1923 Season 1 has been a series of incredible highs and lows. When the Yellowstone prequel is good, it’s one of the best shows on TV. But when it struggles, it genuinely feels lost and unsure of where it’s going. Episode 7, “The Rule of Five Hundred,” and Episode 8, “Nothing Left to Lose,” illustrate these ups and downs in spades. But the biggest issue in the 1923 Season 1 finale is the problem all TV prequels face. Not even Taylor Sheridan can solve it.
The end of Season 1 sees the Duttons finally take action against Banner Creighton and start to fight back against the people who have attacked their families. Spencer Dutton and Alex continue their journey toward Montana, but running into Alex’s ex-fiance derails everything. Finally, Teonna Rainwater continues to run from the Priests — but is not alone. The episodes resolve these stories somewhat, but then also add new ones, creating as much confusion for the audience as resolution.
The Duttons Finally Take Action – Only To Come to a Grinding Halt Again
1923 Forgets Banner Creighton in Favor of Donald Whitfield
Timothy Dalton’s character Donald Whitfield has a much larger role in the final two episodes of 1923 Season 1. Former James Bond star Dalton gives a haunting performances as the ruthless, power-hungry Whitfield. His treatment of everyone around him is cold, sinister, and disturbing to watch — but also makes him memorable and captivating. Whitfield is the true adversary that Jacob Dutton needed. He represents everything Jacob hates, which is why it’s a shame that it took so long for him to fully emerge. Conversely, after Banner is released from jail, he all but disappears. After being the main antagonist for the majority of the season, he isn’t present at all in the finale. This cheapens the action that the Duttons finally take against Banner and makes it feel irrelevant.
This is another example of how the Duttons’ plot has struggled to maintain momentum. It’s outstanding to see 1923 Season 1, Episode 7 finally open with the family taking action against Banner — offering them the upper hand for the first time in a long time. This is immediately undone when Banner is released and his trial is forgotten about. The character was built up to be a huge part of the show, and yet plays no meaningful part in the biggest episodes of the season.
As usual, though, all of this is worth watching just for the scenes between Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. As with nearly every other episode in Season 1, Ford and Mirren’s dynamic anchors the entire series. They are the glue holding the show together and each moment they have together on-screen is a delight for fans. If the caliber of the story matched the caliber of their performances, then 1923 would easily outshine even Yellowstone.
1923 Gives Spencer’s Story a New Twist That Keeps It Interesting
Spencer and Alex’s Relationship Issues Are Only Just Beginning
Spencer and Alex are a main focus of the 1923 Season 1 finale. After episodes spent waiting for Spencer to get home, their storyline comes to a head when he and Alex end up on the same cruise liner as Alex’s ex-fiance Arthur and his family. Spencer is given a chance to show the true depth of his passion and who he is as a person. He shows constant restraint in the face of Arthur’s poking and prodding — until Alex’s honor is called into question. Then it is like an animal is unleashed and he is ready to fight. To see his character so perfectly summed up in the span of a few scenes is a perfect resolution to his Season 1 arc, and sets him up for additional growth in future seasons.
Spencer Dutton (to Arthur): I got about 30 seconds of this bulls–t in me, then I’m gonna mop the f–king floor with you.
But the end result of that sequence is Arthur’s death. And the consequences of killing Arthur — even if it was accidental — are Spencer being removed from the boat, without Alex. Julia Schlaepfer puts on an incredible performance; it’s believable that she is truly heartbroken as Alex watches Spencer being taken away. The depth of emotion that Schlaepfer is able to bring to the screen is breathtaking. This is an interesting twist, because it means Spencer is torn between his family and the person he chose to make a family with. The only downside is that 1923 has now spent a whole season still not getting Spencer to Montana.
1923 Season 1 Finale Has the Same Weakness as Any Prequel
Episodes 7 & 8 Can’t Overcome the Feeling of Inevitability
No matter what franchise, most TV prequels share the same issue: how to make the stakes feel real. It’s difficult for threats to seem legitimate when audiences already know what is going to happen to a certain degree. 1923 avoided this somewhat by putting characters in danger: Neither Jacob nor Spencer Dutton necessarily had to survive, because the lineage of the Duttons was already secure through Jack and Elizabeth.
But the finale’s biggest problem once again comes back to Donald Whitfield. Whitfield aims to take the ranch, which would cause the Duttons to default on a loan that is owed to him — yet viewers are aware that this is impossible. Audiences already know that the Yellowstone is still in the hands of the Duttons by modern times, so Whitfield’s scheme has no real teeth, as far as fans are concerned. In fact, the character who has the most tension in their storyline is the one who has the smallest part of the big picture: Teonna Rainwater.
Teonna’s story has the high stakes that 1923 Season 1 hasn’t always been able to maintain. The intensity that has been built around her plotline is fantastic and keeps the audience interested. But ultimately, because the story has to focus more and more on the Duttons and the ranch, Teonna’s journey may not get the satisfying payoff she deserves. That sums up 1923 very well: the season is supported by an incredible cast, who deliver powerful performances that make up for a lacking story. Episode 7 and Episode 8 are an average finale, yet there’s enough left open-ended to bring the Paramount+ audience back for Season 2.