This first season of “1923” turned out to have one of the best screenplays to be made for television. Taylor Sheridan has masterfully expanded the “Yellowstone” universe, first with “1883” and now with “1923,” a Paramount Plus miniseries that has been renewed for a second season. This show has garnered enough attention, which talks in detail about the Dutton family and their attachment to their large ranch, its livestock, and the profits gained from them. Written for the screen by Taylor Sheridan himself and directed by Ben Richardson, the show is all about the family and their dynamics in the wake of the Great War, followed by an economic collapse. America is also on the verge of the proliferation of electricity and various types of equipment for homes that run on electricity, as well as the introduction of automobiles. How will the Dutton family, which still relies on horses and livestock rearing, come to terms with the technological advancements happening in the 20th century?
Spoilers Ahead
The Dutton Saga
The show begins with Jacob Dutton and his wife, Cara Dutton, taking over the Dutton ranch after the passing of Jacob’s brother James and his wife. Jacob and Cara Dutton do not have children of their own, and they raise John Dutton Sr., Spencer Dutton, and John’s son Jack as their own, preparing them to take over the ranch someday. Of the three, Spencer is the black sheep, for he served in the Great War and ever since has not returned to the ranch, instead spending time in Africa as a hunter. Jacob Dutton is the livestock commissioner in the town, which is facing a rampant locust infestation that has ruined not just the pastures for the cattle but also the sheepherders, who are also facing food shortages because of the same infestation. The leader of the sheepherders, Banner Creighton, ends up grazing his sheep on the lands of other ranch owners, including that owned by Jacob, which leads to conflict between Banner’s men and Jacob’s men. Jacob makes it clear that Banner is to keep the sheep away, but Banner is desperate. Banner does not follow the rules laid out by Jacob Dutton, which leads to a clash between the sheepherders and the ranchmen from the Dutton ranch. Without any trial, Banner and his men are hanged to death, only for Banner to survive the hanging. He takes it upon himself to take revenge on the Dutton family. He and his men ambush Jacob’s family on their trip back from the town. Jacob is gravely injured, but his nephew, John Sr., does not survive the ambush. John Sr.’s son Jack and his wife survive the ambush, and so does Cara. The rivalry between Banner and Jacob Dutton has just begun, and there is more in store for the Dutton family to lose hope over.
Jacob is slowly recovering from his bullet wounds; Cara has taken over the ranch business and speaks on various occasions in Jacob’s stead. She ends up proposing a force that would help ranchmen track down the cattle thieves in the state. Banner, on the other hand, takes financial assistance from the mining industrialist Don Whitfield who himself would benefit from the fall of Jacob Dutton. The land that Jacob and his family own is filled with precious metals, and Don Whitfield would be happy to start mining if he supported Banner’s fight against the Duttons. As the war begins, Cara asks Spencer to come back from Africa and take over because both she and Jacob are aging, and Spencer is the only hope to salvage the situation and save their ranch from becoming obsolete. Spencer is a hunter working across the African continent, helping rich Europeans get rid of the wildlife menace that bothers their development projects. Spencer has had a tough life since the war and is suffering from PTSD. To cope with the pain he had witnessed, he chose to indulge in hunting and not return to Montana to take care of the ranch. He strongly believes that home is just an illusion so that people forget reality. Spencer is not keen on returning to his home in Montana because he is content working in Africa. This is where he ends up meeting Alexandra, who is drawn to his rugged nature and love for adventure. Alexandra, being a person who has the same quality, craves to join the adventure he is about to embark on. To do so, she breaks off her engagement in the most dramatic fashion and runs off with Spencer, hoping that he loves her too. Spencer is taken by Alexandra’s feisty spirit and her willingness to accept him for who he is.
They begin their African adventure when she comes across Cara’s letters. She lets him know of the final letter, which mentions the attack on the family. Spencer and Alexandra decide to start their journey to reach America as soon as possible, only to be faced with many hurdles. After coming across obstacles of various kinds, both of them are finally married off by a ship captain, and they reach Italy, where they run into her ex-fiancé Arthur, who felt deeply humiliated by how Alexandra broke the engagement. The tiff leads up to the ship which Arthur’s family and Spencer and Alexandra board to head to London. Spencer in self defense throws Arthur off the deck, and this act of defiance was enough for the captain of the ship to arrest Spencer and disembark him at the nearest port. He and Alexandra are forcefully separated, but she promises to find him in Montana.
Back home in Montana, Jacob, Jack, and Cara are facing financial troubles owing to the early onset of winter that year. Though there is good news in the form of Banner Creighton being arrested, he is soon given bail. Jacob is afraid of what Banner and Don have up their sleeves to destabilize the family and their ranch. They were waiting for them to retaliate after Banner’s arrest, and they did so in the most predictable fashion. Don Whitfield tries to bankrupt the Dutton family by paying off their property tax and demanding they pay off the money well before the year ends. Jacob, who is shocked, but anticipated this, had no option but to take it up. The family can only hope that Spencer reaches Montana in time to help them get out of the crisis. With winter on the brink of getting worse, their cattle are also suffering due to a lack of hay. The cycle is never-ending, and Jacob can only hope to save his land from becoming commercial property and going into the hands of the wrong person, who would exploit the place until the end.
