‘War has descended upon this place and your family. Whatever war you fight within yourself must wait…’
I love a miniseries. I think one of the main reasons that the first Yellowstone prequel, 1883, was so effective is that it was a self-contained story that had the freedom to conclude without the pressure of setting up later seasons. And so, it was with some trepidation that I met the news of a second season of 1923. Happily, my fears have been laid to rest…
We pick up where we left off with Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and Alex (Julia Schlaepfer) both separately making their way to Montana, Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) still at war, and Jack (Darren Mann) still trying to persuade his fiance Liz (Michelle Randolph) that their future lies at Yellowstone.
Now, I loved the first season of 1923, so to say that this second season isn’t quite as good is not an insult or anything, but… I had problems here that I didn’t have with season one. The doomed romance of Spencer and Alex makes for compelling television, but to watch her lurching from one disaster to the next was not particularly enjoyable and brought to mind Game of Thrones at its most needlessly sadistic. The circumstances of their final reunion also stretched credulity to breaking point. I also found Whitfield to be too cartoonishly evil, despite the best efforts of Dalton to ground the character in reality. That being said, the acting is still sensational, and it’s impossible not to become invested in characters that are so well drawn and lived in.
This second season of 1923 is the weakest of the three prequel seasons, but it still contains moments of brilliance. Now, onto Yellowstone.
