1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story is a prequel to the hit series Yellowstone and follow-up to the series 1883, exploring another branch of the Dutton family tree at the Yellowstone ranch. As the title implies, this series is set in 1923. Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) don’t have any children of their own, but have taken in nephew Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and great-nephew Jack (Darren Mann) as their own. The second season picks up right where things left off in the first season. Scottish sheepherder Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) had caused issues for the Duttons, attacking and killing several of their family and friends. He also joined forces with ruthless, wealthy developer Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), who has plans for the Dutton’s land.

Jacob had established a local police force with the help of friend Sheriff William McDowell (Robert Patrick) to try and maintain the peace, but a war was still brewing. Spencer, a former WWI veteran, had been traveling in Africa, hunting for big game, where he met and married Brit Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer). However, things were getting worse back home in Montana. The ranch is in financial trouble, without enough money to feed the herd, and Jacob refuses to burden future generations by taking out a mortgage, and tensions with Banner are boiling over. Cara writes to her nephew Spencer—the great hope and next generation of the Dutton family—to urge him to return home to help fight the oncoming war to protect the ranch and the family legacy. However, soon after Spencer and Alexandra set course for America, they find themselves separated, with Spencer arrested and put on another boat for participating in a duel. Meanwhile, Indian teenager Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) was on the run after she fought back and killed the nuns who were constantly assaulting her at her school. She was being pursued by Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) and their team of men, who were looking to exact their own form of justice on the “savage”.

As the second season opens, a very harsh winter has arrived. Jacob has been forced to sell off most of the family’s herd. He and Cara are isolated at the ranch along with great-nephew Jack and his new wife Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph). With the extreme snow and cold and lack of food, wild animals are also starting to attack the ranch. Elizabeth is starting to grow quite weary of this hard life and the dangers of living in the middle of nowhere, and is ready to say goodbye to Montana. Meanwhile, Spencer finds himself aboard a ship, working in the engine room alongside Italian Luca (Andy Dispensa), trying to figure out some way back home to America. Alexandra is back in England, and also decides to make her way to America to reunite with her husband. However, she quickly discovers the journey to be far more perilous and dehumanizing than she expected—traveling as a woman on her own is quite a dangerous prospect in this era. Teonna Rainwater has managed to get away from her pursuers and starts to explore her crush on Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna), but Marshal Kent and Father Renaud aren’t giving up that easily, recruiting even more troops to help hunt her down, and also enlisting the help of Amarillo US Marshal Mamie Fossett (Jennifer Carpenter). Meanwhile, Banner Creighton and Donald Whitfield continue to plot against the Duttons. Whitfield has major plans to bring tourism to the area, and the Dutton ranch sits right in the middle of the plot of land for his proposed resort.

I enjoyed the second season of 1923 a lot more than the first, though it often feels like it is switching between four different shows, all happening at the same time. The various character storylines are pretty much separated for the majority of the season. First there are the two journeys of Spencer and Alexandra as they each separately tries to make their way to Montana. This has to be one of the unluckiest families around. Each time Spencer or Alexandra seems to make one step forward in their respective journeys, there is some new obstacle that gets in their way, or some new tragedy they face. Each episode often ends with some big reveal, twist or new problem. However, these two are fueled by their love for one another and won’t let anything stop them from being reunited. I actually found Alexandra’s journey to be the most interesting part of this series. Seeing the struggle of a woman trying to travel alone in the 1920s and the struggles and trials she faces along the way. The series does an excellent job of transporting the viewer back to this era and experiencing this arduous journey along with in. However, each small win she experiences is usually followed by some major tragedy.

Meanwhile, we also continue to follow Teonna Rainwater, who continues to face numerous obstacles with these men hunting her down and trying either kill her or those helping her to get away. We also get the great Jennifer Carpenter this season for a few episodes as the first/only female U.S. Marshall from Amarillo who is asked to help track and capture Teonna so that she can be tried for murder.

And finally, back in Montana we follow the rest of the Dutton clan. Cara is often in charge of maintaining the homefront and guarding the ranch while husband Jacob heads to town to deal with legal issues. She likes the new modern conveniences that are rapidly being developed, and would love to have access to a telephone so that she could worry less each time Jacob rides off, especially with the current snowy conditions and constantly-brewing battle with Banner and his men. While Cara knew what she was signing up for when she became a Dutton, Elizabeth did not, and Cara now finds herself trying to bond with the young woman who has grown tired of this wilderness life. Meanwhile, Whitfield continues with his plans to bring tourism for the wealthy to the area, while also finding pleasure exacting pain on the women he keeps at his home. Banner starts to see the true nature of the man he’s hitched his wagon to and starts to question his decisions. But is it too late to change things?!

