Everything You Need to Know About the ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel ‘1923,' Season 2

Catch up on Helen Mirren’s and Harrison Ford’s hit series, back on the air after two long years

Tracey Minkin,

AARP

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Published February 20, 2025

In an intense scene from the Yellowstone prequel, Jacob Dutton is gripping a long gun, and Cara Dutton stands defiant

Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton and Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton in season 2, episode 1 of 1923 streaming on Paramount+

Trae Patton/Paramount+

Usually, a hit series keeps things mum before a new season launches or teases us with a few juicy details in the trailer. But when it comes to the premiere on February 23 on Paramount+of the second and final season of 1923, the hit Yellowstone prequel (and 1883 sequel) starring Harrison Ford, 82, and Helen Mirren, 79, a bundle of plot cats are out of the bag. So, while those are unofficial details, we’ll share them here along with everything official we know. Get ready to get back to the Duttons and the ongoing expansion of the most-watched series on linear television.

Don’t miss this: Everything You Need To Know About the Final Season of ‘Yellowstone’

**First, Where Did Season 1 of 1923 Leave Us?**

If you missed showrunner and writer Taylor Sheridan’s first season of 1923, which debuted on Paramount+ in December 2022, https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/television/info-2022/1923-yellowstone-prequel-episode-1-recap.html it fills in a generation of Duttons that bridge us from the 1883 storyline of James and Margaret Dutton (Tim McGraw, 57, and Faith Hill. 57) toward the present-day Duttons of Yellowstone. (And it was a bona fide hit for the streamer, being the most-watched premiere for Paramount+ ever in the U.S.)

In 1923, we pick up the Dutton family thread with James’s older brother, Jacob Dutton (Ford), and his wife Cara (Mirren), who fight to protect the Yellowstone ranch against drought, economic peril, and sheep herders who don’t play nice, led by Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn). An ambush leaves Jacob wounded and Cara takes charge and seeks vengeance.

Remember that this pair of Duttons has no children, raising John, Sr. and Spencer Dutton as their own. In Season 1, we followed Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), ravaged by World War I, to Africa to hunt big game, where he falls in love with Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), a freethinking British aristocrat. Their journey back to Montana together is thwarted by her snooty family and a shipwreck.

Season 1 also introduces us to Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), a young Indigenous girl who seeks her own revenge – killing her boarding school abusers – and is pursued by authorities.

The Season 1 Cliffhangers

It was a wild ride at the end of Season 1, and four cliffhangers had fans desperate to pick up Season 2 to find out what happens (the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike slowed things down):

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Spencer and Alexandra Are Separated: Who can forget Spencer winning the shipboard duel against Alexandra’s former fiancée, and the dramatic twist when her family had Spencer thrown overboard? Not us! Nor Alexandra, who vows to find him again. But there’s also a shipwreck! More cliff-hanging!

Jacob and Cara’s Struggles Aren’t Behind Them Yet: Although Jacob survived the ambush at the hands of Banner Creighton and Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton, 78), he’s still weak at the end of Season 1 and Cara’s doing all she can to hold things together. But Whitfield’s amassing wealth remains a threat to the ranch.

Speaking of Whitfield: The ruthless businessman tells Cara that he’s taken care of the ranch’s property taxes, but we know he’s using this as a lever to force them to hand over control of the ranch … or pay him back. Will Jacob and Cara be able to retain control… and how?

Teonna Rainwater Remains in Danger: We had a breath of relief when Teonna, on the run from the authorities, reunited with her father in Season 1, but she’s still being tracked.

Don’t miss this: Was Season 1 of 1923 snubbed by the Emmys?

Here’s What We Can Expect in Season 2 (Spoilers Ahead!)

For one thing, we know that Season 2 concludes the 1923 chapter of the Yellowstone saga – think of it, as creator Taylor Sheridan told Deadline in 2022, as "the second half of the season." (Sheridan added that when he first started working on 1923, he had no idea where the plot would take him. What he did know is that he needed to create it in two blocks: "an eight-episode block and a second eight-episode block to wrap this up. I can’t wrap it up in two episodes and do the story justice.")

So, does Season 2 do the story justice? Here are some episode summary details that leaked to the Internet earlier in 2025 to whet our appetites.

Through some internet mischief, details of the first seven episodes of Season 2 popped up online and landed on Reddit. Here’s what we know: Season 2, Episode 1 kicks off with the arrival of winter and new challenges (and dangers!) for the Duttons.

Spencer and Alexandra set off on separate journeys. Spencer will end up staying in Galveston, Texas, longer than he’d planned; meanwhile, Alexandra will face her own troubles traveling alone. Look for Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché, 60) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) to close in on Teonna, Spencer to have a run-in with a sheriff in Fort Worth and Whitfield to make progress on a new business venture. Alexandra and Spencer both have adventures on separate trains, Teonna reunites with a face from her past, and good news is coming for the Duttons late in the season. Here’s hoping!

Plus, we get to enjoy the whole cast returning for this second chapter of the drama, so follow your favorites and boo the baddies.

How to Watch 1923

After the Season 2 premiere on Sunday, February 23, 2025, new episodes will drop every Sunday on Paramount+. You can stream Season 1 there and keep up with the Duttons as Season 2 unfurls. See you at the ranch!

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