Warning: SPOILERS for 1923 Season 2’s Finale – “A Dream and a Memory”The war for the Yellowstone ranch ignites in 1923 season 2’s finale, and it’s a bloodbath that results in mass casualties for the Duttons and their enemies. 1923‘s riveting conclusion, “A Dream and a Memory,” sees Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) finally arrive in Montana to save the Yellowstone from Donald Whitfield’s (Timothy Dalton) takeover. Whitfield sent a horde of hired guns to the Duttons’ lodge with orders to kill Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) and everyone inside.
1923 season 2, episode 6, “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters,” cleared the deck of multiple characters. There were 7 major character deaths in 1923‘s penultimate hour, including the shocking demise of Jack Dutton (Darren Mann). 1923 season 2’s ending doesn’t quite match that number of significant characters who meet their maker, but the overall body count is much higher. Many cowboys loyal to the Duttons and even more of Donald Whitfield’s mercenaries are violently blown away by gunfire.
1923‘s epic two-hour finale puts a definitive end to the threat Donald Whitfield posed to the Yellowstone, but significant heroes and villains are lost before the final credits roll. Thankfully, Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) survive 1923 and share a happy, albeit bittersweet, ending. However, five major 1923 characters aren’t so lucky. Here are the biggest names who died at the end of 1923.
5.Banner Creighton
Creighton Did The Right Thing In The End
Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) met his end in 1923 season 2’s finale, but he died a changed man. The violence against Jacob Dutton and his ranch was instigated by Creighton in 1923 season 1, and Banner soon joined forces with millionaire Donald Whitfield, who also coveted the vast acres of Paradise Valley. But the closer Banner and Donald worked together, the more deeply disturbed Creighton became at Whitfield’s deviance, cruelty, and ruthless malevolence.
Being forced to dispose of the deceased sex worker, Christy (Cailin Rice), was the straw that broke Creighton. Banner looked inward and realized he wanted to be a better role model to his family. Although Jacob doubted Banner’s sincerity, Creighton proved himself by saving Dutton’s life and taking a fatal bullet himself. Creighton was redeemed, and he died with Jacob’s word ensuring Banner’s wife and son safely got on a train to Portland and escaped Montana.
4.Alexandra Dutton
Poor Alex Dies So Her Son Can Live
Alexandra Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) endured truly horrible hardships to reunite with her husband, Spencer, in Montana. Alex was stranded in the brutal winter and nearly froze to death, like her friends, Paul (Augustus Prew) and Hillary (Janet Montgomery). But Alex courageously fought to stay alive until her improbable but exhilarating rescue by Spencer. Unfortunately, Alex was too far gone from frostbite. Her hands and feet needed to be amputated, and she was six months pregnant, with her baby near death.
1923 season 2’s finale shows the birth of John Dutton II, who was played by Dabney Coleman as an old man in Yellowstone, and is the father of John Dutton III (Kevin Costner).
A loving mother until the end, Alexandra chose to forgo surgery to give her son, whom she named John Dutton, a fighting chance at life. With Spencer at her bedside, Alex succumbed to her frostbite and died in her sleep at the Bozeman hospital. Alex Dutton, born Alexandra of Sussex on April 1, 1901, in Oxfordshire, England, died on March 24, 1924. Alex was buried at the Duttons’ family graveyard near Jack Dutton, her nephew-in-law she never had the chance to meet.
3.Lindy
Donald Whitfield’s Twisted Moll Gets Her Just Desserts
Lindy (Madison Elise Rogers) was a sex worker hired by Donald Whitfield in 1923 season 1. Lindy and her fellow prostitute, Christy, were subjected to Whitfield’s sadistic sexual manipulation. To Donald’s surprise, Lindy took to her “lessons” and emerged as a sociopath to rival her employer. Whitfield cultivated Lindy’s newfound sadism, planning to unleash her on the unsuspecting politicians and power brokers of Montana.
After Lindy tortured Christy to death, Whitfield sent her to find a new victim, Mabel (Virginia Gardner). Donald and Lindy indoctrinated the helpless Mabel into their cruelty until she was saved by Spencer and Jacob Dutton. The Yellowstone cowboys burst into Donald Whitfield’s mansion and shot Lindy dead at the dinner table. It was the sudden and violent demise Lindy deserved.
2.Donald Whitfield
Whitfield Is Executed By Spencer For “Killing My Wife”
Donald Whitfield’s death proved that all of his money and power couldn’t protect him from the Duttons’ vigilante justice. Whitfield played his final cards in 1923 season 2’s finale, dispatching numerous hitmen to kill the Duttons at their ranch and the Livingston train depot. What Donald didn’t count on was Spencer Dutton being every bit the warrior he was billed as, and leading Yellowstone’s cowboys to take out Whitfield’s mercenaries.
After Alex Dutton’s death, Spencer aimed his vengeance at Donald Whitfield, the man who “killed my wife.” Believing himself protected in his mansion, Whitfield luxuriated over his plans to get even richer by building ski resorts all over Paradise Valley when Spencer and Jacob burst in, guns blazing. After killing Lindy, Spencer executed Whitfield with a final headshot. The Duttons liberated Mabel before setting fire to Whitfield Manor, burning everything Donald built to ashes.
1.Spencer Dutton
1923’s Finale Flash Forwards To Spencer’s Death 45 Years Later
Spencer Dutton survived the violence of 1923 season 2’s finale, but the final moments of the ending flashed forward 45 years to show the elderly Spencer’s death in 1969. Spencer inherited control of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and ran it for another four decades. The narration of Spencer’s omniscient sister, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), explained what happened to her younger brother:
Spencer never remarried. Took the comfort of a widow and made another boy, refused to marry her. And one day, the widow was gone. For Spencer, her memory didn’t fade, didn’t fray at the edges, and didn’t dull. Not one. Alexandra Dutton was born on April Fool’s Day, 1901, in Oxfordshire, England. And laid to rest March 29, 1924. When old age robbed him of his memories, he simply closed his eyes and dreamed up new ones. And 45 years later, my young brother joined her.
The final moments of 1923 season 2’s finale show the old Spencer Dutton, limping with his prosthetic leg, crawling to Alex’s grave, where he finally died at the age of 80. In a touching reunion reminiscent of the ending of Titanic, the young Spencer and Alexandra are reunited in heaven, dancing in the ballroom of the ocean liner before cruel fate split them apart. 1923‘s ending gave Spencer and Alex the happy afterlife they could never have in Montana.
