Things Are Looking Bleak on ‘1923’ Season 2

As a prequel to Yellowstone and a sequel to 1883, Taylor Sheridan’s 1923 is a captivating look at another chapter in the Dutton family saga. Season 2 of 1923 begins where the first season ended, with the Duttons, led by Jacob (Harrison Ford) and his wife, Cara (Helen Mirren), fighting opponents of all kinds to hold onto their land.

Throughout Season 1 of 1923, Spencer Dutton’s (Brandon Sklenar) experiences in Africa and his efforts to survive were juxtaposed against the threats to his family in Montana. The gun battle between the Duttons and Banner Creighton’s (Jerome Flynn) group highlights the war that rages in Montana, a conflict to which Spencer is compelled to return.

This same intensity and desperation permeate Episode 1 as each member of the Dutton family attempts to survive “The Killing Season.” Here’s where 1923 picked up and where things are for the Duttons at the start of the second season.

Your Rating close 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Rate Now 0/10 1923 TV-MA Drama Western 10/10 Release Date 2022 – 2024 Network Paramount+ Showrunner Taylor Sheridan Directors Guy Ferland Writers Taylor Sheridan Cast Harrison Ford Jacob Dutton Helen Mirren Cara Dutton

Franchise(s) Yellowstone Powered by Expand Collapse Spencer and Alexandra Continue Their Journeys to Montana Close

Spencer continues to try to get home to Montana, working on a ship and befriending a young Italian immigrant, Luca. When Spencer discovers a fellow crew member has brutalized his friend, he beats him, but the boy is bereft and tries to take his own life. Spencer, once again coming to the rescue, convinces him to stay alive.

Alexandra similarly tries to get to Montana, desperate to escape her confinement in England. Alexandra knows she must leave before she begins showing physical signs of pregnancy, but the hopelessness of her situation has “broken” her. Alexandra ultimately tries to book a second-class ticket to the United States but can only travel first-class or with the “tourists.” She opts for the latter, which is just another way of saying “thieves and beggars,” according to her friend, Jennifer (Joe Ellen Pellman).

5:08 Related ‘1923’ Season 2 Stars Talk Taking Taylor Sheridan to a New Season

Jennifer Carpenter & Aminah Nieves star in ‘1923’ Season 2 as the Paramount+ show heads into a fierce winter.

Posts Jacob and Cara Dutton Can’t Escape the Wolves and Lions Close

At the beginning of Episode 1, Jacob Dutton sees a mountain lion on his porch. Jacob doesn’t want to kill the lion but doesn’t want to be attacked either, an analogy for nearly every aspect of his life. The lion flees, but Jacob’s other threats are far from gone, and, ultimately, neither is the lion. It falls to Cara to shoot and kill the mountain lion when it threatens to attack Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph), Jack Dutton’s fiancé.

Jacob and Cara also talk about a neighbor with a telephone in their house, something that could be very convenient for the former when he needs to call and tell Cara not to worry. That conversation is yet another reminder that, regardless of where he is, Jacob is in danger.

Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), the cruel businessman who wants the Dutton’s land, and Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), the Dutton’s Scottish adversary, make brief appearances, reminders that they’re lurking in the shadows. When Jacob goes to the speakeasy in Bozeman, he talks to Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick). They talk about taxes, a reminder of the cloud looming over the Duttons, but their exchange is by far the most entertaining banter of the episode. McDowell tells Jacob there’s a reported speakeasy in town and, when Jacob asks the lawman if he’s having any luck finding it, McDowell tells him,

The investigation’s just getting started… These things take a while.

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Posts Teonna Rainwater Remains on the Run From the Law and the Church Alike Close

Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) fled from an Indian residential school in Season 1 after killing the abusive nun, Sister Mary. Father Renaud (Sebastian Roche) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) look for Teonna as she travels with Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) and her father, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears). Renaud and Kent find a group of Native Americans and, while they do not have any members of the Crow Nation among them, this doesn’t stop Kent from brutally accosting several individuals. Renaud calls him off in what remains the confounding and constant duality of the cruel yet benevolent churchman.

After talking to her father about giving her hand to Pete Plenty Clouds, Teonna decides to give herself to him in a different way before any official marriage ceremony can take place. They’re interrupted by a man on a horse who informs Pete they are in Texas. According to the man, they are on land owned by a “friendly” rancher, but the truth of that remains to be seen.

It should be noted that the show paid tribute to Cole Brings Plenty, who played Pete Plenty Clouds during the first season. Cole passed away in April 2024.

In many ways, the first episode of 1923’s second season is an extension of the first, but that’s not a bad thing. The aptly-named episode, “The Killing Season,” serves as a reminder of everything the Duttons and others have gone through and where things might be headed.

As 1883’s Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) explains in her narration,

“Winter is the killing season when the hunters among us seek out the weak, the foolish. Only the very strongest of nature’s creatures survive it. Winter’s the time of the wolf. The time of the lion. When all nature’s failures become a meal. Then spring brings new life. And God tries again.”