8 Heart-Wrenching Moments That Make Taylor Sheridan’s Prequel His Most Tragic Yet

Taylor Sheridan’s latest prequel about the Dutton family, 1923, is arguably his saddest Yellowstone story, and there are eight heartbreaking moments to prove it. The saga follows John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) ancestors, witnessing Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton’s (Helen Mirren) family as they navigate life a century earlier. Like in every generation of the Dutton family tree in Yellowstone, the 1920s Dutton clan fights the greed of those around them, as Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) and Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) wage a war against them.

While 1923 season 1 made it plain and simple that life in the Prohibition Era was a struggle for the Duttons, things got significantly worse in 1923 season 2. The Dutton family faces grave circumstances on the Yellowstone Ranch, each member barely surviving the unforgiving winter of 1924. Still, the most tragic stories are those unconnected to the ranch.

1923 season 2 sees Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) and Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) make separate journeys through an America riddled with moral bankruptcy and violence. All the while, terrible things happen to Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), proving that 1923 tells the grimmest Yellowstone stories yet.

8Marshall Kent Kills A Group Of American Indians Looking For Teonna

1923 season 2, episode 1, “The Killing Season”

In 1923 season 2, episode 1, Teonna Rainwater is in hiding with Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) and her father, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears). In the premiere, Teonna and her clan are still safe from Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) and Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché), who teamed up to find Teonna. That said, Teonna’s search team encounters another Native American group in their search for the escaped student, and they face the wrath of the men’s hatred.

Kent runs over a young Comanche boy with his horse, proving that prejudice had robbed the lawman of his morality.

In 1923 season 2’s premiere, Kent and Renaud encounter a group of Comanche men, women, and children in Oklahoma Territory. They state their mission, that they are looking for a “Crow, Indian girl, 16 years old,” believing that Teonna could be hiding with the Great Plains tribe. When the men refuse to lower their rifles, Marshal Kent and his associates start shooting, killing several of their people. Then, Kent runs over a young Comanche boy with his horse, proving that prejudice had robbed the lawman of his morality.

This scene with Marshal Kent is particularly heartbreaking, since the marshal embodies the prejudice some held toward Native Americans at the time, and his 1923 story shows the devastating effects they had on Indigenous communities.

7Jacob Dutton Discovers Zane Can’t Walk After His 1923 Season 1 Arrest

1923 season 2, episode 2, “The Rapist Is Winter”

The Yellowstone Ranch foreman for the 1920s Dutton family, Zane Davis (Brian Geraghty), was arrested at the end of 1923 season 1. The arrest was a means of Whitfield retaliating against the Dutton family and their closest allies, weakening their resolve as he vied for their land. Zane is imprisoned for his relationship with his wife, which was unjustly illegal in Montana in the 1920s. While Jacob Dutton talks to the judge and gets Zane and the rest of his family released to the Dutton Ranch, Zane suffers from a grave injury.

On top of the mental anguish he had endured, the beating that Zane took in 1923 season 1’s finale caused a blood clot in his brain that compromised his ability to walk. After he nearly dies with his family en route back to the ranch from Bozeman, Zane undergoes brain surgery from Dr. Miller (Mark Daneri) and survives. Still, Zane’s story is a heartbreaking tale about discriminatory laws in the 1920s and their devastating and senseless impact.

6Elizabeth Strafford Forcibly Receives Rabies Shots In Her Stomach

1923 season 2, episode 2, “The Rapist Is Winter”

In 1923 season 2, episode 2, several events are added to the list of terrible things that happened to Elizabeth Strafford. A rogue wolf, presumably rabid, bites Elizabeth as she visits the chicken coop in the dead of winter, but what happens next is even worse. As a blizzard approaches, Dr. Miller arrives to treat Liz, and Jack’s sweetheart wasn’t prepared for what was next. After Miller declares that Elizabeth needs rabies shots in her stomach, Strafford resists, worsening a grave situation.

As Elizabeth vehemently refuses the rabies shot that could mean the difference between her living and dying, Cara and a cowboy hold Elizabeth by her arms and legs, pinning her down as she resists. Then, Dr. Miller forcibly injects Elizabeth with the antidote. Strafford is emotionally scarred by the events, understandably, with the traumatic moment causing her to vow that she will leave the Dutton Ranch for Boston, foreshadowing Elizabeth’s decision at the end of 1923 season 2.

5Alex Dutton Is Dehumanized While Immigrating Through Ellis Island

1923 season 2, episode 3, “Wrap Thee in Terror”

Amid all the tribulations that Alexandra of Sussex faced on her voyage through America, one of the first was her dehumanizing experience passing through Immigration at Ellis Island. Despite her home country advertising America as a land for refugees, Alex’s inaugural experience as an immigrant was humiliating, oscillating between her being scrutinized and barely regarded, tapping into two unpleasant extremes of social experience.

