FEBRUARY 2023:
This critique contains spoilers and detailed episode information, do not read further if you have not watched ‘1923’ in its entirety!!!
THE ROARING DUTTON’S….
1923 is a Western drama television series on Paramount+ that premiered on December 18, 2022, and had its season finale on February 26, 2023. The series is another prequel to the Paramount Network series Yellowstone. It serves as a sequel to the limited series 1883, with Isabel May reprising her role from the limited series as narrator, Elsa Dutton. In February 2023, the series was renewed for a second season of eight episodes.
While the limited series 1883, followed and established how the Dutton family was settled in Montana, by James Dutton portrayed by Tim McGraw, and how he founded the land the Dutton Yellowstone Ranch sits on in modern day, 1923 follows another generation of the Dutton family 40 years later living and working on the Yellowstone Ranch that will one day be handed down to John Dutton III as portrayed by Kevin Costner on Yellowstone. The Dutton family in 1923 are seen living during a time of various hardships in American history that included Prohibition, drought, and the early stages of the Great Depression, which affected Montana long before Black Tuesday, the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
The series roars with action like that of the Twenties decade it is dramatizing, or the big game cats Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) is hunting in Africa. The writing is superbly articulated through the genius of creator and writer, Taylor Sheridan, never forgetting that the series is another origin series to his blockbuster television hit Yellowstone, he stays true to the form of the original series and keeps viewers engaged by never letting the story not be about the Dutton family and the Yellowstone Ranch in some form. Even the background stories within the series tie directly to the original on Paramount Network. You are completely invested in the characters of the series due to their direct correlation to the modern-day Dutton family that viewers have come to love.
From Jacob Dutton, played by Harrison Ford, who is the older brother of James Dutton (McGraw, 1883), and the great-great-granduncle of John Dutton III (Costner, Yellowstone), to Teonna Rainwater, portrayed by Aminah Nieves, who is ancestrally related to Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham, Yellowstone) only we have not been privy to their exact family relation generationally, yet. Sheridan keeps the viewers invested in the history of the Dutton family through these characters while also teaching viewers about the American history of the “Roaring Twenties” that he starts off in the year 1923, and how it particularly affected the residents of Montana. He has also been the most recent show writer to delicately handle the harsh history of America and the Native Americans while also dedicating a show and a voice with inclusion in the television world. Sheridan is one of the few writers and creators that focuses on Native American stories and writes them with the true history of the time and not the whitewashed history some have become accustomed to. He is not afraid to show America’s ugly history and find the beauty within it.
If you are a fan of the Yellowstone universe then this series is sure not to disappoint!
1923 Cast…
Main…
Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton…
The patriarch of the Dutton family, and the older brother of James Dutton.
Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton…
The wife to Jacob Dutton and the Dutton family matriarch. Having no children of their own, Jacob and Cara raised John and Spencer Dutton as their own.
Brandon Sklenar as Spencer Dutton…
The younger son of James and Margaret Dutton. Spencer has witnessed the horrors of World War I and travels Africa tracking big game. Charlie Stover portrayed Spencer Dutton as a child during flashbacks set in 1893 in two episodes of the fourth season of Yellowstone.
Julia Schlaepfer as Alexandra…
Jerome Flynn as Banner Creighton…
Darren Mann as Jack Dutton…
John Dutton Sr.’s son and only child, James Dutton’s grandson, and great-nephew to Jacob Dutton. He is a dedicated rancher who is deeply loyal to his family.
Isabel May as the Narrator, Elsa Dutton…
May also portrayed Elsa Dutton in 1883.
Brian Geraghty as Zane Davis…
Aminah Nieves as Teonna Rainwater…
A rebellious young American Indian woman who was taken from her family and placed in an Indian boarding school for girls run by the Catholic Church, Teonna is an ancestor of Chief Thomas Rainwater (Birmingham on Yellowstone), we do not yet know the ancestral relation of Teonna to Thomas, yet.
Michelle Randolph as Elizabeth “Liz” Strafford…
Timothy Dalton as Donald Whitfield…
Recurring…
Robert Patrick as Sheriff William McDowell…
Jennifer Ehle as Sister Mary…
Sebastian Roché as Father Renaud…
Marley Shelton as Emma Dutton…
The wife of John Dutton Sr. and the mother of Jack Dutton.
Leenah Robinson as Baapuxti…
Caleb Martin as Dennis…
Brian Konowal as Clyde / Clive…
Michael Greyeyes as Hank Plenty Clouds…
Guest…
James Badge Dale as John Dutton Sr….
The eldest son of James and Margaret Dutton, Jacob Dutton’s oldest nephew and right-hand man. Audie Rick portrayed John Dutton Sr. as a child in 1883. Jack Michael Doke portrayed him as a teenager during flashbacks set in 1893 in two episodes of the fourth season of Yellowstone.
Kerry O’Malley as Sister Alice…
Tim DeKay as Bob Strafford…
Nick Boraine as Richard Holland…
Bruce Davison as Prince Arthur, Earl of Sussex…
Michael Spears as Runs His Horse…
Amelia Rico as Issaxche Rainwater…
Jo Ellen Pellman as Jennifer…
Rafe Soule as Arthur…
Colin Moss as Charles Hardin…
Jessalyn Gilsig as Beverly Strafford…
Peter Stormare as Lucca…
Tanc Sade as Father Cillian…
Joseph Mawle as Captain Shipley…
Jamie McShane as Marshal Kent…
Currie Graham as Chadwick Benton…
Cailyn Rice as Christy…
Madison Rogers as Lindy…
Cole Brings Plenty as Pete Plenty Clouds…
Wallace Langham as Kyle Murphy…
Joy Osmanski as Alice Davis (née Chow)…
Damian O’Hare as Captain Hurley…
Episodes…
EPISODE TITLE: “1923”
DIRECTOR: Ben Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: December 18, 2022
In a flash-forward, Cara Dutton hunts down a man for attacking the Dutton family and kills him. In Africa, her nephew Spencer is a big-game hunter for hire. Back at the Yellowstone Ranch, Jacob Dutton encounters sheep ranchers, led by Banner Creighton, trespassing on the family land to feed their starving sheep, who attack him. At a Catholic Indian boarding school, Teonna Rainwater suffers physical and mental abuse at the hands of Sister Mary, causing her to rebel.
