‘1923’ Season 2 Ending Explained: Did The Duttons Save The Ranch? And What About Alex And Spencer’s Baby?

If nan rule of Amor Fati besides applies to nan 1923 Season 2 finale, past nan Duttons embraced their destiny each nan measurement to nan wire. Because successful nan super-sized play finale of nan bid (“A Dream and a Memory”), arsenic a mini service of gunmen descended connected nan achromatic barn and wood-and-timber frontier mansion of nan Duttons’ Paradise Valley plot, and Alexandra miraculously went from definite decease successful a snowdrift to being held successful nan arms of her warrior-hunter hubby Spencer – but still definite death, unluckily – nan ensuing decades of nan Taylor Sheridan’s generational family saga, and really 1923 ties to Yellowstone, were set.

So who survived nan Dutton-Whitfield War? How did Spencer and Alex find romance successful tragedy? And who is their babe successful extended Dutton fam lore? Major spoilers for nan play 2 – and series – finale of 1923 ahead. 

“Of each nan things I’ve had to do for this ranch”   

Photo by: Emerson Miller/Paramount+

Financial hardship had made Jacob and Cara Dutton’s stewardship of nan Dutton family empire susceptible to wealthy, land-grabbing fat feline Donald Whitfield. But Whitfield was ne'er going to judge thing arsenic basal arsenic a taxation measure paid. He was ever going to return nan ranch and each of nan Duttons’ immense Paradise Valley acreage for himself, done a toxic substance of greedy coercion and rank violence, because for robber barons for illustration Whitfield, nan cruelty is nan point. (This is simply a feline who spent half his clip successful nan bid delivering evil speeches to different rich | guys, and nan different half submitting women to sexual torture.) In nan play finale, Whitfield’s mercenaries arrived astatine nan ranch pinch 1 directive: “Just commencement killing.”

Which is really Cara Dutton ended up firing a immense elk firearm complete pinch scope astatine nan men attacking her home. “Of each nan things I’ve had to do for this ranch,” Cara said, and continued to occurrence while wagon leader Zane and nan Bunkhouse Boys backed her up. Elizabeth was besides wrong nan house, and Cara encouraged her to return screen while keeping a shotgun close.

While nan conflict astatine nan ranch raged, Jacob Dutton and Sheriff McDowell waited astatine nan train position successful Livingston for Spencer’s train to arrive. Whitfield’s sidesplitting unit was there, too, and nan hostility connected nan level was thick. But Banner Creighton, whose disagreement pinch Jacob complete grazing onshore was an original driver of 1923’s violence, astatine slightest had nan consciousness to yet understand Whitfield’s evil arsenic wholly unquenchable. “He takes to make you suffer,” is really Banner put it to his woman and son, who he pledged to nonstop distant for their ain safety. But Banner’s conversion to what’s correct and train position reconciliation pinch Jacob came excessively precocious to prevention him. He was killed arsenic Spencer’s train arrived successful nan mediate of a gunfight. 

“I wanna meet nan man who killed my wife”

All season, Spencer had been walking toward Montana and his family’s equipped conflict pinch Whitfield’s forces. He took a steamer vessel to Texas, became a bootlegger for a fewer minutes, hopped connected and disconnected trains, and pledged to locomotion each nan measurement location if that’s what it took to subordinate nan fight. But successful nan finale, nan train connected which he traveled took him first to an improbable reunion pinch his woman Alexandra.

Her ain travel was fraught. And aft thousands of miles covered while unsocial and pregnant, Alex was astir to dice successful a car turned into a coffin by a blizzard. But Spencer and Alex’s romance was measurement excessively powerful, and from his train car, he saw his wife’s hypothermic predicament. Spencer leapt from nan caboose and swept Alex into his arms. (Alex, whose consciousness of joke ne'er flagged: “So bully of you to subordinate maine successful this pickle, free from nan load of a solution.”) Back connected nan train, nan seriousness of her information was revealed. Frostbite had rendered her extremities gangrenous. But she was not going to service her ain well-being complete that of their child. Alex and Spencer’s babe was calved 3 months premature, and successful refusing treatment, her decease was assured. But for her, reuniting pinch Spencer, if only briefly, was worthy it. And she knew her hubby would raise their boy – she named him John, aft Spencer’s brother, who was killed successful nan scope warfare – to beryllium nan champion of some of them.

