Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph) makes a life-altering decision in 1923 season 2’s finale, and it is the right choice for Jack’s (Darren Mann) widow. 1923 season 2, episode 7, was a massive finale for 1923’s characters. The Dutton family’s war broke out as Elizabeth and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) waited at the house. While Zane (Brian Geraghty) and other Yellowstone Ranch hands engaged in a shootout to protect the family’s land, the war wasn’t over until Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) came home, wiping out Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) and Donald Whitfield’s (Timothy Dalton) remaining men with an elephant gun.
Despite his tactical victory, Spencer experienced a devastating loss in the finale when his wife, Alexandra of Sussex (Julia Schlaepfer), succumbed to complications from hypothermia. She refused to have her necrotic limbs amputated, opting to maximize time with her baby, whom she named John. The development seemingly confirms that Alexandra is John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) grandmother, solving an unresolved Dutton family mystery in Yellowstone. Therefore, Elizabeth’s baby isn’t Beth (Kelly Reilly) and Kayce’s (Luke Grimes) ancestor, confusing her place in the Dutton family tree as she exits the ranch.
Elizabeth Strafford Leaving Yellowstone In 1923’s Finale Was The Right Decision
Jack Dutton’s Widow Departs The Ranch After His Preventable Death
While she stepped up to fight for her life, shooting Banner Creighton’s men and saving Zane, Elizabeth leaves the Dutton Ranch in 1923’s series finale. After the war is won, Elizabeth steps out onto the porch as Cara feeds John Dutton II goat’s milk. Cara tells her that she knows it probably feels like Elizabeth is quitting, but that isn’t the case. Cara emphasizes that after Jack’s death, Elizabeth’s reason for staying is gone. Jack’s aunt knew that Elizabeth wouldn’t be happy on the ranch, especially after Jack’s fate was added to the list of shocking Dutton family deaths.
Horrible things happened to Elizabeth Strafford in 1923, giving her no reason to embrace ranch life after her husband’s death.
Regardless of Jack’s death, Elizabeth was struggling to live a fulfilling life on the ranch. Just moments before she discovered she was pregnant a second time, Elizabeth was discussing her plans to leave Montana for Boston in eight days with Jacob (Harrison Ford), who suggested she could return after some respite. Elizabeth wanted to leave the ranch because she lacked support from her husband and didn’t have adequate expectations of what life at the Yellowstone Ranch would be like. Furthermore, terrible things happened to Elizabeth Strafford in 1923, giving her no reason to embrace ranch life after her husband’s death.
Elizabeth Lost Everything At Yellowstone, Including Jack
Elizabeth Has Nothing To Gain From Ranch Life
Elizabeth leaves behind memories of loss as she departs the ranch, emboldening her decision to leave to live a happy life. Strafford never achieved the life she wanted at the Yellowstone Ranch, and her loss is a significant part of why things went wrong. For instance, Elizabeth was never able to officially marry Jack. Their wedding ceremony was postponed after Jacob decided to take a week or two to drive cattle up the mountain. However, when Banner Creighton makes his initial attack on the Duttons, Elizabeth’s father, Bob Strafford (Tim DeKay), dies in the gunfight that wounds her as well.
While losing her father would be sad enough, Bob Strafford’s death prompts Elizabeth’s mother, Beverly (Jessalyn Gilsig), to cancel her wedding, saying it died with her father. Despite her mother’s insistence that she and Jack join her in the East, Elizabeth makes the brave decision to stay at the ranch with her sweetheart. Elizabeth’s decision was never rewarded. While it’s true she wasn’t prepared for ranch life, Elizabeth faced a series of uncontrollable circumstances, such as losing her first baby and getting attacked by wild animals in 1923 season 2. However, losing her soul mate was the most significant blow.
Elizabeth Is Still Pregnant With Jack Dutton’s Baby
Cara Was Wrong About Elizabeth Forgetting Jack
Despite Elizabeth’s exit from the ranch, she still has an indelible tie to the Dutton family. Elizabeth is still carrying Jack Dutton’s baby, for all we know, in the 1923 season 2 finale. While Liz’s baby isn’t John Dutton II, unless she also names her baby John, the connection makes the mother part of the family forever. This makes Cara Dutton’s insistence that Elizabeth will forget Jack a bit odd, since she’s had two children with him and will probably carry the second one to term. That said, Elizabeth’s child with Jack could reemerge in Taylor Sheridan’s next Yellowstone prequel.
After 1923 season 2’s ending, Sheridan teased the 1923 Dutton family’s story continuing in 1944, which would continue to bridge the gap to Kevin Costner’s modern-day Yellowstone series. Since Liz and her baby probably live, especially outside the dangers of the ranch, the mother and child may factor into the upcoming story, with her child potentially returning to the ranch. However, for now, Elizabeth made the right decision to put the Dutton Ranch behind her and return, presumably, to the east. Liz’s heart always belonged to city life, and it makes sense to honor that without her previous ties.