Alex Dutton’s 1923 arc might be the most important in the series, especially as it pertains to the overarching narrative of the Duttons. Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone franchise has primarily focused on the Dutton family, the frontiersmen settlers who established their Montana ranch in 1883 and who’ve fought to maintain it in 1923 and the original Yellowstone. However, the scope of the series has changed, especially after Yellowstone’s ending and the development of new shows like The Madison and 6666 that won’t be focused on the Duttons.
1923’s season 2 premiere saw Alex Dutton preparing for her journey to the United States, hoping to find Spencer, the father of her unborn child, in Montana. Her season 1 arc showed her reckoning with a life of danger and pain, choosing that over the unfulfilling aristocratic world she left behind in London. Doing so with Spencer at her side was one thing, but this time around, she’ll be forced to face perilous dangers without the lion hunter to protect her. With the future of the Yellowstone franchise in mind, this plotline is all the more critical.
Alex Dutton’s 1923 Season 2 Arc Is The Most Important To The Yellowstone Franchise
Alex Proves This Franchise Is About More Than Just The Duttons
After several seasons of Yellowstone and its spinoffs, it’s clear that the franchise isn’t just about the Duttons. Taylor Sheridan isn’t just exploring a family drama; he’s exploring archetypes. The Duttons aren’t real, but they’re the amalgams of real families that have existed and left their imprint on America by laying their roots early. That said, for the franchise to continue without the Duttons, it needs characters who demonstrate the qualities audiences have come to know and love from the primary family without inherently being born into them.
Alex Dutton may be a Dutton by name after her marriage with Spencer, but she’s not a Dutton by blood. Yet, if she can prove herself by reaching the ranch in Montana on her own, she’ll be living up to the resilience that has defined this family for generations. She’s traveling to Montana to join the Dutton family, and if she reaches it, she’ll have earned her place in the family just as well as the frontiersman who founded the ranch in the first place. She’s the perfect representation of a Yellowstone protagonist.
Alex Dutton Could Be 1923’s Rip Wheeler Replacement
Rip Is A Dutton In Everything But Blood
Cole Hauser’s Rip Wheeler is possibly the most beloved character in the Yellowstone franchise, and importantly, he married into the family through his relationship with Beth Dutton. Throughout Yellowstone, it’s clear that Rip may not be John Dutton III’s actual son, but he embodies the ideals of loyalty and resilience better than almost anyone. By the time the show ends, he deserves to be considered a Dutton, just like Alex will if she reaches the ranch in 1923.
Rip and Alex are proof that it’s not about blood but character.
This is a series about a multi-generational family that’s continued by blood, almost like a monarchy. John Dutton III inherited the ranch from his father, and he intended for Lee Dutton to take over, then moved on to Kayce after Lee passed. This is a patriarchal family where sons inherit the ranch from their fathers, and it’s of tremendous importance that the Duttons have a crisis of succession after Lee dies. It’s Shakespearean, in a way, demonstrating the inherent flaws of monarchy. Rip and Alex are proof that it’s not about blood but character.
Will Alex Dutton Make It To Montana?
Alex Will Face Many Obstacles On Her Path To Bozeman
Alex Dutton’s journey to Montana is going to be horrifying, to say the least, without Spencer’s help. 1923 season 2, episode 1’s ending sets up her journey on a seemingly dangerous ship, which will be filled with men she can’t trust. Given the time period, this journey could take her about a week. From there, she’ll have to make it all the way from New York City to Bozeman with limited resources, once again putting her in physical danger. She’ll have to take trains to get there, which could take days.
In terms of length, Alex’s journey to Montana won’t be The Odyssey, but Taylor Sheridan will surely present obstacles for her to overcome. It seems likely that she’ll end up making it, as her child is probably John Dutton II, the father of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III, whom we saw briefly as an older man in Yellowstone flashbacks. 1923 will demonstrate how the family line progresses, and while it seems doubtful that Alex and Spencer will have a happy ending, she could still end up raising his son and continue the line.