Teonna’s Life So Far
Teonna Rainwater is a young Native American girl admitted to the local Christian convent as per the laws of America. The law states that, since she has no guardian, the convent will look after her education from here on. Education is just an excuse to admit young women and men from the Native American community and brainwash them into erasing their faith and culture and making them ardent believers of Christianity. Teonna has a hard time fitting in, and she starts rebelling quite early against the methods used by nuns on the girls to make them good Christian women. She is physically assaulted and sexually assaulted from then on, but her spirit does not break. Eventually, she kills those nuns who harassed her repeatedly and runs away from the convent, only to be rescued by a fellow Native American sheepherder named Hanks. He protects her and ends up giving his life in the pursuit of saving her from the priests who had reached his doorstep to take her back. Hanks’ son, Pete, is sent to look for Teonna’s father, and he is successful in bringing him back to his home. They rescue Teonna and head towards Wyoming and plan to go ahead from that state, far away from the radar of the priests of the convent and the police. Teonna is looking to have a different life from there, where she will not be forced to change her faith just to fit in.
Expectations From ‘1923’ Season 2
“1923” Season 1 ended up leaving plot points untied like knots. These knots will be tied up in the second season of “1923,” and hopefully, plenty of the subplots from season one will be carried forward as well. There is the wait the Duttons are waiting. Spencer is coming back to Montana. Though Spencer responds to Cara’s letter that he is coming back to his hometown, there is no sight of him, even with winter having kicked in. Spencer’s arrival will hopefully change the trajectory of the war they just got into with Banner and Whitfield. He is the only man who can face them without fear. But Spencer himself is going through turmoil. He will be heading to Montana without his wife by his side. He will have to jump into the matters of the ranch the moment he steps his foot into it. Don and Banner, not knowing his game plan, will surely underestimate Spencer’s capabilities. The odds are high that Spencer might turn up like a weakling who has no clue how to operate in the politics of the land. But slowly, he will catch Jacob and Cara by his side. There has to be a Spencer Alexandra reunion in the second season of “1923,” for they complete each other. They might just be the younger versions of Jacob and Cara. A fierce man and a fearless lady
There will be the talk of Jacob and Cara drowning in debt, which will encourage Don and Banner to push the couple into a corner to make sure they hand over their ranch to them. Their cockiness surely will not pay off, but for the most part, in the second season of “1923,” there is a high chance of Don and Banner having the upper hand. Spencer will have a hard time fitting in because he has been away from the ranch for a while, and he will find it difficult to understand the language of his people. Spencer has been away for so long that he will have lost touch with the fact that he does not know the nitty-gritty of how a ranch is run. But he will make sure to turn things around for his family’s sake and to keep them secure from there on. Don and Banner will try every trick in the book to make sure they can snatch away the Dutton ranch from the family with the hope of starting mining as soon as possible. There is a possibility that Don might try throwing Banner under the bus to save himself. “1923” Season 2 might be the end of Banner Creighton. The man’s anger towards Jacob Dutton was taken advantage of by Don Whitfield, and if need be, Don will willingly sacrifice Banner to save himself. Don is proud of calling himself a ruthless businessman and keeping that in mind; he can carry out dangerous tasks to protect his business.
Teonna, her father, and Pete will reach Montana and hopefully settle down in the state, hoping to stay far away from the people of the convent. There will be some dangers they will face in terms of convent people locating them in one of the pits stops. There is a possibility of Teonna losing her last living parent, and if Pete survives, they both will get married and promise to love and take care of each other from then on. Teonna’s life from then on will be based on what she finally faces and how well she tackles them just so that she lives to tell the tale of the horrifying genocide which is taking place in the name of spreading Christianity. There will be more subplots of the racist laws enacted in the United States back then that favored only white-skinned people and neglected people of other races and genders. The draconian laws made sure people from different communities were brought to their knees so that they would bend to the laws made by white people for the benefit of white people. Teonna’s suffering is far from over, but she will learn to live through it.
Hopefully, some new characters will be included in the show to take the narrative forward, be they in Camp Dutton, Camp Banner, or Camp Teonna. It will be very interesting to know how they merge Teonna’s arc with the Dutton family story leading up to the storyline in “Yellowstone.” In the “Yellowstone” universe, there is a strong rivalry between Chief Thomas Rainwater and John Dutton. It would be interesting to know the relationship between the Dutton and the Rainwater families back in the 1920s. “1923” has been nothing but a resounding success that does not shy away from portraying subjects of a sensitive nature. The treatment of Native Americans, the harsh racist laws, and women who were allowed to vote but still struggled to find a foothold except for a few leading ladies of the show. The second season of “1923,” which will hopefully be called “1924” for one year, is about to end with the completion of “1923” Season 1; the follow-up season is something to look forward to, hopefully by next year.
