After five of its eight episodes, 1923 season 2 is finally ready to start telling the story we’ve wanted to see since 2023. Since the ending of 1923 season 1, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel show has been building up to the moment when Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) can get back to Montana and take the fight to Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) and Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn). Spencer has been heralded as the savior of the Yellowstone ranch, and the rest of the cast of 1923 has been biding their time and trying to survive winter long enough for Spencer to rescue them.
While Spencer’s long-awaited return to Montana has been teased for a long time, 1923 season 2 has had quite a few delays in store for him. From his run-in with the mafia to Spencer’s ill-fated experiment in bootlegging, he’s been beset by obstacles all season, and Spencer has only reached West Texas so far. However, the ending of 1923 season 2, episode 5 finally put the pieces in place for Spencer to get home, and for the fight to save the Yellowstone to get fully under way.
Spencer & Alex’s 1923 Season 2 Endgame Is Finally In Sight
Spencer & Alex Finally Have Clear Paths To Montana That Shouldn’t Get Derailed Much More
In 1923 season 2, episode 5, both Spencer and his wife, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), made real progress towards their common destination of Montana. Spencer got on a train that was headed towards Montana, and Alexandra disembarked in Chicago and found help from a British couple that was on her train. They’re both still about a thousand miles away from Bozeman, but the rest of both Spencer and Alexandra’s journeys to Montana should be relatively trouble-free (hopefully). Their reunion and the war for the Yellowstone looks like it will happen soon.
Why 1923 Fans Are Upset About Season 2’s Pacing
Over Half Of 1923 Season 2 Has Stalled Getting Spencer To Montana & Starting The War It Has Been Advertising
Spencer and Alexandra reaching Montana, if it does happen soon, is long overdue. Many fans have expressed their frustrations with the amount of setbacks they’ve both had, and the general pacing of 1923 season 2. There are plenty of stories filled with fan reactions to how long it has taken for Spencer to reach Montana (via OutKick), and the prevailing sentiment seems to be that viewers think Taylor Sheridan has drawn this particular story out far longer than it needed to be. Slower pacing can be fine, but viewers wanted to see Spencer reach Montana a month ago, when 1923 season 2 started.
The fans who are complaining about 1923 season 2’s pacing aren’t completely unwarranted. 1923 season 2 is only eight episodes long, and after five episodes (over 60% of the season), the main attraction of the show has been indefinitely delayed. Some fans have called Spencer’s journey North “ridiculous” and “aggravating” (via Country Living), especially considering the fact Spencer has been trying to get home since 1923 season 1, episode 4, which debuted on January 8, 2023. Two full years have passed in the real world, and at this point, it feels like Sheridan is drawing out Spencer’s story just for the sake of filling the episode count.
Will The Rest Of 1923 Season 2 Be Enough To Tell The War For The Yellowstone Ranch Story?
With Just Three Episodes Left, Spencer’s “War” For The Yellowstone May Prove Anticlimactic
Spencer may be making progress on his trip to Montana, but it remains to be seen if he’ll have much story left when he gets there. As previously mentioned, there are only eight episodes in 1923 season 2, and only three new installments remain, including the show’s finale. There doesn’t seem to be much time left to depict Spencer’s war against Whitfield and Creighton. By the time he actually gets to the Yellowstone and the fighting actually begins, Spencer’s “war” may turn out to be little more than a single gunfight, or it may be resolved some other way, like Banner betraying Whitfield.
There is, however, hope left in store. Taylor Sheridan is no stranger to writing a season finale that far exceeds the rest of the show in terms of runtime. The finale of Landman season 1, for example, was a whopping 80 minutes, which could be an indication that the finale of 1923 season 2 will have a similarly lengthy run. Plus, Sheridan is an acclaimed writer for a reason, and he’s almost certainly left himself enough room to end Spencer’s story in a satisfying way. It may not be exactly what we’ve expected for years, but the ending of 1923 season 2 will almost certainly be exciting.