Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season finale of 1923.
Taylor Sheridan’s growing Yellowstone universe expanded in a significant way with the first season of the Dutton family prequel, 1923. Introducing us to the next branch of the family tree, we met Cara and Jacob Dutton, the family matriarch and patriarch who led their loved ones through tumultuous and painful experiences, finding sprinkles of joy and love along the way.
While Jacob and Cara were strong, another member of the Dutton family was showing a familiarity with his loved ones, even though it was the last thing he wanted to acknowledge. You see, Spencer Dutton was spending his life outrunning his demons, and Brandon Sklenar breathed life into the character with such a raw and vulnerable look at his pain that it was hard to do anything but root for him. Someone who understands that in a major way is Cara, who held a candle for Spencer for his entire life, believing that he would return to their family and bring them something they’ve been missing: hope.
What does Sklenar think Spencer feels regarding being the “only hope” left for the Dutton family? In a chat with Entertainment Tonight, he shared that he’s not convinced Spencer is fully aware of how powerful he is, not recognizing that Cara is banking on his existence as the driving force forward for the family.
“Oh, definitely. It’s funny because he knows who he is, but he is also not necessarily aware of how much. He’s gotten the letters, so he knows that they’re counting on him, but just how much they’re putting in him from afar he’s not 100 percent aware of that to the extent and where it’s at. He can only speculate, but he is aware of who he is and he is aware of his responsibility and he is aware of how effective he can be. I think that’s part of his appeal. He’s not naive to the fact that he can kill. He has no problem.”
Spencer undeniably recognizes his strength and the lengths he’s willing to go to ensure his safety and the safety of those around him, but he’s never considered himself a source of support for his family — he was running away from all of that. He spent years trying to leave behind any trace of who he was before, which meant not giving too much weight to any ideas about their future.
Speaking of the future, Sklenar does have an idea of what he hopes transpires for Spencer, and it’s something fans are also hoping for. Spencer wants to come in and save the day, sweep through, and take out the trash, and as we’ve seen in recent episodes, there’s a lot of that building at Yellowstone.
“I hope that we see him realize himself fully in his purpose and his mission and he gets the bad guy, plainly put. There’s a lot of people building up at the ranch that you just don’t like. You’d love to see them go down somehow, and I’d love to be the guy to do it or at least help do it. It’s funny because you get a lot of the questions about where it’s going and do I know where it’s going? I’m in the same boat most of the fans are. I can only hope and speculate, but yeah, we don’t know. We really don’t know, and I just hope he shows up in a big way and we get that payoff.”
Of course, another piece of the future fans are crossing their fingers for is that Spencer and Alex will be reunited and finally allowed to find love, home, and comfort in one another again. Alex awakened something in Spencer that allowed him to believe in himself and the future, and when they were forcibly separated at the end of the first season — our hearts broke. But given the dedication and determination of Spencer and the love and hope in Alex’s heart, it’s safe to say that we’ve not seen the last of them yet.
Spencer getting a payoff for everything the Duttons had to suffer would be a dream for everyone, here’s hoping that line of thinking is where Taylor Sheridan’s head is at, too. You can stream the first season of 1923 in its entirety now on Paramount Plus as the much-awaited finale has finally joined the streamer.