EPISODE TITLE: “Nature’s Empty Throne”
DIRECTOR: Ben Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: December 25, 2022
Jack is saved by Jacob and the Yellowstone Cowboys. They capture the herders and hang them as justice for trespassing and for attacking Jack, although Banner manages to escape. Teonna continues to endure mistreatment at the hands of Sister Mary. Meanwhile, in Kenya, Spencer meets a woman named Alexandra, and the two become smitten with each other. Alexandra leaves her fiancé and joins Spencer and the two start a relationship.
EPISODE TITLE: “The War Has Come Home”
DIRECTOR: Ben Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: January 1, 2023
Creighton manages to stumble his way back home and gathers sheep herders to plot revenge against the Dutton’s. Jacob goes to town and speaks to the sheriff about the sheep farmers. On their way back to the ranch the next day, they are ambushed by the herders and Jacob is wounded. Reinforcements arrive and kill the herders, while Creighton and several others escape. Jacob tells Cara to write a letter to Spencer for his return. As the doctor tends to him, Cara leaves and begins to write the letter, begging Spencer to come home to defend his family’s land. Meanwhile, Spencer asks Alexandra to marry him.
EPISODE TITLE: “War and the Turquoise Tide”
DIRECTOR: Ben Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: January 8, 2023
The result of the rifle ambush by the sheep farmers is severe. Jacob is bedridden, while Jack and Elizabeth face struggles in their relationship. With so many of his allies dead, Creighton meets with the mining magnate Donald Whitfield to gain support for his war against the Dutton family. Cara represents Jacob at a meeting of local cattle owners and convinces the cattlemen to agree to Dutton’s plan. After incessant abuse from Sister Mary, Teonna finally kills her and also Sister Alice before fleeing the school. Spencer grows closer to his fiancée and receives Cara‘s letter that a range war is in progress.
EPISODE TITLE: “Ghost of Zebrina”
DIRECTOR: Guy Ferland
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: February 5, 2023
Father Renaud is alerted to the murders of Sister Mary and Sister Alice and sends three priests after Teonna. In the Badlands, Teonna encounters Hank, who offers to help her. In Africa, Spencer decides to return, and his fiancée Alexandra decides to accompany him. Spencer arranges passage on a local tugboat that will get him to the Suez Canal, where he will arrange passage to America. Meanwhile, the sheepherders begin to make headway against the local ranchers. Jack and Elizabeth reconcile and secretly say their vows as a form of marriage. Later, Elizabeth reveals she is pregnant. Jacob slowly recovers from his wounds. On the way to the Suez Canal, the tugboat with Spencer and Alexandra is struck by an abandoned French cargo ship left adrift and capsizes.
EPISODE TITLE: “One Ocean Closer to Destiny”
DIRECTOR: Guy Ferland
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: February 12, 2023
Spencer and Alexandra barely survive the capsizing and are later rescued by the S.S. Lambridge, which will take them to Marseille. The two have the captain marry them in international waters. Back in Montana, Cara and the sheriff begin the process of hiring livestock agents for a new agency. Jacob realizes the mining magnate’s true intentions to squeeze the Dutton’s out. The Marshals search for Teonna, while Hank gives Teonna male clothes and the name Joe.
EPISODE TITLE: “The Rule of Five Hundred”
DIRECTOR: Ben Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: February 19, 2023
Jacob, Jack, Sheriff McDowell, and the ranch’s posse arrest Creighton, who is living a luxurious life and is surprised to learn that Jacob is alive. A livestock agent informs Whitfield about the situation, prompting Whitfield to send his lawyer to help Creighton. Meanwhile, Teonna is found by the priests sent to find her in the badlands. Hank saves her, but he is killed. Meanwhile, Spencer and Alexandra find themselves in Sicily, where they unexpectedly encounter Alexandra‘s former fiancé.
EPISODE TITLE: “Nothing Left to Lose”
DIRECTOR: Ben Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Taylor Sheridan
AIRDATE: February 26, 2023
After the priests do not return, Father Renaud and Marshal Kent search for Teonna. Runs His Horse and Pete Plenty Clouds find Teonna and take her with them. Creighton is released without bail. Zane‘s wife Alice is arrested for miscegenation and Zane is beaten by police. Meanwhile, Spencer and Alexandra board a liner to London. Alexandra‘s former fiancé Arthur challenges Spencer to a duel, which Spencer wins. However, Arthur attacks him and Spencer kills him in self-defense. Although not charged, Spencer is removed from the vessel at the nearest port. Alexandra learns her parents have arranged for her to return to London and that she cannot leave the ship. Seeing Spencer be taken away, she declares she will find him in Bozeman, Montana. Back at the Dutton Ranch, Whitfield arrives to announce that he has paid their property tax, and if they cannot pay him back by the end of the year, the deed for the land will default into his possession. Elizabeth suffers a miscarriage.
1923 is available now to stream on Paramount+…