Season 2 of 1923 returns to Montana and the saga of the Duttons with the intensity fans have come to expect from Taylor Sheridan and the Yellowstone world. As winter rages and desperation reigns, it is clear throughout the first two episodes that life and love for the Duttons are destined to be as difficult as ever.
Episode 1, “The Killing Season,” had an ominous title, but the second episode of season 2 of 1923 was even more menacing. Called “The Rapist Is Winter,” Episode 2 was every bit as harsh and unrelenting as its predecessor, if not more so. Cara Dutton and Elizabeth Stafford (Helen Mirren and Michelle Randolph, respectively) try to keep the wolves at bay while Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his traveling companions refuse to back down from the threats winter brings.
1923 is a constant reminder of the massive shifts the United States experienced during the early 20th century. Everyone in 1923 faces the brutality of winter, the threats of intruders, and the inevitability of change. Here’s what happens in the latest episode of 1923.
1923
- Release Date
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2022 – 2024
- Network
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Paramount+
The Wolves Continue to Close In on the Duttons
Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and Sheriff William McDowell (Robert Patrick) go to the courthouse to negotiate the release of Zane Davis (Brian Geraghty), his wife, Alice (Joy Osmanski), and his children. Zane was found to be in an illegal marriage with a Native American woman (an offense called miscegenation). His wife and children were taken into custody, and he was beaten so severely that he was left bedridden. When Jacob sees Zane, he tries to rally him and assure him that efforts to keep going are not futile, telling him that their time to defend themselves is coming. Zane isn’t convinced, lamenting that it can only happen, “If there’s any of us left.”
Jacob is determined to take the family back to the ranch and risks traveling in the storm to do so. Dangerous conditions ultimately force the group to halt, flip the wagon, and try to ride out the storm. Despite Zane’s inability to walk, they’re forced to let the horses go to keep them from freezing to death, making the rest of their trip even more challenging.
That same day, Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randloph) finds a wolf during her morning visit to the chicken coop to retrieve eggs. In her efforts to outrun it, the wolf bites her leg. Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) triages the wound and sends one of the hands to bring the doctor with the threat of a raging storm heading their way.
When the doctor arrives, concern that the wolf was rabid necessitates a sequence of shots to try to keep her alive. She refuses, but they hold her down and do it anyway. She breaks down, defeated by how difficult life is, and decides to return home as soon as the storm passes. In the end, Elizabeth’s instincts may be right. The wolf returns to the house that night and kills the nurse, and Cara is once again facing down an animal with a shotgun.
Whitfield Ushers in the Winds of Change
After the demented and greedy Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) sees skiers on the hills, he visits them to find out more about the sport. The Norwegians tell him (and get in the best line of the episode): “Anyone can do it… my grandmother can do it.”
Whitfield isn’t interested in trying it himself, but it sparks an idea, one that could bring in money. You can practically see the dollar signs in his eyes as he works through turning the area into a tourist attraction by bringing in people to ski. He even discusses the appeal with his lackey, Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), comparing it to the exhilaration of a bar fight so the Scotsman can fully appreciate the idea, “One thing you can not buy in a store is the euphoria of peril… the exhilaration of danger. I can sell that for a fortune.”
Creighton, for his part, later says about Whitfield, “I’ve never met a man who scares me, not once in my life, until now.”
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Meanwhile, Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), her father, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears), and Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) are still on the run in Texas while Father Renaud (Sebastian Roche) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) continue to look for them.
Luca (Andy Dispensa) and Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) take a rowboat to Galveston, Texas, to deliver contraband liquor to one of Luca’s associates. Luca, his Italian brethren that Spencer likes to fight, essentially planting the seed for some brawling to come. Spencer gets a good meal — including pizza and a lesson on how to eat it — but is desperate to find a telegraph office and a train station.
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When Spencer is told he has to stay, that’s when the fisticuffs get started. He beats up the Italian gangster’s bodyguard and leaves anyway. The group of Italians track Spencer down and beat him, but he negotiates and leaves after explaining he must protect his family and his home.
Alexandra, for her part, is on the ship on her way to the United States. She’s enduring a storm of her own as the winds and waves beat down on the ship. Alexandra, along with the other passengers, holds on for dear life, simply hoping to survive.
