1923has come to an end, marking yet another successful series set within the Yellowstone television universe. The prequel explores the life and fate of Jacob and Cara Dutton, the proprietors of the Yellowstone Ranch in the early 20th century. Throughout the series, audiences see the great lengths that the Duttons will go to in defense of their land–and of their family.
1923’s final season reveals the fates of Jacob and Cara, as well as several other members of the Dutton family. By the end of the series, the differences between the Duttons of this generation and those depicted in Yellowstone. The series finale creates the greatest divide between Harrison Ford’s Jacob and Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III, whose fates are extremely different from one another. 1923 gives Ford’s character something that Costner’s always wanted, but could never attain.
Jacob Dutton Had Someone to Pass the Ranch Down To: Spencer Inherits the Ranch After His Uncle
Image via Paramount
While several Duttons die in the events of 1923, the family remains intact enough by the end of the series for Jacob Dutton to successfully pass the ranch down to one of his relatives. One pass through the Yellowstone franchise will reveal that the Duttons are all about legacy. Each Dutton fights for the honor of those who came before and to preserve their family’s legacy for those who come after. The hallmark of a successful Dutton is whether or not they can successfully pass this legacy on to the next generation, whether through their own children or another family member. For Jacob, this task is accomplished at the end of the series. He, his wife Cara, and nephew Spencer all band together in the series finale to defeat the villainous businessman Donald Whitfield, who sought to take over the Yellowstone Ranch and turn it into a ski resort for tourists. From the beginning of the series to the end, plenty of Dutton blood is shed in the protection of their ranch, but enough family members survive to maintain their claim on the land.
During the events of 1923, Jacob Dutton’s rightful successor changed multiple times. Originally, the ranch would have passed on to John, James Dutton’s oldest living child. However, John is killed in a battle with the Duttons’ enemies. The inheritance then falls to his son, Jack, but he, too, is killed by Whitfield’s men. This leaves Spencer, James Dutton’s last living child, as the only visible successor to the ranch. Though he never wanted the land to begin with, Spencer inherits the Yellowstone at the end of 1923. Jacob and Cara live out their final days on the ranch with Spencer and his newborn son, John. Though they suffered many losses along the way, the elder Duttons rest easy knowing that they preserved their family’s ranch for another generation. Unfortunately, not every Dutton would be so fortunate in the generations that follow.
John Dutton Was Always Looking For His Successor: John Could Never Secure His Family’s Future
Generations later, Spencer’s grandson, John Dutton III, inherits the ranch. He, like his ancestors before him, fights vehemently to protect the land from those who would take it over and ruin its natural beauty. During his years as the Yellowstone’s proprietor, John dismantles numerous attempts from outsiders seeking to steal the land. He also does his part to ensure that there is someone whom he can pass the land down to when the time comes. Unfortunately, John doesn’t prove to be as fortunate as Jacob or Spencer. Before the events of Yellowstone, John and his wife Evelyn had three naturally born children, Lee, Beth, and Kayce, and adopted one additional son, Jamie. As the eldest of the children, Lee is the rightful heir to the family ranch. However, Lee is killed in the early episodes of Yellowstone, leaving the Dutton family succession in question.
As the events of Yellowstone unfold, things become more complicated for John as he seeks his new successor. Jamie disqualifies himself by rebelling against the family, causing a rift between himself and his father that is never repaired. Despite Beth fighting to defend the ranch harder than any of her siblings, John never considers her to inherit the land. All the same, John briefly considers her husband, Rip, who is like a son to him, as his possible successor. However, as certain family members come back into the fold, the possibility of Rip inheriting the Yellowstone disappears. After Lee’s death, John’s goal is to pass the ranch down to his youngest child, Kayce. Like Beth, Kayce doesn’t want the ranch, knowing what it could do to him and his family. Even so, John tries to convince him to let the land pass down to his own son, Tate. Unfortunately, the two men aren’t able to work out a deal before John’s untimely death in Season 5. John dies without a clear successor, leaving the Dutton family in turmoil.
John’s Successor Problems Led to the End of the Ranch: The Duttons Lost the Yellowstone After John Dutton’s Death
Image via Paramount.
Because of John’s inability to find a clear successor, the Dutton family ranch falls into turmoil after his death. Neither of John’s two surviving children, Beth and Kayce, wants the land. Worse, the overbearing inheritance tax left in John’s wake makes it almost impossible for the financially struggling Dutton family to maintain the ranch. With the Duttons on the brink of collapse, their only recourse is to sell the land to someone who they know won’t develop even an inch of it. Kayce works out a deal with Thomas Rainwater to sell the Yellowstone back to the Broken Rock Reservation for a small price, ensuring that the land would be protected by U.S. law. Thus, the Yellowstone finally leaves the Duttons’ hands once and for all.
In the aftermath, the Duttons are forced to move away from the Yellowstone ranch for the first time in over a century. Had he known what the fate of the land and of his family would have been, John surely would not have been pleased. However, it was he himself who put his family in a position that gave them little choice but to sell the land. In the end, John could not do what all of his ancestors did. At the time of his death, he had no clear successor to pass the Yellowstone down to, thus dooming the ranch to a fate apart from the Duttons.
