pulled the trigger. He said, “I don’t think he did it. Because he’s not a killer. He’s not even a cowboy, for Christ’s sake. He has never shot anyone in his life.”

Even so, the episode strongly suggests Joaquin could be involved. Earlier in the finale, his father Mariano (played by Raoul Max Trujillo), a drug lord with significant influence, orders him to kill Rob-Will. Moments before the murder, Joaquin is also seen outside the family home with a gun in his car, which adds weight to the suspicion.

However, the actual killing is never shown on screen. Instead, Rob-Will’s daughter Oreana (Natalie Alyn Lind) hears a gunshot and rushes downstairs to find her father already dead. A car is then seen speeding away from the scene, leaving the identity of the shooter unclear.

Raba believes this lack of confirmation is intentional. He pointed out that the timeline of events leaves room for doubt. He explained, “If you think about the episode and you go through the timeline, Rob-Will says bye to Oreana, and then we stay on her, and then not even 30 seconds later, we hear a gunshot.”

He added that the speed of the attack suggests a professional-level execution, something he does not think fits Joaquin’s character. “So that means that whoever did it literally went ding dong, Rob-Will opened the door, and shot him. It takes a lot of cold blood to do that. You have to be a professional killer to do that,” Raba said.

According to Raba, Joaquin is not trained for that kind of violence. He also questions whether Mariano would have trusted his son with such an important and dangerous task without backup plans.

The ambiguity around the scene was also present during production. Raba revealed that multiple versions of the final moment were filmed. He said, “We were like, ‘Okay, do one now where he did it. Do one where he saw somebody else do it. Do one where he feels proud, he feels scared, he’s heartbroken.’”

This approach, he explained, was meant to give the character emotional range while keeping the truth hidden even from the actors. He added that even director Christina Alexandra Voros did not confirm what truly happened during filming.

Because of that uncertainty, Raba believes the storyline now opens up many possible directions for Joaquin. He describes his character at the end of the season as confused, frightened, and completely out of his depth, especially after the kidnapping of Carter, the son of Beth and Rip.

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