Zane Davis (Brian Geraghty) had a truly miraculous recovery from his brain surgery in 1923 season 2, and even the other characters in Taylor Sheridan’s show think it’s strange how quickly he’s getting better. Zane was beaten nearly to death at the end of 1923 season 1, and he had to get brain surgery (without anesthesia) to stop a brain bleed. Even though Dr. Miller (Mark Daneri) drilled a hole into his skull and Zane’s brain surgery was absolutely gory, he was up, walking, and talking within minutes of the procedure.
By the end of 1923 season 2, episode 6, Zane was even back to guarding the Yellowstone ranch and preparing for war. Zane’s brain surgery and subsequent one-week recovery is easily the least realistic part of 1923 season 2, but it seems that Taylor Sheridan and the rest of the cast of 1923 are aware of how unbelievable it was. In fact, they even got a chance to poke fun at Zane and his miraculous recovery in 1923 season 2, episode 6, which made for a rare bit of fun in the ever-bleak Yellowstone prequel show.
1923 Season 2, Episode 6 Mocks Zane’s Brain Surgery Recovery
Even The Duttons Don’t Think Zane Should Be As Healthy As He Is In 1923
It obviously wasn’t lost on Taylor Sheridan and the other characters in 1923 season 2 that Zane should not have recovered that quickly. In 1923 season 2, episode 6, Zane said that “a week’s long enough to heal anything,” to which Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) responded with “I can’t think of one thing that can heal in a week.” Jacob’s comment was a playful and self-aware jab at Zane’s astounding recovery, especially as he pointed out the fact that Zane wants to go horseback riding with an open hole in his skull.
How Long Jacob Dutton Took To Recover From Gunshots In 1923 Season 1
Jacob Spent Months In Bed Recovering, While Zane Is Up & At It After A Week
Zane’s recovery from brain surgery is one thing, but it’s even stranger considering 1923 has already shown a much more realistic timeline for major injuries. In 1923 season 1, Jacob Dutton was shot several times by Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) and his men. Jacob is significantly older than Zane, and he was shot in multiple parts of his body, but it still took most of the season for him to fully recover. Jacob was shot in late summer, and he was just barely off bedrest at the start of winter, meaning it took him a few months to recover.
Meanwhile, Zane only needed a week, and he didn’t even go on bedrest to begin with. The disparity between Zane’s recovery time and Jacob’s just doesn’t make sense, and it may be a sign of a larger problem with 1923 season 2: its pacing. As Spencer’s (Brandon Sklenar) journey to Montana has been prolonged at every turn, the rest of the show’s plot lines have been unnaturally condensed. Zane’s recovery is only so miraculous because Taylor Sheridan didn’t leave enough time in 1923 season 2 for him to have a realistic healing process. If he had, Zane’s recovery would have looked a lot more like Jacob’s.