Paramount+’s 1923 season two episode two moves Spencer just a tad bit closer to Montana while Alex battles sea sickness as she heads to New York. The brutal winter isolates the Yellowstone Ranch, leaving it vulnerable to wolves and mountain lions. Episode two also briefly checks in on Teonna in Texas and on Marshal Kent’s obsessive manhunt.
(Spoilers ahead!)
All of Banner’s sheep have died, and Whitfield can only chuckle, noting Banner killed men to save his flock and they died anyway. “All it took was a worm to destroy everything you fought for,” says Whitfield. Whitfield eyes fill with dollar signs as he envisions a new income stream while watching his Norwegian mine workers ski down the mountain.
Over in Bozeman, Commissioner Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick) meet with Judge Roy Garrett (Patrick Burch) to discuss Zane and Alice’s legal problems. The judge has already found Alice guilty of cohabiting with a Caucasian man. All that’s left is determining her sentence and the disposition of her children. No matter what he decides, it will mean the children (or mongrels, as he calls them) will cost the state money. Plus, Zane’s costing money while being cared for at the county hospital.
Jacob offers to take in all of them. They’ll stay at the Yellowstone and avoid going into town. Roy agrees but warns that if anyone sees them together in public, they will be jailed. However, Alice needs to identify the priest who married them before Roy will release any of them.
Jacob tells the judge that his limit has been reached. He sniffs a coffee cup, passes it to Sheriff McDowell, and then grabs a bottle from the judge’s drawer. “We’ll tell you the name of the preacher when you give us the name of our liquor contact,” growls Jacob. McDowell threatens to take Roy in, and Roy immediately signs the release order.
Jacob and Jack head to the hospital to retrieve Zane (Brian Geraghty). Jacob’s dead set against spending another night in town, even if it means they’ll have to endure a blizzard on the ride home. Zane’s in horrible shape and the doctors haven’t done anything to treat him. He claims that if he stands up, he feels excruciating pain in his head. Jacob sends Jack to get Zane’s wife and kids. After he leaves, Zane confesses he doesn’t know why the town turned on his family. Jacob confirms it was all Whitfield’s doing. When spring arrives, they’ll go after him.
The Winter and Wild Animals Torment Elizabeth
Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) makes the hike to the henhouse and discovers all the chickens are dead. A wolf is still busy eating and Elizabeth slams the door, racing through the snow. It’s much faster than she is and bites her leg before a cowboy, Spade, fires a few shots, missing the wolf but scaring it away. It only goes a couple hundred feet before turning around to stare at Elizabeth, face blood-soaked.
Cara (Helen Mirren) carves some meat and grabs a few of the remaining vegetables and eggs from the icehouse. She’s just emerging from the underground storage when Elizabeth’s brought back to the house. Cara sends Spade off to fetch the doctor, even with a blizzard threatening to arrive soon. Cara’s justifiably worried that the wolf was rabid since it attacked a human during the day. If so, Elizabeth is going to need shots.
The blizzard hits, making it impossible for Jacob and his men to see their way through the woods. They’re forced to pull up next to the pines and flip the wagon over. Once it’s turned upside down, there’s room inside for everyone to huddle together and stay out of the wind and snow. The horses are allowed to run free; if left tied up they’d freeze to death. The horses will find lower ground and then, hopefully, the cowboys can locate them once it’s safe to travel.
Cara waits by the fire, worried about Jacob and the men and waiting for Dr. Miller and his nurse to arrive. Dr. Miller inspects Elizabeth’s wound and agrees with Cara, they can’t take any chances and need to start treatment. Elizabeth will need 12 very painful shots in her stomach over the next 10 days to combat rabies. Elizabeth refuses the shots, and she’s held down while Dr. Miller administers the first one. It’s for her own good.
Dr. Miller and the nurse are forced to spend the night, and Cara has a room set up for the doctor. The nurse volunteers to sleep downstairs on the couch. While retrieving blankets, Cara hears Elizabeth sobbing. Elizabeth loves her husband, but this isn’t living; it’s just surviving. Cara attempts to convince her that everything will be better in the spring, but Elizabeth insists that when the storm passes, she’s going home.
Cara wakes from sleep after hearing a thud and a scream. She grabs her rifle and heads downstairs. Snow blankets the living room as she makes her way cautiously through the house. Elsa’s voice-over began the episode by explaining that only fire has a more destructive effect on the mountain than a blizzard. Elsa picks up the narration, saying hell is winter, a bitter cold that “ruptures lungs and rapes your sanity.” Cara discovers the wolf has broken into her house and has killed and eaten the nurse. It lunges toward her, mouth smeared with blood, and Cara fires.
Teonna Continues to Evade the Law
Teonna (Aminah Nieves) and Pete (Jeremy Guana) return to camp after spending the night alone and Runs His Horse (Michael Spears) knows exactly what his daughter was up to. Pete fills him in on the cowboy they ran into and that they’re currently camped in Texas on a ranch. Runs His Horse is confused, believing this area still belongs to Quanah Parker. Pete explains Parker’s people moved on, but the ranch doesn’t mind if they camp out on their land.
