Warning: SPOILERS for 1923 Season 2’s Finale – “A Dream and a Memory”1923’s finale unlocks something that Jacob Dutton’s (Harrison Ford) brother, James Dutton (Tim McGraw), fought for in 1883, the earliest-set Yellowstone show.

In 1923 season 2’s finale, Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) finally made it home to his family’s ranch. Spencer helped his uncle, Jacob, fend off Banner Creighton’s (Jerome Flynn) men at the train station in Livingston.

He then went home to help Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) finish the war against Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), taking down their enemies who intended to take Spencer out at the train station and then take control of the ranch.

Jacob Dutton in 1923 and James Dutton (Tim McGraw) in 1883

Spencer’s nephew, Jack Dutton (Darren Mann), wasn’t around to help win the family’s war. Jack was shot dead by one of Banner’s crooked livestock agents in 1923 season 2, episode 6.

After the war, Jack’s widow, Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph), said goodbye to Cara and the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, leaving the future of Jack’s baby a mystery.

While we don’t yet know how she connects to the Dutton family, it was also a bittersweet conclusion for Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), who went free in 1923′s finale. Spencer’s ending was bittersweet, too, but restored something important.

 

Spencer Dutton’s 1923 Season 2 Ending Explained

Spencer Dutton Takes Over For Jacob Dutton

At the end of 1923 season 2, Spencer takes the helm of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, instilling hope in his family after their tragic losses. In her narration that closed out the finale, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), Spencer’s late older sister, revealed that Spencer would live for 45 more years, dying at the ripe old age of 80.

While Spencer taking control of the ranch and living a prosperous life was certainly an achievement, especially for a Dutton, his ending was dejected by the death of his wife, Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer), who died of hypothermia, and whom he never forgot.

1923 Stole 1883's Ending & It Was The Finale's Best Moment

In the half-century between 1923’s ending and Spencer Dutton’s time jump, which flashes forward to Spencer collapsing on Alexandra’s grave in 1969, we can assume he ran the ranch.

However, as Spencer aged, we could also presume that he eventually passed the ranch down to his next of kin, and probably Alex Dutton’s child, John Dutton, whom she miraculously delivers in the finale.

As a family business and legendary property, the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch has been passed down to the next of kin for generations. That said, Spencer’s uncle disrupted the ranch’s succession, for good reason, in 1894.

How Spencer’s 1923 Ending Restores 1883’s Story

Spencer Takes Control Of His Father’s Legacy

Spencer’s parents, James and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill), are the first-known members of the Dutton family tree in Yellowstone. The couple made a northwest journey on the Oregon Trail in 1883, ultimately establishing the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.

The family settled in Paradise Valley after Elsa Dutton’s death in 1883 caused them to truncate their journey and head to Montana, laying Elsa to rest in the Paradise Valley. After Elsa’s death, Margaret has another child, Spencer, but things don’t get easier for the family. In Yellowstone flashbacks, we learn that James died in a gunfight in 1893.

Had James not died in 1893, John Dutton I or Spencer would have eventually taken over the ranch’s cattle operations.

Had James not died in 1893, John Dutton I or Spencer would have eventually taken over the ranch’s cattle operations. Instead, Margaret Dutton writes to James’ brother, Jacob, asking him to move to Montana and save what their family fought for.

When Jacob arrives in 1894, however, he finds Margaret frozen in a snow drift. Therefore, as we learn from Elsa Dutton’s narration in 1923’s premiere, Jacob and Cara Dutton take control of the ranch in 1894. Their ownership breaks the ranch’s natural succession, with James being unable to pass the ranch to Spencer or John.

John Dutton in Yellowstone and Alex and Spencer Dutton in 1923

Spencer takes over the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch in 1923’s finale, and that restores something that James’ death and Jacob’s running the ranch interrupted, in a sense. James Dutton’s vision was always to pass the ranch down to his sons, presumably, and he would have wanted Spencer to run it without a doubt.

Furthermore, there was no competition for Spencer to take over. Jacob and Cara Dutton didn’t have children, and Spencer’s brother, John, died in 1923 season 1, episode 3, when Banner Creighton shot him. Spencer taking control of the ranch was a necessary ending and restored James’ dream.

Who Will Run The Yellowstone Ranch After Spencer Dutton?

Elsa Dutton Reveals Spencer Has Two Sons

Spencer Dutton and a horse in 1923's finale

Since Kevin Costner’s John Dutton eventually took control of the Dutton Ranch in Yellowstone, we know that Spencer passed the ranch down, and its succession continued within the family until Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes).

Therefore, Spencer will pass the ranch down to the next of kin. Spencer has two options for passing the ranch down to his children: John Dutton or his child with a mysterious widow, revealed in 1923’s finale.

If Spencer and Alex’s baby, John, is indeed John Dutton II, then we know he took over and ran the ranch until Costner’s era.