Now that Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western drama Yellowstone has concluded the main series narrative, we’re anxiously awaiting the return of the prequel series, 1923. With Season 2 set to hit Paramount+ this month, the saga of the 20th-century band of Duttons is set to conclude with an action-packed second half that has been a long time coming. Starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton, 1923 is a distinctly historical look at Montana that chronicles the Last Best Place’s Great Depression, which began long before the stock market crash at the end of the decade. Before the second season hits the streamer, it’s time to dive back into the events of Season 1.
‘1923’ Begins With a Range War in Paradise Valley
Picking up decades after the end of 1883 and the flashbacks to James Dutton’s (Tim McGraw) last days in 1893 (as seen during Yellowstone’s fourth season), the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch has become an institution in the 1920s. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the Dutton family has everything under control. After James’ death years ago, Jacob and Cara arrived to take over the family brand, raising their nephews — John Sr. (James Badge Dale) and Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) — to one day take over themselves. Now, all these years later, it’s just Jacob, Cara, John, and John’s only son, Jack (Darren Mann) who carry on the brand after Spencer’s time in the Great War (more on that in a moment). Unfortunately, their cattle empire is under threat.
Following World War I, many of the Scottish ranchers and shepherds, led by Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), stand opposed to the Duttons. Indeed, Jacob is the commissioner of the Livestock Association and has repeatedly made it clear that grazing their starving sheep on Dutton land will end in death. When Banner fails to listen, Jacob has his men killed and strings Banner up as well, though he escapes. This leads Banner to attack the Duttons directly, which ends with the murder of John Sr. and Jacob gravely injured. In fact, Banner believes Jacob to be dead as Cara takes his place on the Livestock Association. She also sends word to Spencer about his brother’s death, begging him to come home. Unable to contain her grief, John Sr.’s widow, Emma (Marley Shelton), kills herself, making Jack an orphan.
The range war only gets more complicated as the absolutely terrifying business tycoon, Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), arrives in hopes of buying out the Dutton land for himself, aiming to develop the mineral resources spread across Paradise Valley. Whitfield allies himself closely with Banner, who he uses as a means to rally the rest of the people to his side of the persuasion as the cattle business suffers. But while all of this is happening, Jacob slowly recovers and, with the help of Sheriff William McDowell (Robert Patrick), brings charges against Banner for killing his nephew. Eventually, Banner is released without bail, and he and Jacob trade murderous threats.
‘1923’ Is Chock Full of Dutton Love Stories
However, 1923 isn’t all doom-and-gloom gunplay, violence, and cattle wars. On the other side of the world, Spencer Dutton has traveled across Africa, making a name and a reputation for himself as a for-hire killer of man-eating beasts, such as lions and leopards, across the wilderness. Despite his attraction to violence, the horrors of the Great War still plague Spencer, which is why he refuses to return home to Montana. On his travels, he meets a British woman named Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) who he becomes instantly infatuated with. Many have considered the story of Spencer and Alex to be the Yellowstone universe’s greatest romance, and for good reason. The pair quickly become engaged, but things soon become complicated when the Dutton heir receives his aunt’s letter three months after John Sr. was killed and Jacob injured.
Alex agrees to return to Montana with Spencer, and the pair leave Africa for Europe. Unwilling to wait any longer, the two are married by the captain of the S.S. Lambridge, who takes them across international waters. Winding up on the SS Majestic in hopes of arriving in London, things get complicated for the newlyweds when Alex’s former fiancé, Arthur (Rafe Soule), challenges Spencer to a duel. Naturally, Spencer wins, and the conflict ends with Arthur being tossed overboard. Though Spencer isn’t charged, this prompts Arthur’s father, Prince Arthur, Earl of Sussex (Bruce Davison), to have Spencer sent to the nearest port — without his bride. It turns out that Prince Arthur collaborated with Alex’s family to bring her back to London, sans her new husband. Reading the postage on one of Cara’s letters, Alex vows to Spencer that they will meet in Bozeman as they pledge their love to each other from a distance.
‘1923’ Chronicles the Story of Teonna Rainwater
As with Yellowstone, not every storyline in 1923 follows the Duttons directly. The series’ secondary plot follows a young woman named Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), a young Crow woman who is presumably the ancestor of Gil Birmingham’s Thomas Rainwater. Teonna is a resident at one of the Indian boarding schools in North Dakota and is subject to constant abuse from one of the nuns, Sister Mary (Jennifer Ehle). Eventually, it becomes too much of Teonna, especially after Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) punishes her profusely for defending herself. Seeking revenge, Teonna kills Sister Mary and escapes the boarding school, heading south into the Badlands. Father Renaud sends some U.S. Marshals after Teonna, starting at her grandmother, Issaxche’s (Amelia Rico), home, resulting in the old woman’s death.
While escaping her captors, Teonna is found by Hank Plenty Clouds (Michael Greyeyes), who aids the young woman in her quest to return home. With the help of his son, Pete (the late Cole Brings Plenty), Hank is able to protect Teonna from any suspecting visitors, at least for a time. Eventually, Pete brings Teonna’s father, Runs His Horse (Into the West’s Michael Spears), to come and take her home, but things change when a few priests are killed, and Hank with them. Runs His Horse decides to take Teonna and Pete away, traveling further south than before. When the priests don’t return, Father Renaud and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) decide to widen their search.
‘1923’ Season 1 Ends With Tragedy, but There’s More to Come
In the Season 1 finale, “Nothing Left to Lose,” there is a lot of explosive material. Spencer and Alex are separated, Teonna is back on the run, and Banner is released, but that’s not all. At the start of the season, we learn that Jack and his fiancé Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) have delayed their wedding due to the duties of the ranch. Following the death of Jack’s parents, the pair opts to consider themselves married, speaking their vows to one another out over the land and in the eyes of God. Soon after, Elizabeth is found pregnant. But as the first season ends, Elizabeth suffers a heartbreaking miscarriage, and tragedy continues to plague the Dutton family.
In the continued range war, there are casualties on all sides. One such disaster befalls the Duttons’ ever-faithful ranch foreman Zane (Brian Geraghty) and his family, namely his wife Alice (Joy Osmanski), when they are beaten by the authorities. Zane is then arrested for miscegenation, a practice illegal then in Montana. To make matters worse, Donald Whitfield reveals that he has paid the Duttons’ long-neglected property taxes and, if they don’t repay him by the end of the year, they will soon lose all that they have. With all of these dramatic plotlines brewing in Season 1 of 1923, we cannot wait to see what Taylor Sheridan will do next when Season 2 comes around.
1923 Season 2 is set to premiere February 23 on Paramount+.