Runs His Horse wants to leave, but Teonna thinks they should help the cowboys look for strays in exchange for staying. Teonna’s dad decides to track the cowboy and speak with the rancher. He advises his daughter and Pete to stay hidden.
Meanwhile, Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) arrive in Anadarko, Oklahoma, still attempting to locate Teonna. Kent, a racist misogynist, is stunned to discover Marshal Fossett (Jennifer Carpenter) is in charge. He can’t believe she patrols this territory and Fossett calls him “a bigot living in the wrong century.” She threatens to toss him out and Father Renaud’s forced to take over the conversation. He shows Fossett a photo of Teonna and her classmates, and explains she murdered at least five people. They believe she’s running with renegades from the Crow agency.
Fossett has her assistant, Esther, draw a sketch of Teonna that can be used on wanted posters. She warns Kent to tread lightly. Oklahoma is not Montana.
That night, Kent, Father Renaud, and Marshal Thomas (Ross Crain) discuss the future of Indians around a campfire. Kent can’t believe Republicans want to grant Indians full United States citizenship rights, but Father Renaud believes it’s inevitable. Father Renaud insists he loves the Indians who choose to assimilate. He also supports interracial marriage.
Their conversation ends when Marshal Thomas is shot with an arrow. Kent and Renaud take cover and Kent forces Renaud to take a gun. They shoot and kill their attackers, including a small child. One man’s injured and tries to crawl away, and Kent mercilessly finishes him off.
Spencer Returns to the States
Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and Luca (Andy Dispensa) help move boxes of alcohol onshore in Galveston. Spencer and Luca look totally out of place as they walk through Luca’s uncles’ ritzy hotel. Luca’s greeted warmly by Maceo and he introduces Spencer as the man who saved his life. Luca told Maceo that Spencer likes to fight, and Spencer quickly corrects that. People think he’s trouble, and Spencer’s forced to defend himself.
Maceo wants to host a celebration but right now Spencer just wants to eat. He’s handed his first-ever slice of pizza and the chef stops him when he uses a fork. Spencer takes a bite and loves it.
He asks Maceo’s man, Angelo, to show him to a telegraph office so he can contact his family. The man thinks there’s no rush, but Spencer knows every minute counts. Mission accomplished, Spencer attempts to leave but Angelo assures him Maceo has set him up with a room for the night and a fancy dinner. If Spencer refuses the offer, Maceo will be insulted.
Spencer knocks Angelo out when he tries to stop him from leaving. He sets out walking, but the train station’s miles away. Night falls, and Maceo’s men surround him on a bridge. They deliver a ruthless beating. He’s taken back to the hotel and Maceo can’t believe Spencer turned down his hospitality. Spencer reminds him he never asked for it and doesn’t want it. He only wants to get home to Montana to help his family fight for their land. Spencer says his family’s losing their war over their land and Maceo can relate to that. However, Spencer disrespected him and that needs to be dealt with.
Maceo believes he can trust Spencer since he’s a man with a cause. He’s prepared to give him something to help him get to Montana. Maceo has a truck loaded with whiskey and gives Spencer instructions on where to deliver it in Fort Worth. Spencer will travel on the roads Maceo controls, and he can keep the truck when he’s done. Luca will return home by train. Maceo hands him money for bribes in case they run into a roadblock. He also gives him a pistol for those cops who can’t be bribed.
Nothing About Alexandra’s Journey to America is Easy
The ship’s rocked in a storm, and everyone in tourist class clings to their bunks while tossing their cookies. Alex (Julia Schlaepfer) thinks about a letter she wrote Spencer, informing him she’s heading to him, driven by a dream to have his arms around her and their bodies pressed together.
- Recap of 1923 Episode 1
- 1923 Season 1 Episode 2 “Nature’s Empty Throne” Recap
- 1923 Season 1 Episode 3 “The War Has Come Home” Recap
- 1923 Season 1 Episode 4 “War and the Turquoise Tide” Recap
- 1923 Season 1 Episode 5 “Ghost of Zebrina” Recap
- 1923 Season 1 Episode 6 “One Ocean Closer to Destiny” Recap
- 1923 Season 1 Episode 7 “The Rule of Five Hundred” Recap
- 1923 Season 1 Episode 8 “Nothing Left to Lose” Finale Recap
- 1923 Season 2 Episode 1 “The Killing Season” Recap
- 1923 Season 2 Episode 3 “Wrap Thee in Terror” Recap
- 1923 Season 2 Episode 4 “Journey the Rivers of Iron” Recap
- 1923 Season 2 Episode 5 “Only Gunshots to Guide Us” Recap
- 1923 Season 2 Episode 6 “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters” Recap
- 1923 Season 2 Episode 7 Finale Recap
