This season of 1923 has come and gone faster than the first, and the truth is that the story doesn’t feel even remotely close to being over. There is still so much that needs to happen before the Duttons’ final battle against Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), not to mention all the characters who have yet to even return to Montana. After Yellowstone’s relatively rushed final season, it’s fair to wonder whether Taylor Sheridan is going to stick the landing for his second franchise prequel.
‘1923’ Season 2 Has Too Many Plotlines to Address in a Single Episode
Right now, every 1923 plotline seems to be miles away from completion. Though there is no doubt that the series has been a powerhouse when it comes to blending real-life Prohibition-era excitement with the world of the Yellowstone universe, many of the season’s detours have gotten us to a place where the finale may feel a bit, well, rushed. While Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) is about to arrive in Montana, his pregnant wife, Alex (Julia Schlaepfer), is still miles off, now stuck in the middle of a Wyoming blizzard without any hope or friend in the world. After an entire season of making Alex the punching bag, both literally and figuratively, how can 1923 even begin to make things right for her in the finale? Even if the final episode of Season 2 is super-sized, there is still so much that 1923 has to account for concerning her arc.
As one of the show’s strongest characters, Alex has endured hell on her journey to be reunited with her husband and his family. To that end, anything less than a happy ending for her would feel as if we were cheated the same way she was. Unfortunately, Taylor Sheridan isn’t exactly known for his happy endings. If anything, Yellowstone’s first prequel, 1883, has proven that Sheridan is merciless when it comes to his heroes, and though Isabel May’s Elsa Dutton lives on through narration, her on-screen fate does not bode well for someone like Alex. Even if she does survive, will she and Spencer be able to live a real life together? How is she going to deal with the fallout of Paul (Augustus Prew) and Hillary’s (Janet Montgomery) deaths? Is her child the bloodline that will lead to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton, or is Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) the mother of the Dutton family’s future? There is still a lot to unravel, and so little time to do so.
‘1923’ Needs to Give Its Characters Time to Grieve
Speaking of Liz, now that Jack (Darren Mann) has been brutally murdered by Banner Creighton’s (Jerome Flynn) goons, it seems like one of 1923’s other main punching bags has taken yet another shot to the gut right before the season finale. It feels impossible for the show to complete Liz’s character arc in a single episode without simply ignoring the ramifications of Jack’s death. Even if the show manages to properly allow her to grieve, there is still so much she has yet to understand and work through concerning the ranch life, let alone teach her unborn child to do the same. When Jack’s father, John Dutton Sr. (James Badge Dale), died back in the first season, we got to watch as the main cast mourned (and fought back) over an extended period. Liz certainly deserves at least that, especially given all we’ve seen her endure already — and let’s not forget that Jacob and Cara need time to work through this themselves.
Additionally, Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) has just lost everyone she cares about and loves, and while the story of her escape from Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) has been wrapped up, we know that she must eventually return to the Broken Rock Indian Reservation for the sake of Thomas Rainwater’s (Gil Birmingham) eventual upbringing. 1923 has barely been given Teonna the chance to breathe since she escaped the Catholic boarding school back in Season 1, let alone grieve the loss of Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) or her father, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears). Presently, the idea of returning to her Montana home has yet to even cross her mind, and considering that it took Spencer nearly all season to travel from Texas to the Big Sky Country, we can’t imagine it’ll take any less time for her to do the same.
Is ‘1923’ Setting Up a Potential Third Season?
Of course, the show may have gone in this direction (pushing every character to the edge just before the finale) for a reason. Now that Paramount has shifted its language concerning Season 2’s finale from being a “series finale” to a “season finale,” it’s possible that the show may continue beyond its initial two-season order. While there is no confirmation as yet whether the Sheridan drama will be renewed for a third season, it’s hard to believe that the show will be able to wrap everything up before the credits roll. Doing so may prove an ill-fated task, and anything less than a genuine resolution for 1923’s characters will no doubt alienate some viewers. After killing off nearly everyone in 1883 and the events of Yellowstone Season 5B, fans of the franchise understandably want a bit more stability going forward.
If 1923 does end up continuing into a third season (which will likely end up being a final season), Sheridan may be doing what’s right for the show after all. By pushing all of his characters to the edge for the finale, however the war between the Duttons and Whitfield plays out, the prequel may have a bit more up its sleeve than we’ve given it credit for. But if this really is the end of 1923, then we have reason to be a little nervous. Considering that the Yellowstone finale was quite controversial among viewers, and many thought the way the show handled certain character deaths was insufficient, it would be a shame if those same mistakes were repeated here. Generally speaking, 1923 has always seemed to have more vision and direction than Yellowstone, and we hope that proves true in Season 2’s heavily anticipated final hour.