Taylor Sheridan gave hope to Spencer and Alex, then took it away in 1923’s heartbreaking yet beautiful season 2 finale, which stars Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer broke down in a recent ScreenRant interview. After a breathtaking reunion in the first half of the episode, Spencer made it through a bloody gunfight while Alex gave birth to their son (who is revealed to be John Dutton II, thus solidifying Kevin Costner’s genealogy in Yellowstone) two months premature.
Unfortunately, Alex’s body was weakened from the hours of frostbite she had endured, requiring amputations and surgery that would have rendered her unable to care for baby John in the crucial hours that would determine his fate. She chose to sacrifice herself in that moment rather than live to possibly have another child, and so an episode that began with the show’s most romantic moments ended with one of its most painful separations — until the pair found each other once more in the afterlife, that is.
When interviewed Sklenar and Schlaepfer, the two actors walked back through the highs and lows of the 1923 season 2 finale. They explained the technical difficulties of filming their grand reunion scene, the emotional labor they did to make it through their farewell, and their personal hopes for the future of the Yellowstone franchise.
Alex & Spencer’s Season 2 Finale Reunion Had To Be Filmed “Many, Many Times”
“They Didn’t Know How Long They Wanted That Run To Be”
The 1923 season 2 finale may have climaxed with death and destruction — more so for the enemies of the ranch, though victory came at a high cost for the Duttons — but it started off on a much higher note. After 6 episodes apart, Alex and Spencer had a reunion worthy of an epic romance, with Spencer jumping off a moving train to reach his beloved wife, who ran to embrace him even as she was dying of frostbite. During the interview, I asked the actors to describe the actual day of filming, and they were more than enthusiastic in their replies.
“Technically, it was cool,” Sklenar explained, referring to the process of capturing the train sequence. “We shot everything on a sound stage in Austin, and they had four full sections of train.” Even though not that much of Spencer’s run is shown onscreen, the actor still had to make the trek himself. “I’d run through one section, they’d set up cameras in another train, and I’d run through that train. They’d set up cameras, and I would jump off a platform and then run through a bunch of fake snow. Many, many, many, many, many times.”
I’ve never quite experienced something like that.
Sklenar wasn’t running alone, however, and Schlaepfer tired herself out meeting him halfway. “We ran a lot those days! It was wild.” She laughed, noting that the sweltering Austin heat did not make her job of acting out near-death by frostbite any easier. “You’re supposed to be so deathly cold, and they’re just trying to make sure that the sweat doesn’t drip off you.”
Sklenar agreed that the weather was a strenuous acting exercise in and of itself. “A lot of sweating in the Austin heat, ironically, pretending that it’s freezing. Julia did a fantastic job.” By the end of Alex and Spencer’s grand reunion, the actors felt like full-time athletes. “They had us run the length of a football field six times to get to each other,” Schlaepfer added. “They didn’t know how long they wanted that run to be, so we just kept running.”
Harrison Ford Turned Julia Schlaepfer’s Most Devastating 1923 Scene Into One Of Her Favorites
“It’ll Be The Highlight Of My Career, Probably Forever”
Julia, I was hoping that you were going to meet Aunt Cara, but we did get those moments between you and Harrison Ford What was that like for you as an actor, being in the presence of greatness, and then Alex, knowing he’s the only one she’ll meet from Spencer’s family?
Julia Schlaepfer: I was heartbroken that she didn’t get to meet Cara as well; I think they just would’ve hit it off. And Helen Mirren, of course, I would follow that woman anywhere. But Harrison is so special. He leads our set in the most effortless way, and he just leaves so much space for everyone on the crew.
The first scene I filmed with him was my birthing scene. I was just so exhausted and traumatized from the season, and he just wanted to make sure I was okay. He just took care of me – and of Alex – in his fatherly Jacob Dutton way. And it’s so fun because their rapport is so cheeky, like a different version of her and Spencer. It just, to me, is confirmation that she would’ve hit it off with that whole family, and I think she would’ve fit right in.
It is a tragedy that we don’t get to see that version of the story, but boy, were those scenes so fun to film with Harrison. It’ll be the highlight of my career, probably forever.
What Alex’s Death Means For Spencer’s Future After 1923 Season 2
“She Can Haunt Spencer In The Most Beautiful Way”
Speaking of that tragedy, Brandon, Spencer has to live with the knowledge that his wife gave up her life for their son. How is he processing it in that moment, and how will it change him?
Brandon Sklenar: It was heartbreaking. I had a hard time not getting too emotional filming that scene, definitely, so we had to pull it back a lot. “Your legs are a long way from your heart…” That line just gets me every time. I mean, there’s so much in that short exchange, and so much not being said. He’s not wanting to accept it, but he knows that it’s the right thing to do. There’s the profound feeling of love that he has for her in that moment, knowing that he’s not going to get a minute to show her how much she means to him. Having to live with that for your entire rest of your life is profoundly heartbreaking.
That’s what I was feeling in the moment there because it’s the ultimate sacrifice. He’s been fighting everything to see her and be with her, and then within 40 f–king minutes, she’s f–king dying. So, that heaven scene is the ultimate payoff. He’s been literally waiting almost 50 years to see her again – and he somehow lived that long despite all the drinking and smoking. This guy’s not doing IVs, you know what I mean? Or using sunblock. But it’s just so damn beautiful. It’s so beautiful.
We’ve heard Taylor Sheridan has 1944 coming up. Brandon, would you want to return to tell more of Spencer’s story? And Julia, could you be taking up Elsa Dutton’s voiceover mantle?
Brandon Sklenar: Right now, I’m just trying to lobby for Jules [Julia Schlaepfer] to be a ghost.
Julia Schlaepfer: Yeah, that’s our goal right now.
Brandon Sklenar: She can haunt Spencer in the most beautiful way. Not like a spooky, scary kind of way, but in a kind of fun way.
Julia Schlaepfer: She’ll play a lot of pranks.
Brandon Sklenar: Yeah, a lot of pranks. A lot of whisper banter. But, yeah, I’d do it. I’d do it, for sure. If there was a 1944 [series], Spencer’s definitely alive. He’d be in his fifties, so I could just spend the next four months outside, and that’d probably help.
All episodes 1923 season 2 are available to stream on Paramount+.