1923 is about to come to a dramatic end with its second and final season. An extension of Taylor Sheridan’s neo-Western Yellowstone television universe, the series stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren as Jacob and Cara Dutton, ancestors of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton from the original series. 1923 follows the Dutton family as it continues to build the iconic Yellowstone Ranch, while also defending it from greedy businessmen who would have it for themselves. The show’s upcoming finale is also expected to play into yet another spinoff, entitled 1944, which will follow the continuing adventures of Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) and his wife Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer).
Despite lukewarm reviews from critics, 1923 continues to prove popular with fans of the franchise. The show is distinct from the original Yellowstone series in several ways, some of which its critics hold against the prequel. However, some of 1923’s differences from Yellowstone prove to be its best aspects. While the show certainly has its flaws, I can’t help but connect with the cast of 1923 easier than I did the characters of Sheridan’s original series. I believe this is due to one of the biggest differences between the two series, which involves staggeringly different depictions of the Dutton family.
The Duttons Are More Likable in 1923
Jacob and Cara Dutton Are Much Kinder People Than Their Descendants
1923 picks up after the events of 1883, with James Dutton’s brother Jacob and his wife Cara taking over the Yellowstone Ranch. Older folks more settled in life than the original owners of the legendary ranch, Jacob and Cara built their lives before coming to Montana. Although they will do anything to protect their ranch, they also keep the land in proper priority–only after their family. Jacob and Cara are the two most pleasant, nontoxic members of the Dutton family depicted in the Yellowstone franchise thus far. Not only do they put their fellow family members in higher regard than their land (unlike certain Duttons of later generations), but Jacob and Cara openly show their love for one another and their relatives. Yellowstone demonstrates that these qualities have been mostly lost by the 21st-century Duttons, who are often openly cruel to one another, sometimes even placing the worth of their ancestral ranch over the well-being of certain family members.
In my opinion, 1923’s Duttons feel like more rounded characters than those of the original Yellowstone. Jacob and Cara set a precedent that their nephews and their descendants would sadly ignore more and more as generations passed. I love the simple, romantic moments that the senior Duttons share with another (Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren demonstrate a beautiful chemistry in every scene they share), which only goes to show that the family can function well in the absence of the toxicity of Yellowstone’s main cast. It is also far easier to connect to characters who aren’t completely selfish. While Yellowstone works hard to make viewers fall in love with inherently flawed characters like Beth and Rip, it is also a nice reprieve to see that not all of the Duttons suffer from the same character flaws.
How Did the Duttons Become So Toxic?
The Duttons Must Constantly Fight For Their Land
Unfortunately, by the time audiences meet John Dutton in the original Yellowstone series, the family has gone far downhill from the well-adjusted days of Jacob and Cara. At the tail end of the Dutton regime, the family lost almost all bonds of love, mostly united by a sick need to earn the approval of their patriarch. John Dutton was a toxic boss more than he was a father to his children, all of whom desperately vied for his affection and received little more than his approval–and then, only some of the time. Beth did everything and everything she could to earn her father’s praise, coming the closest of any of the children to maintain a loving relationship with John. Meanwhile, John regularly tried to control Kayce, who was forced to separate himself from his family altogether. As he slowly returned to the ranch, Kayce found himself becoming increasingly like his father, only saved by John’s sudden death. Worst of all, John openly emotionally abused and purposely overshadowed Jamie, later intimating that he never really loved the adopted boy (though he certainly did in his own sick way). Yet even Jamie was obsessed with pleasing John–until he finally broke free and turned heel.
Throughout Yellowstone, the Duttons committed heinous atrocities in the name of appeasing their unscrupulous patriarch. And, although even the audience grows to love John Dutton in some strange form of Stockholm Syndrome, there is no denying that he is a far cry from the loving and nurturing nature of Jacob and Cara a century earlier. Taylor Sheridan used Yellowstone to bring extremely complex characters to life, showing that even terrible people are capable of good–and vice versa. However, 1923 aims to pain a less moral gray cast. Although Jacob and Cara aren’t above the Dutton tradition of bending rules to their benefit, they at least maintain a loving family unit that, while imperfect, is mostly constructive. The Duttons of the early 20th century are a far better (and more amicable) family than those we met in Yellowstone. While we may never learn exactly what makes the Duttons so toxic, their obsession with maintaining their ancestral ranch likely played a big role in their downfall. As each generation became increasingly obsessed with keeping the land, they slowly forgot about what really mattered.
Jake and Cara Make the Duttons a More Believable Family
It’s Important to See What the Duttons Used to Be (and Should Have Been)
As the best couple in the Yellowstone franchise, Jacob and Cara help make the Dutton family more believable. At times, the Duttons of Yellowstone felt almost too ridiculous to be real, becoming palpably toxic over their five-season adventure. However, it is helpful to know that their family has not always been this way. A century earlier, the Dutton family was headed up by a surprisingly constructive couple who weren’t afraid to show their love for one another. Somewhere along the way, the Duttons lost sight of this example, descending into the toxic structure depicted in Yellowstone.
Thankfully, there is still time for the Duttons to break the cycle of abuse and toxicity. In the series finale of Yellowstone, Beth and Kayce decide to finally sell the majority of their ranch, ending their centuries-long claim to the land. Now free of the burden that the Yellowstone placed on their shoulders, the few remaining Duttons can explore who they are without the ranch. No longer in danger of transforming into his father, Kayce can focus on raising his son in a more constructive environment than he experienced as a child. Meanwhile, Beth and Rip can establish a new and better way of living on their own ranch, free from the looming threat of disapproval that John Dutton once presented. Selling the Yellowstone Ranch may have been the best thing the Duttons have ever done.
