It’s been nearly two years since 1923 first introduced us to the early struggles of the Dutton family, who lived in a bone-dry, plague-stricken area of Montana in the early 20th Century. The family faced drought, internal conflict, and rising tensions between sheep and cattle farmers, as well as external threats from rivals salivating over their land.
Finally, after way too long of a wait, the hit western returns with more struggles as the Dutton family saga continues. Season 1 wrapped up with plenty of drama involving land disputes, heartbreak, and life-or-death journeys that are sure to shape the future of the ranch and its inhabitants. Now, with 1923 set to return this weekend, here are six things to remember about season 1 before season 2 arrives.
1. The narrator
1923 is narrated by Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), who narrates key moments in the series and reflects the family’s tragic legacy. In case you don’t recall, Elsa was the main character in 1883: A Yellowstone Origin Story. Her somber yet courageous voice, at times, foreshadows the violence plaguing the Duttons across multiple generations, adding depth to series storylines. Elsa’s connection to the family is highlighted by her monologues suggesting how fate entangles the Dutton’s struggles, paving the way for future conflicts.
2. The Dutton’s land hangs in the balance
At the Yellowstone Ranch, Jacob and Cara Dutton (Harrison Ford and Dame Helen Mirren) were facing an uphill battle in growing threats from rivals like wealthy businessmen Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) and Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), who are determined to take over the Dutton Ranch. They want that land, and they’ll do whatever is necessary to get it, even if it means starting with an ambush, which they try and fail at doing.
After the attack left Jacob severely injured, several family members were targeted, including John. When Whitfield paid off the Dutton’s property taxes, he made it crystal clear that if the Duttons couldn’t reimburse him, he would claim ownership. As the deadline loomed over them, Jacob and Cara found themselves under enormous pressure as they fight tirelessly to protect their land.
3. Jack and Elizabeth are rooted in heartache
When we last left them, young loves Jack (Darren Mann) and Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph), whose relationship is a healthy mix of passion, conflict, naïveté, and resolution, had just suffered a miscarriage. The loss shook them both, but as Jack tries to console his wife and hold things together, she lies in wait, questioning their future. Two things are taking major emotional tolls on the young couple: Jack’s injury (he was shot in the shoulder during an ambush on the Dutton family) and Elizabeth’s miscarriage.
Seeing these two kids in the depths of emotional turmoil should make their story arcs—especially hers—viscerally tender and intense, so buckle up for that. It seems more heartache is to follow.
4. Spencer and Alexandra are torn apart
Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) is the youngest child of Jacob’s late brother, James. He and his wife Margaret were the founders of the Dutton ranch. Spencer moved to Namibia to be a big game hunter and fell in love with a member of British aristocracy named Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer). Their love story is undoubtedly one of the most compelling aspects of 1923.
The two married, despite her engagement to another man, and as they made their way back to Montana from halfway across the world, they found their voyage threatened as they became entangled with her ex-fiancé, Arthur (Rafe Soule). A heated confrontation between he and Spencer led to a duel, which saw Spencer come out on top. However, when Arthur tried to escalate the fight with a gun, Spencer was forced to defend himself and Arthur was subsequently thrown overboard.
Arthur came from a powerful family, who of course sought revenge and used their influence to have Spencer arrested. Despite Alexandra’s friend Jennifer (Jo Ellen Pellman) testifying in his defense, Spencer was forcibly removed from the ship and left stranded in a foreign port with no clear way to reunite with Alexandra. As she sailed away, she vowed to find him again in Bozeman, but their future remains uncertain.
Will Spencer make it to the Americas at all? What will Alexandra do once she arrives in Bozeman? Will they ever reunite?
5. Teonna’s desperate flight to freedom
Teonna Rainwater’s (Aminah Nieves) story was INtense… hard to watch at times, and perhaps the most compelling story tucked within this saga. In fact, she is the epitome of survival, having endured unimaginable cruelty and abuse at a government-run Catholic boarding school/convent for girls.
By the end of the first season, after being brutally beaten and sexually assaulted, Teonna managed to escape the convent and eventually reunite with her father, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears), and his friend Pete Plenty Clouds (Cole Brings Plenty). Their goal? To reach safety with a Comanche tribe. Their threat? Law enforcement is closing in fast and has set up a trap to catch them.
During their journey, they also discovered that Teonna’s cousin, who was left back at the convent and whom she’d hoped to reunite with, had been killed, to no surprise. It was also revealed that the school had been hiding the deaths of Native children.
6. Cara’s final plea
Season 1 ended with Cara writing a letter to Spencer, urging him to return to the ranch before it was too late. She warned that everything his family had worked for was in danger, and that without him, the ranch might not survive.
“Spencer,” she wrote, “I fear everything your parents fought so hard to build is being ripped from us. You are its only hope; you are our only hope. You must hurry, Spencer. Or there will be nothing left to fight for.”
As she finished the letter, she sat in weight, realizing what she was asking of her nephew. She then crumbled up the letter and tossed it in the snow. With Spencer stranded far from home, the ranch under threat, and Teonna’s fate uncertain, the Dutton’s challenges are far from over.
1923 season 2 premieres Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, on Paramount+.