Warning: The article contains spoilers for 1923 season finale.
Taylor Sheridan’s 1923 has closed the curtain on its first exciting chapter, and while it was thrilling and full of adventure, these pages of the Dutton story know heartache and pain like no other branch of the family tree.
When we first met Cara and Jacob Dutton, it was clear they’d lived a life full of love but held a deep-seated pain in their hearts and were too familiar with struggle and the downfall of picturesque dreams and happiness. Fans saw the Duttons and their allies experience fleeting moments of joy throughout the first season of 1923, but we also saw a lot of pain — especially in the season finale.
One of the most emotionally charged moments was when Spencer and Alex Dutton were forced apart, with oceans separating them and no promise of finding one another again. Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer, who play Spencer and Alex, respectively, brought a sense of devastating loneliness to life with such grace that we all cried.
While there’s no guarantee Spencer will make it back to Alex, after all of the struggle and heartbreaking experiences the Dutton family faced in 1923, we’re crossing our fingers that Taylor Sheridan gives us all a break and reunites our beloved couple. Sklenar is holding on to the same hope, something he shared in a recent chat with Entertainment Tonight. Sklenar wants to be reunited with Alex and the Dutton family, combining both worlds at the ranch — no matter what that requires.
“I wish I did. I honestly have no idea. I would hope that it’s powerful and he comes in with a fire and fight and vengeance and as an actor, I hope I get to tap into that feeling. We’ve sort of echoed it and touched on it throughout the season, and if they’ve built Spencer up to be someone that should be feared and is highly capable of that level of vengeance and protection. I’m just hoping that we get to see him do that because it’s the longest rollercoaster incline.”
When we first met Spencer, he was a broken man, a shell of a person trying to escape himself. Upon meeting Alex, that began to change, she brought something within him to life, and it’s a beautiful nod to what true love can do when it greets us. Sklenar continued by speaking about the return of Spencer to the Dutton family ranch and how the entire set of circumstances set to lead him there have been unforgiving and tumultuous.
“It’s Homer’s Odyssey. It really is. It’s wild to me. I’ve already shot the thing and I’m still looking back at it going, ‘Man, this is such an epic journey this guy’s on.’ It really is. I just can’t wait to see where it’s going and the cast calls each other and speculates and everyone has ideas and theories.”
We can’t wait to discover which theories and ideas may come true in the next installment of 1923; hopefully, they will hold more joy and moments of peace. If you missed any piece of this story, you can now stream 1923 in its entirety on Paramount Plus — and you won’t want to miss a second of it.