1923 Season 2 TV Review: The Yellowstone prequel returns for a satisfying final season

Plot: In the second season of 1923, a cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob and Cara back at Dutton ranch. With harsh conditions and adversaries threatening to end the Dutton legacy, Spencer embarks on an arduous journey home, racing against time to save his family in Montana. Meanwhile, Alexandra sets off on her own harrowing trans-Atlantic journey to find Spencer and reclaim their love.

Review: While Yellowstone finished its run just a couple of months ago, Taylor Sheridan’s second prequel series still has a few more stories about the origin of the Dutton Ranch in Montana. Following the acclaimed ten-episode run of 1883, Sheridan jumped into the twentieth century with the Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren-led 1923. Envisioned as a two-season epic, 1923′s first season was a massive success as it blended a sprawling period epic across multiple continents and chronicled the early days of the Duttons and their ranch on the border of Yellowstone National Park. While we know Yellowstone has a couple of spin-offs in the works, the second and final season of 1923 will wrap the story of Jacob and Cara Dutton and set the table for the already announced series 1944, which will pick up with the generation immediately preceding the birth of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton. As far as final seasons go, 1923 is exceptional as it continues the first season with some impressive early chapters that lend more to the legendary clan of Taylor Sheridan’s dynastic franchise.

When 1923 originally debuted, we were only given a single episode to review. However, it was still a strong enough premiere chapter that we knew Taylor Sheridan had another hit on his hands. 1923 introduced the successors to 1883 characters James Dutton (Tim McGraw) and his wife Margaret (Faith Hill) after they arrived in Bozeman, Montana. Picking up with Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his wife Cara (Helen Mirren), 1923 followed their fight to secure their homestead from tycoon Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) and rival Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn). The series split time with the Montana Duttons and Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) as he traversed Europe after fighting in World War I. At the end of the first season, Jacob and Cara faced an ultimatum as Whitfield paid their property taxes and was on the verge of claiming their land. At the same time, Spencer was separated from his new wife, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), aboard a ship. Season two opens with the story split across continents and focal points as the various Duttons begin defending their home.

In the first three episodes of 1923‘s second second, Jacob and Cara are struggling through a brutal Montana winter. With mountain lions and wolves desperate for warmth and food, the Dutton ranch is crawling with predators. At the same time, they must also contend with a pending trial for foreman Zane Davis (Brian Geraghty), who is married to an Asian woman who violated the law at the time. As Jacob tries to free Zane, Cara must protect the fort from the encroaching wildlife. Across the Atlantic, Spencer is working on a ship to try to reunite with Alexandra and get home to help his family defend the ranch from Whitfield. Alexandra is also trying to find a way to Spencer and has decided to travel to America. Unprepared for the plight of Ellis Island and being a single woman travelling halfway across the world, these three narratives have a lot going on. This does not even scratch the surface of what 1923 has in store in these early episodes, as Whitfield’s scheming with Banner Creighton echoes what the Duttons would face a century later at the hands of corrupt developers and rivals for the priceless acreage.

The brutal elements of Montana in the winter were barely a factor in Yellowstone, but the sparse resources in the early twentieth century made for some thrilling television. A sequence involving Harrison Ford trying to protect people in a blizzard echoes his scenes on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. But, aside from the Duttons, 1923 also returns to following the escape of Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) as she tries to stay one step ahead of Father Renaud (Sebastian Roche) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) along with her father Runs His Horse (Michael Spears) and Pete Plenty Clouds (the late Cole Brings Plenty). Without divulging too much about the various directions everyone is taking, the story is set in Montana, Texas, Oklahoma, New York City, and Italy, giving the vastness of the distances traveled an epic scope that seems challenging to conclude in just five remaining episodes. Nevertheless, 1923 is as engaging and enthralling as ever, especially with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren continuing to give their all in their performances.

Echoing the behind-the-scenes work done in season one, the first three episodes of 1923 season two hail from Taylor Sheridan as writer and Ben Richardson as director. Having found their groove as a creative unit, this season is reminiscent of the best parts of Yellowstone‘s first season and the propulsive period drama of 1883. With appearances in the early episodes from Robert Patrick as Sherrif William McDowell and new characters played by Jennifer Carpenter and C. Thomas Howell, 1923 blends the Western genre with a look at milestone historical moments, including Prohibition and the Rise of Mussolini, while incorporating a first look at pizza to Americans. It also gives us a bleak look at what entering the United States through Ellis Island was like in one of the most disturbing sequences in any Taylor Sheridan series. The massive budget reportedly given to 1923 is evident on screen as the impeccable production values elevate the story in a way that feels even more genuine than the contemporary-set Yellowstone.

While these characters would not exist without Taylor Sheridan’s original Yellowstone, I feel that these prequels are far more consistent and well-developed than the original series. Maybe it is the condensed episode count or the finite length of the overall series. Still, with 1883 delivering a strong single season of ten episodes and Yellowstone wavering in quality across five, 1923 may represent the single best overall series that Taylor Sheridan has created to date. With exceptional performances from the entire cast led by Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as good as they have ever been, 1923′s second and final season is already shaping to be a powerful chapter in Yellowstone mythology. With 1944 picking up a couple of decades later, it is possible we could see Brandon Sklenar, Jilia Schlaepfer, Michelle Randolph, and Darren Mann, amongst others, in the next saga of the Dutton family. Still, for now, fans are in for a fantastic run of television that rivals every other entry in the Yellowstone universe.

Season two of 1923 premieres on February 23rd on Paramount+.

1923

AMAZING

9

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