While there was a time when Kevin Costner used to rule the world of Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone with his iconic performance as John Dutton III, it all changed when the actor decided to leave the game midway to focus on his own Western projects. Nonetheless, he is still as much under the limelight as ever, even with his respective series off the air. Or, at least his character is.
Though Yellowstone has ended its run and declared Costner’s character dead, one mystery surrounding his direct ancestors is still lurking around, yet to be answered: Who are John III’s grandparents? The confusion created by this one, though, is expected to be cleared by 1923, because if it doesn’t, then Sheridan would risk alienating a lot of his viewers for a very valid reason.
1923 Season 2 might end this confusion about Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III
There have been a lot of mysterious elements and turn of events in Taylor Sheridan‘s Western world surrounding the Yellowstone ranch owned by the Dutton family, and one of the biggest confusions has been about just who John Dutton III’s grandparents are. This is because this mystery has even been kept strictly under wraps in 1923 season 1.
Initially, it was believed that Kevin Costner‘s character’s great-grandfather may have been John Dutton, Sr. (played by James Badge Dale). However, it didn’t take long for this speculation to bite the dust when Dutton Sr. lost his life four episodes into the prequel series without having a son named John. But it didn’t end there.
Fans even speculated that Dutton Sr.’s son Jack (played by Darren Mann) could be Costner’s John’s grandfather instead. However, even this theory was pretty much squashed during the shootout that took the life of Dutton Sr., in which Jack’s wife Elizabeth Strafford (played by Michelle Randolph) gets hit in the abdomen, which could possibly interfere with her having kids.
But that door isn’t entirely closed. Since Elizabeth’s injuries happened at a time when knowledge about such medical conditions was comparatively low, there’s a possibility that the doctor may have given the wrong judgment about her ability to conceive. This could pave the way for her having John Dutton II with Jack, who, in turn, would go on to be the father of John Dutton III.
If even this theory seems a bit too far-fetched, then that leaves only one potential pair who could be the parents of John Dutton III’s father: Spencer (played by Brandon Sklenar) and Alexandra (played by Julia Schlaepfer). In this case of events, Spencer and Alexandra could name the baby after the former’s late brother and connect all the dots to John III.
All of these, of course, are mere speculated theories based on the details that Sheridan has already introduced fans to through 1923 season 1. Unless a new mysterious storyline pops up out of the blue in the forthcoming season of the same, one of these theories is expected to hold the answer about Costner’s character‘s grandparents in the second season of the said show.
Why Taylor Sheridan must unveil this mystery by 1923 Season 2
Although it can’t be said for sure if 1923 season 2 would actually give the answers to this question or not, there’s a pretty good reason why it should, even when 1944 will be debuting on the screens soon after it. This is because this ongoing prequel series had given hope to fans right from its first episode about which Dutton’s son carries on the family line.
As fans must remember, in the opening narration of the pilot episode of the said show, Elsa (played by Isabel May) explained that one of the three sons of James Dutton (played by Tim McGraw) would survive to adulthood to carry on the Dutton family line. And if the show doesn’t answer this question before ending its run, it would confuse fans about which son she was talking about.
Also, if the show doesn’t answer this question, then the showrunner would risk alienating quite a few of his viewers who have been patiently waiting to learn the answer to this riddle since day one of the prequel’s premiere. Plus, unveiling this mystery would also mean revealing who John Dutton III‘s grandfather is, so fans might as well expect to get some real answers pretty soon.
1923 Season 2 is expected to premiere on Paramount Plus from February 23, 2025.