Overall, it is quite an exciting season with so many twists and turns. There is so much death and tragedy throughout the season that sometimes it feels like it’s going a bit overboard. However, the series does an excellent job of showcasing what it is like living in these harsher times and environment, and how the Duttons will do whatever they have to to survive. The second season also feels like a solid conclusion to this branch of the Dutton family tree, providing closure for these characters, even if not on the happiest terms for some. The second season ultimately builds to a fantastic, exciting and action-packed 2-hour finale that will have you on the edge of your seat, and emotions flowing. The next chapter of the Dutton saga should pick up with Yellowstone: 1944, but no date has yet been announced.

Paramount/CBS Home Entertainment has released this second season of 1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story on Blu-ray & DVD, though the series is also available for purchase digitally in 4K via Fandango At Home. We were sent the Blu-ray release for review, and were quite pleased by the presentation. The picture quality is excellent, with a strong level of detail throughout. Things look clean and clear in both brighter daytime scenes as well as in the darker sequences. The period setting and costumes look great, and really transport the viewer back in time a century to see the Dutton saga during the prohibition era and a time when so many technological advances were being made.

The season’s 7 episodes are split across 3 discs, with 3 episodes each on the first 2 discs and the double-length finale on the final disc, along with over 2 hours of bonus material. The discs are stacked on either side of a standard HD keepcase, which is placed inside a carboard slipcover. The bonus material consists of Behind the Story featurettes for every episode as well as several additional behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (7:23:49)

• All 7 episodes of the second season :
  Disc 1 (2:50:37): “The Killing Season”, “The Rapist Is Winter”, “Wrap Thee in Terror”
  Disc 2 (2:41:30): “Journey the Rivers of Iron”, “Only Gunshots to Guide Us”, “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters”
  Disc 3 (1:51:42): “A Dream and a Memory”
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

• Behind the Story
  The cast and crew delve into the character developments, storylines, and behind-the-scenes of each episode. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with special effects hydraulics foreman Joseph Judd, special effects supervisor Garry Elmendorf, director Ben Richardson, special effects technician Daniel Yates, set decorator Carla Curry, special makeup effects artist Hiro Yada, prop master Ian Roylance, special effects Alan Roberts, and stars Helen Mirren (“Cara Dutton”), Harrison Ford (“Jacob Dutton”), Brandon Sklenar (“Spencer Dutton”), Aminah Nieves (“Teonna Rainwater”), Julia Schlepfer (“Alexandra”), Brian Geraghty (“Zane Davis”), Darren Mann (“Jack Dutton”), Michelle Randolph (“Elizabeth Strafford”), Sebastian Roché (“Father Renaud”) & Jerome Flynn (“Banner Creighton”). These can be found on the discs with the related episodes.
  • “The Killing Season” (4:12)
  • “The Rapist Is Winter” (6:54)
  • “Wrap Thee in Terror” (7:20)
  • “Journey the Rivers of Iron” (7:42)
  • “Only Gunshots to Guide Us” (5:55)
  • “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters” (9:17)
  • “A Dream and a Memory” (19:24)
• Darkness Cannot Hide: 1923 Returns (38:16)
  The cast talk about returning for the second season, the storylines, working with the director/cinematographer, filming scenes with Harrison Ford & Helen Mirren, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Helen Mirren, Harrison Ford, Julia Schlepfer, Brandon Sklenar, Darren Mann, Aminah Nieves, Jerome Flynn, Michelle Randolph & Sebastian Roché. (Some of this footage is also used in some of the other featurettes.)

  
  
  
  

• The Shroud of Winter: Production Design and Costumes (13:23)
  The cast and crew discuss the detailed sets, costumes and props that help to transport the series back to the period of the early 1920’s. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with prop master Ian Roylance, set decorator Carla Curry, co-production designer Lisa Ward, costume designer Janie Bryant, director/cinematographer/executive producer Ben Richardson, and stars Julia Schlepfer, Darren Mann, Brian Geraghty & Michelle Randolph.
• The Women of 1923 (3:23)
  The cast talk about the female characters and their storylines in the second season. Includes interviews with actors Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Michelle Randolph, Julia Schlepfer & Aminah Nieves.
• 1923: Teonna’s Story (5:25)
  A look at Teonna’s storyline for the second season. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with actors Aminah Nieves, Gil Birmingham (Thomas Rainwater, Yellowstone) & Mo Brings Plenty (“Mo”, Yellowstone/Indian Affairs Coordinator).
• What Would You Bring Back From 1923 (1:52)
  The cast answer the question If they could bring one element from the 1920’s into now, what would it be?

Final Thoughts:

The second season of 1923: A Yellowstone Origin Story provides a solid conclusion to this chapter of the Dutton saga. While many of the storylines are separate for the majority of the season, things finally do come together in a very exciting, action-packed 2-hour finale. Along the way, the series does a nice job of exploring what life was like for the characters during this period, and transporting the viewer back to this era. The Blu-ray release looks and sounds great and contains a solid selection of bonus material.