Warning! SPOILERS For 1923 Season 2, Episode 4, “Journey The Rivers Of Iron”1923 confirms a piece of Dutton family history that remains unchanged into John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) Yellowstone era.

The second season of Taylor Sheridan’s Prohibition-era prequel about the Dutton family has grave and ominous tones. A mountain lion appears on their porch in 1923‘s season 2 premiere, heralding “the killing season” that affects every member of the Dutton family in unique and profound ways.

Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) has watched everyone around him struggle as he silently deals with the passing of his father, John I (James Badge Dale), and waits to avenge his death.

John Dutton looking very sad in Yellowstone

Jack’s wife, Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph), is also having a hard winter, especially after a rabid wolf bites her leg in 1923 season 2, episode 2, causing a series of unfortunate circumstances.

Meanwhile, Helen Mirren’s Cara Dutton waits for Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) to return, who is fighting his way back to the ranch while thinking about his wife, Alexandra of Sussex (Julia Schlaepfer), with every stride. That said, Harrison Ford’s Jacob Dutton faces a hurdle that is more removed from the wild nature of the land, although it represents “the killing season” that Elsa Dutton’s narration describes just as well.

1923 Confirms That Every Dutton Generation Lacked The Money To Keep Yellowstone Financially Secure

Jacob Dutton Struggles To Pay The Yellowstone Ranch’s Taxes

The end of 1923 season 1 and 1923 season 2 confirm a sad fact for the Dutton family: Jacob Dutton lacks the financial resources to maintain ownership of the Yellowstone Ranch, as does likely every generation of the family that succeeds him. We know that John Dutton III shares his ancestor’s financial hurdles.

After John’s death, the Duttons lose the ranch in Yellowstone season 5, episode 14, when Kayce (Luke Grimes) sells it to the Broken Rock tribe in Yellowstone‘s series finale. While Kayce makes just over one million dollars selling the ranch to Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), it’s worth much more than that.

The Dutton family’s greatest asset was their land, not the cash in their bank accounts.

The Dutton family’s greatest asset was their land, not the cash in their bank accounts. In Yellowstone season 5, John plans to lease land in Texas to feed his herd over the winter.

He tells Beth (Kelly Reilly) that he needs $1.4 million a month and is taking out a loan to pay the bill. During a heated argument that ensues due to Beth knowing they can’t spare the expense, John and his daughter argue back and forth, highlighting that the ranch hardly ever turns a profit. Therefore, Jacob’s dilemma regarding the ranch’s finances is a lasting debacle.

Jacob Dutton Can Lose The Yellowstone Ranch To Donald Whitfield

Donald Whitfield Paid The Yellowstone Ranch’s Taxes

Whitfield serving Jacob Dutton

Just like John’s kids risked losing the ranch if they couldn’t pay the mortgage to cover the Yellowstone Ranch’s massive tax bill, Jacob Dutton is at risk of losing the ranch due to his inability to pay its taxes.

Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) reveals in 1923 season 1’s finale that Jacob was behind on his property taxes. Donald insidiously paid them, meaning that the deed for the ranch will revert to Whitfield if Dutton doesn’t pay his taxes. In 1923 season 2, episode 1, Jacob says he got last year’s taxes paid, but worries about the next year.

Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton and Luke Grimes as Kayce Dutton in Yellowstone.

Kayce and Beth losing the ranch because they can’t pay the inheritance tax means Jacob’s dilemma in 1923 lasts for over a century, proving that the Dutton family shoulders a massive financial burden in maintaining the largest contiguous ranch in the United States.

In Yellowstone season 5’s finale, Mo Brings Plenty tells a group of Broken Rock children not to knock over and dishonor the Dutton family’s graves because, “They protected this land. They died for this land.” While sometimes they protected it in more militant ways, the Dutton family also maintained the ranch as a business.

Jacob Doesn’t Have His Own Beth Dutton To Find Ways To Make Yellowstone Money

Beth Studied Finance In College

Beth with a bruised eye in Yellowstone

The difference between John’s struggle in Yellowstone and Jacob’s struggle in 1923 is that the latter shoulders the financial burden on his own, whereas Kevin Costner’s patriarch has Beth to help him navigate the unruly tides of the ranch’s finances.

Especially in Yellowstone season 5, Beth looks for ways to make the ranch money. She tells her dad in Yellowstone season 5, episode 7, that they should package and sell their beef, pleading with her father and assuring him that she can be the one to “figure out the re-packer” that stumps every other rancher from distributing their beef personally.