Alex has two understandable breaking points in the proceedings. She nearly shuts down when asked to remove her clothes, later likening the experience to being scanned like cattle. Then, Alex must plead to enter the country to a Customs Officer who doubts her story that she is on a journey to her husband’s ranch in Montana. While Alex’s selection of quotes in 1923 season 2, episode 3 secures her entry, it was visceral to get such a complete picture of what the immigration experience could be like for a woman in Alex’s position.

4Alex Is Assaulted Repeatedly On Her Railway Journey To Montana

1923 season 2, episodes 4 and 5

The worst is yet to come for Alex Dutton after she nobly scrapes through customs at Ellis Island. Upon arriving at Grand Central Terminal in New York City, where she plans to board a train, Alex faces a new set of problems caused by her fellow citizens. While in the bathroom, as she waits to board her train to Fargo, Alex is assaulted by a crook who preys on her as she enters the ladies’ room, an ominous cliffhanger in 1923 season 2, episode 3.

In 1923 season 2, episode 4, Alex is beaten and robbed, losing everything from her money to her bracelet from her friend, Jennifer (Jo Ellen Pellman). Then, after boarding the train with no resources for food, Alex accepts a job working in the train’s dining car in exchange for her meals. Unfortunately, this leads to another awful moment for Alex Dutton when a passenger sexually assaults her during mealtime. The circumstances Alex endured on her rail journey were truly awful, painting the bleak reality of Alex’s vulnerability while traveling unprotected in the 1920s.

3Marshal Kent Kills Pete Plenty Clouds In A Shootout

1923 season 2, episode 5, “Only Gunshots to Guide Us”

He was a well-established villain by 1923 season 2, episode 5, but it was still shocking and genuinely devastating when Marshal Kent killed Pete Plenty Clouds, Teonna’s love interest. After Teonna’s group headed north through Texas on land with few resources, Pete went searching for water so they could fuel their horses. While he was away from the group, Plenty Clouds encountered Marshal Kent resting with Father Renaud, who immediately pursued him for his potential connection to Teonna.

Pete’s death was a devastating loss for Teonna, adding to the grief that orbited Rainwater’s pursuit of freedom as a Crow girl in the 1920s.

In one of the most gripping cliffhangers of 1923 season 2, Kent races after Plenty Clouds, and when Pete falls off his horse, they engage in a shootout. Pete pulls his rifle at the same time as Kent goes for his holster, leaving audiences truly on the edge of their seats about who would win the gunfight. We learn in episode 6 that Kent bested Pete’s shot. Pete’s death was a devastating loss for Teonna, adding to the grief that orbited Rainwater’s pursuit of freedom as a Crow girl in the 1920s.

2Paul & Hillary Die In Their Motorcar, Stranding Alex

1923 season 2, episode 6, “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters”

One of the most visceral deaths in 1923 is that of Paul (August Prew) and Hillary (Janet Montgomery). The couple meets Alex on the train to Chicago, rescuing her from the Chicago police and her assailant. When they take her to their home in Winnetka, Alex’s friends devise a plan to personally deliver their British peer to Montana, driving her there. However, their journey is devastatingly ill-fated, and Alex finds Paul and Hillary’s frozen corpses at the end of 1923 season 2, episode 6.

Despite receiving a warning from a local woman at the gas station in Buffalo, Wyoming, the British folks continue their deadly journey to Emigrant, to their detriment. When Alex wakes up, having survived the cold longer than her friends due to lying on the floor, Spencer’s wife is stranded with no food, water, or fuel, but manages to start a fire to keep warm. Still, Paul and Hillary’s death was a somber occasion, proving 1923 season 2’s story is one of Taylor Sheridan’s saddest tales. Had it been more uplifting, Alex’s friends would have survived, but that wasn’t 1923’s message.

1Alex Dutton Dies After Delivering John Dutton

1923 season 2, episode 7, “A Dream and a Memory”

The final blow in 1923 season 2 is that Alexandra Dutton, the lion-hearted protagonist and a fan-favorite 1923 character, doesn’t live to the end of the series. Like her friends, Alex was exposed to Montana’s unforgiving winter when the couple’s car ran out of fuel, and she suffered from hypothermia despite her efforts to warm herself. Despite her valiant efforts, ultimately lighting the car on fire to flag down the passing train and serendipitously alerting her husband, Alex dies after delivering her and Spencer’s baby, John Dutton.

After all the horrible things that happened to Alex Dutton in 1923, Spencer’s wife deserved more time in the sun before she passed.

Alex’s death is sad because we barely get to see her romance with Spencer in 1923 season 2, and she dies in his arms after finally completing her journey. It was also sad because there was a chance Alex could have lived and saved John Dutton, leaving 1923 fans wondering if her death was necessary. Regardless, after all the horrible things that happened to Alex Dutton in 1923, Spencer’s wife deserved more time in the sun before she passed, making the end of her Yellowstone story truly devastating.