The season premiere of the second (and confirmed final) season of 1923 remains cinematic. It has honest-to-God star power—not only because the series features Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren, rising star Brandon Sklenar, and an Emmy-worthy turn by Aminah Nieves.
Created by Taylor Sheridan, 1923‘s second season is worth watching because the series is brimming with magnetism, flawless writing, thought-provoking themes, and genuinely engaging storytelling. As displayed at the start of the sophomore effort is the type of old-fashioned Hollywood storytelling they don’t make anymore.
So please sit back and read our 1923 season 2 episode 1 recap!
Paramount+’s 1923 Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: Who Does Jacob Catch on His Yellowstone Ranch?
Jacob (Harrison Ford) finds a mountain lion sleeping outside the door of his home. He is about to kill the predator, pulling his gun, but the fierce creature runs away. Jacob and Jack (Darren Mann) are about to head into town for the first time in months since the winter storm has let up some.
They leave Cara (Helen Mirren) and Elizabeth (Landman’s Michelle Randolph) behind.
Jacob visits the Sheriff (Robert Patrick), trying to find the whereabouts of his former ranch hand, Zane (Brian Geraghty). The last time we saw him, he was jumped for being married and having an indigenous family. Right now, the court is holding them against their will and denying Zane medical care.
Who is Donald Whitfield?
Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) is a wealthy entrepreneur who wants to use Yellowstone to mine for precious metals and minerals. He has backed Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), the sheepherder Jacob tried to eradicate from his land, to help take control of the area from the Dutton clan.
The last time we saw Whitfield, he enforced his dominance by making others do his bidding. Whitfield is a sadist who finds sexual pleasure in making women hurt each other. Last season, we saw him force two women to humiliate and abuse each other.
The same continues here, as he has one woman tied up in a closet while making the other lead her out by a leash.
Why is Teonna Rainwater on the Run?
Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) is trying to escape agents who promote cultural genocide, led by an obsessive parishioner (Sebastian Roché), as she hides on old Comanche land in Texas. She is with her father and Run His Horse (Michael Spears), who was killed protecting her at the end of the first season. They end up in Texas.
They do not realize they are no longer on Indigenous land. This means they cannot quietly hide while being pursued by Marshall Kent. Those safe lawmen, in cold men, killed multiple Indigenous men, including running over a small child with their horse, searching for Teonna.
The young woman, however, allows Run His Horse to take her hand, and they fall in love.
Where is Spencer Dutton?
Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) was separated from his wife, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), a free-thinking British aristocrat who abandoned her wealthy family for love and worked as a stoker to earn money to return home to Montana and save his family. He befriends an Italian immigrant named Matteo, with whom he works shoveling coal.
One night, while sleeping, Spencer witnesses a man raping Matteo and intervenes to defend him. The attacker pulls a knife, but Spencer swiftly wins the fight. Security arrives, and after Spencer explains what happened, he shoots the rapist in the head. The next day, Spencer prevents Matteo from committing suicide.
In gratitude, Matteo helps Spencer earn extra money by fighting on the ship to fund his return to Montana.
Paramount+’s 1923 Season 2 Episode 1 Ending Explained: Who is the father of Alexandra’s Child?
Spencer, of course, is the father of Alexandra’s child. The season premiere of 1923‘s second season ends with us seeing Alexandra boarding a ship to America, hoping to meet Spencer in Montana. However, she will ride within the bowels of the boat. Her friend sold jewelry for her so she could buy the ticket.
Little does she know we see Spencer approaching land to dock in America.
The episode ends with Elizabeth stepping outside and running across the same mountain lion, who is about to eat her for dinner. Cara shoots and kills the animal through the window, saving her. We hear Elsa Dutton (Isabella May), who narrates the series, talk about how the killing season becomes a meal for all nature’s failures.