“I wanna meet nan man who killed my wife,” Spencer told Jacob, aft nan gunfight successful Livingston, and aft Alex was sent up to nan infirmary successful Bozeman. The Duttons headed to Donald Whitfield’s palatial mansion, wherever Spencer instantly killed him pinch a slug to nan head. Combined pinch burning Whitfield’s location down, it was a informing from nan Duttons to immoderate different able transplants who would effort and return what’s theirs. 

“Maybe it costs maine everything”  

Teonna Rainwater’s ain torturous saga had tally successful parallel to nan Dutton acquisition passim nan people of 1923. She was subjected to sexual, physical, and affectional maltreatment astatine nan hands of nan Catholic priests and nuns successful complaint of a government-funded “Indian School,” and escaped that unit only to beryllium pursued crossed hundreds of miles of territory by Father Renaud, her erstwhile headmaster, and Kent, a racist US marshal. Along nan way, Teonna fell successful emotion pinch Pete Plenty Clouds, and rekindled her narration pinch her father, Runs His Horse. But Alexandra Dutton wasn’t nan only characteristic successful 1923 who Taylor Sheridan’s penning turned into a target for changeless pain. After Marshal Kent killed Pete, and Renaud killed Runs His Horse, Teonna was nan only 1 of her group near standing. The priest’s guilt, twisted pinch his poisoned belief system, past inspired him to termination nan marshal, but besides demanded that Teonna repent. To him? Please. Instead she killed Renaud arsenic he tried to termination her, and Teonna was near to look her early alone.

For US Marshal Mamie Fossett, 1 of nan bully ones, Teonna’s atrocious caller acquisition justified her usage of unit arsenic self-defense. Fossett still had her arrested, and brought earlier a magistrate. But location were nary witnesses near to speak to those crimes, and nan charges against Teonna were dropped. Fossett and her men acknowledged that she was correct to conflict back, to protect herself erstwhile nary other would. But Teonna, pinch her equine and firearm and an volition to build a caller life successful California, was near pinch 1 consideration. Her conflict mattered. “But it costs maine everything.”

“I’d alternatively stitchery ‘em than bargain ‘em”

When Spencer yet arrived astatine nan ranch, it was pinch Whitfield’s killers already wrong nan house. But it didn’t return him and his large elephant weapon agelong to cleanable those pests out, and nan Dutton Ranch was made safe again. Jacob Dutton retired from nan grind to unrecorded retired his days pinch Cara, sitting connected their structure and helping to raise small John Dutton II. (John Dutton III, of course, became Kevin Costner successful Yellowstone.) Spencer gathered nan cowboys and headed into nan mountains, group connected rebuilding nan family’s wealthiness pinch a marque caller cattle herd, originated from nan wild. (“I’d alternatively stitchery ‘em than bargain ‘em.”) And aft Whitfield’s thugs killed her husband, Jack Dutton, location was thing for Elizabeth near astatine nan ranch; for her, raised successful comfortableness Back East, it had ever represented decease and destruction, anyway. She departed pinch a final, kinda acold farewell from Cara. 

The last summary connected nan Duttons and 1923 came from Elsa Dutton, whose bid narration emanated from wherever she died successful 1883. After a changeable of Alexandra and Jack being buried successful nan family plot, Elsa told america that Spencer ne'er remarried. He lived retired his days connected nan ranch, raised his son, remained everlastingly successful emotion pinch Alexandra, and “45 years later, my young relative joined her.” The last moments of 1923 depicted 1969, and an older Spencer dying connected Alex’s sedate arsenic her generations-sustaining lifeforce appeared arsenic a shooting prima supra nan Paradise Valley.   

Johnny Loftus (@johnnyloftus.bsky.social) is simply a Chicago-based writer. A seasoned of nan replacement play trenches, his activity has besides appeared successful Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice.