A bizarre fan theory about Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) and Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph) emerged after 1923 season 2, and it’s as ridiculous as it is plausible. In 1923 season 2’s finale, the Dutton family’s war swept through Montana, at the train station in Livingston, and the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Spencer’s arrival in Montana prompted the war’s long-awaited outbreak, with a phone call from Marshal Mamie Fossett (Jennifer Carpenter) to Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick) alerting key Paradise Valley residents of Dutton’s arrival.
Spencer’s nephew, Jack Dutton (Darren Mann), wasn’t around to fight the family’s war in the finale, after his unceremonious death in 1923’s penultimate episode. The tragedy left Jack’s wife a widow, topping the list of terrible things that happened to Elizabeth Strafford in 1923. Spencer was also left without a life partner at the end of 1923 season 2, with his wife, Alexandra Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer), dying from hypothermia after delivering their baby, John. Elizabeth and Spencer could be connected past 1923, according to this fan theory about the widow and widower.
Yellowstone Fan Theory: Elizabeth Strafford Could Be Spencer Dutton’s Mysterious Widow From 1923’s Ending
Fans Hatched A Far-Fetched Yet Compelling Spencer Dutton Theory
Alex’s husband dies too, although it happens 45 years later in Spencer Dutton’s time jump at the end of 1923 season 2. In the flash forward to 1969, where Spencer walks to his wife’s grave and collapses, 1923’s narrator, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), tells us what happened to her brother long after the events of 1923 season 2. Elsa tells us that for Spencer, Alex’s memory didn’t fade. She tells us that when Spencer Dutton died, Alex was all that he thought about, with the war hero meeting his bride in the afterlife. Elsa also tells us what happens more immediately.
Spencer never forgot Alex’s memory, and he opted not to remarry after her death. That said, Elsa Dutton tells us that while Spencer never made another woman his wife, he did take “the comfort of a widow and made another boy.” Elsa also tells us that Spencer refused to marry this widow, and that one day she disappeared. After Jack Dutton’s death left Strafford a widow in the finale, many Yellowstone fans believe that Elizabeth is the widow who consoles Spencer and bears his second child, which would explain why 1923 screenwriter Taylor Sheridan was so vague about the details.
How Elizabeth Strafford Being Spencer Dutton’s Widow Changes The Dutton Family Tree
Elizabeth And Spencer Having A Child Multiplies Her Dutton Family Tree Connections
Naturally, Elizabeth Strafford and Spencer having a child together would have ramifications for the Dutton family tree. It would mean that Elizabeth Strafford was the mother of two Dutton family descendants, bearing an unnamed child with Jack and, according to the theory, an unnamed child with Spencer sometime after that. The connection is plausible, since it’s likely that Elizabeth Strafford returned to the Yellowstone Ranch after the Dutton family’s war, perhaps to visit Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren), bringing Jack’s child to meet his family. While Elizabeth is back in Montana, it’s easy to see how she could fall for Spencer.
Elizabeth, being Jack’s widow, potentially explains why he refuses to marry her.
Elizabeth would likely take a considerable amount of time to visit the ranch, probably over the summer, and perhaps for a week or two. The 1923 characters would cross paths at the Yellowstone Ranch and, having both lost a lover in the war against Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), would have a significant loss to bond over. That said, it isn’t enough to coerce Spencer to tie the knot with Elizabeth if she is indeed the widow he confides in. Elizabeth, being Jack’s widow, potentially explains why he refuses to marry her, since marrying his nephew’s bride would have its complications.
Still, a potential child by Spencer and Elizabeth probably isn’t John Dutton II. While it looks like Alex and Spencer’s baby is John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) father after they named their baby John in 1923’s finale, that would mean that Taylor Sheridan broke the Dutton family tree, since Spencer is a second-generation Dutton, and John Dutton II is from the fourth generation. It also doesn’t add up for Spencer and Elizabeth’s baby to be John Dutton II, since he would technically still be a third-generation Dutton. Regardless, the theory being correct would leave the doors wide open for Sheridan’s next prequel, 1944.