1923 is hurtling toward its explosive finale as the second and final season crosses into the back half of its story. The Yellowstone prequel continues to flesh out the earlier generations of the Dutton family as they fight to maintain their land from those who would take it for themselves. The latest entry in Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western television universe explores uncharted territory for the Yellowstone franchise, surpassing the original series in several key ways.
Overall, 1923 may not be as good as the original series, but it contains some key elements that prove Sheridan is learning from his previous mistakes. With Yellowstone having ended after five seasons, its prequels and spinoffs are fertile ground for Sheridan to continue improving how he presents certain characters to audiences. Jerome Flynn’s Banner Creighton, an Irish farmer with a vendetta against the Duttons, is a perfect example of how Sheridan’s writing continues to evolve post-Yellowstone. The Game of Thrones star manages to fix an age-old problem with the Yellowstone franchise, though it remains to be seen if Sheridan will stick the landing.
Banner Creighton Is Becoming One of Yellowstone’s Best Villains
Jerome Flynn’s 1923 Character Is Surprisingly Complex
In 1923 Season 2’s fourth episode, audiences get to see a different side of Banner Creighton. Portrayed as a conniving if not particularly intelligent enemy of the Duttons, Banner has finally found a way to undermine his adversaries by teaming up with the wealthy British businessman Donald Whitfield. However, Banner quickly comes to see that Whitfield is far more merciless than he, playing every advantage in his arsenal, even if it means killing everyone in his way. When Whitfield reveals his plan to kill the Duttons and dump their bodies in what will later become known as “The Train Station,” Banner begins to ponder whether what he is doing is justified. In a poignant scene, Banner returns home, where he opens up to his wife, revealing that to support his family, he must destroy another. Though he still plans to go through with Whitfield’s plan, Banner clearly recognizes the significance of what he is about to do–which automatically makes him one of the most complex villains in the Yellowstone franchise.
Banner knows that Whitfield is coming for the Dutton Ranch and anyone who gets in his way will end up dead. There have already been several innocents who found their way to an early grave, including one of the prostitutes who Whitfield kept on hand. Banner makes his first trip to the Train Station to bury the woman’s body, during which he comments to his associates that she has done nothing to deserve this fate. Unlike most other Yellowstone villains, Banner seems to be fully conscious of the horrors that are unfolding around him as a result of his actions. He does not relish in this violence, but rather contemplates it, wondering if achieving his own ends is really worth all this pain. Few villains in the Yellowstone franchise have been so complex, making Banner Creighton one of the most interesting characters in 1923’s second season.
The Problem With Most Yellowstone Villains
Yellowstone’s Villains Are Often Cartoonishly Evil
Banner Creighton’s surprising character arc comes after many years of underwhelming Yellowstone villains. More often than not, Taylor Sheridan writes his villains as over-the-top and even campy enemies of the Dutton family with few, if any, redeeming qualities. While this makes for a sufficiently terrifying threat for the main characters, it also results in villains who are ultimately uninteresting as characters. The Beck Brothers in Yellowstone are a perfect example of villains who are intimidating but not interesting, coming off as fully evil characters with no underlying reasons they do what they do. Even Banner Creighton’s associate in 1923, Donald Whitfield, is little more than a campy, almost cartoonishly evil antagonist. Though she shared many of these qualities, Sarah Atwood was at least intriguing as a character before Yellowstone unceremoniously killed her off.
Until Banner Creighton, Yellowstone’s most complicated villain was Jamie Dutton, the black sheep of the Dutton family who slowly turned against his father as the series went on. Unfortunately, Jamie’s arc doesn’t land in the end. He flips allegiances far too often to be considered an adequately intimidating villain, though his shifting loyalties at least make him more interesting than the average Yellowstone antagonist. Nevertheless, Jamie is ultimately overshadowed by Sarah Atwood for much of his villain arc. By the time Sarah is killed off, there aren’t enough episodes for Jamie to really take control as Yellowstone’s main villain, leaving his years-long arc in a disappointing place by the series finale. While the Yellowstone franchise has been successful, none of the shows have been able to craft a memorable villain.
What Will Happen to Banner Creighton In 1923?
Things Don’t Usually Go Well for Enemies of the Duttons
Unfortunately, 1923 runs the risk of making the same mistake with Banner Creighton as Yellowstone did with Jamie Dutton. With only a few episodes left of the series, Creighton is still overshadowed by the more dangerous but far too campy main antagonist, Donald Whitfield. While Creighton is still interesting as he ponders his place on the wrong side of the Duttons, it seems unlikely that he will ever take Whitfield’s place as the main antagonist of 1923. The series may ultimately be heading for an unsatisfying conclusion to the character’s arc, wherein he is unceremoniously killed off–as so many other antagonists from the Yellowstone universe have been.
Conversely, 1923 has a chance to write a better ending for its most complicated antagonist. As Creighton considers his place in Whitfield’s scheme, he may discover that this isn’t what he wants after all. If Creighton sees the light, he may emerge as a surprise ally of the Dutton, helping them defeat Whitfield once and for all. This would be an interesting way to end his character arc, as he makes a full 180-degree turn to become one of the Duttons’ chief allies leading up to the events of Yellowstone. With three episodes left, audiences will simply have to wait and see what Taylor Sheridan has in mind for Banner Creighton–and if 1923 manages to pull off its most intriguing character arc.