1923 Season 2 Finale Recap and Ending Explained: How Do Spencer and Alex Reunite?

The seventh and final episode of the second season of Paramount+’s Western series ‘1923,’ titled ‘A Dream and a Memory,’ revolves around an epic showdown between the Duttons and the forces of Donald Whitfield. The wait for the arrival of Spencer Dutton finally concludes when the war for the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch escalates. Even though he wants to prioritize being a good husband, his obligation toward his loved ones and their land takes him to the frontline once again. Alexandra “Alex” Dutton’s efforts to reunite with the love of her life lead her to a pivotal decision concerning her fate. The sophomore installment then ends with an ambiguous yet heartwarming depiction of the star-crossed lovers! SPOILERS AHEAD.

1923 Season 2 Episode 7 Recap

‘A Dream and a Memory’ begins with Alex trying to survive in the middle of nowhere while dealing with the freezing cold. She finds a lighter inside Paul’s coat and burns the letters Spencer received from his aunt, Cara Dutton, to provide herself with some heat. Back in Montana, the wait for the World War I veteran continues. Jacob Dutton and Sheriff William McDowell wait for the train in Livingston to protect the former’s nephew from an attack planned by the men of Donald Whitfield and Banner Creighton. While the vicious businessman meets his investors to discuss his new project based in the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch and celebrates the potential acquisition of the land, the Scotsman grows tired of assisting the former.

Even though Banner’s association with Donald has made him rich, he realizes that he has grown evil and is ineligible to face his own son. Even though he has committed several crimes, the same never weighed on him since they were essential for his survival. However, he fails to justify the acts he does to serve the businessman, which convinces him to leave Montana for Portland, Oregon, with his wife and their child. His attempt at redemption and a fresh start is stopped by none other than Jacob, who does not want to let the man who started the war leave without facing the consequences. Still, the Dutton patriarch promises the sheep herder that he will let the latter’s family aboard the train to survive.

As Jacob waits for Spencer, Donald’s men arrive at the Yellowstone Dutton ranch to kill the Duttons in the house. They start with murdering Sam, which makes Jasper alert the ranch foreman, Zane Davis, and other ranch hands like Randy and Dennis about the imminent attack. The men join Cara to retaliate with guns. They even succeed enough to force the group to retreat to the hills until the night. Out in a frozen wasteland, Alex asks God why he is punishing her, only to hear the whistle of an upcoming train. She creates a big noticeable fire inside Paul and Hillary’s car to make the train stop. Although it does not stop for her, Spencer notices her and jumps from the same to reunite with the love of his life.

After Spencer jumps from the train, it stops for him and Alex. A doctor on board inspects the Englishwoman and saves her from an immediate tragedy. He asks the husband and wife to remain on the train till Bozeman, where he has arranged an ambulance to take her to a hospital. Unknown to the war veteran, a separate group of Donald’s men arrive at the train station in Livingston to kill him. When the train reaches there, a shootout ensues between Jacob’s group and the antagonist’s stooges. Amid the gunfight, Sheriff McDowell gets shot but does not die. Banner recognizes one of his men, who is hired by the sheriff’s office, at the scene and kills him. McDowell, without realizing that the Scotsman is helping his group, shoots down the latter.

Banner dies after seeing his wife and son boarding the train to start a new chapter of their lives. After the shootout ends, Jacob gets on the train and meets his nephew, Spencer, with a wound. The doctor who treats Alex notices the injury and insists on treating him. The war veteran explains to Jacob that he has to remain beside his wife for now, but the Dutton patriarch reminds the former that their family may not survive the delay. Alex understands the predicament and lets her husband get off at Livingston to end the war between the Duttons and Donald. Jacob stays beside the Englishwoman on his nephew’s behalf and ensures that she is taken to a hospital after they reach Bozeman.

While the Duttons fight the war against Donald, Teonna Rainwater gets spotted by Marshal Mamie Fossett. The officer brings the Native American girl to a court in Oklahoma for her due process. Since the witnesses involved in the case are all dead and the lack of evidence benefits her, the prosecution decides to scrap the case against Teonna. After becoming a free woman, she embarks on a journey towards the West to California since she has no family to be with back home.

1923 Season 2 Ending: What Does the English Ball Scene Mean?

The second season of ‘1923’ ends with a scene set at an English ball, where Spencer and Alex meet each other after a long while, only to join hands to dance together. The particular sequence takes place in the afterlife upon the World War I veteran’s death. The scene displays their love and commitment to each other, which brings them together after both of them are dead. Spencer and Alex are two star-crossed lovers who deal with unfortunate challenges and obstacles from the moment they form a relationship. Whenever they try to remain together, they are forced to bid adieu to each other. Even though they get married after escaping from the Englishwoman’s fiancé and family, the latter group eventually returns to their lives to separate them.

Spencer and Alex’s reunion after getting separated in Marseille, France, happens when Donald Whitfield sets his eyes on the Dutton Ranch. The war veteran gets forced to leave his wife, who accepts her impending death because of her exposure to life-threatening cold by then. Both Spencer and Alex have confronted death while trying to be with each other, and these circumstances have made their lives difficult. The couple has never been able to live a happy life together. Nor are they able to cherish finer experiences like an English ball. Even though they both are from influential families, they fail to encounter anything opulent together when they are alive.

After Spencer and Alex’s deaths, the worldly concerns, obligations, and challenges cease to exist. They no longer need to worry about the forces or circumstances that can or want to separate them. In a way, their deaths liberate them from their other priorities and compromises. Thus, finally, they reunite in the afterlife, where they are not bothered by anyone or anything. Since Spencer passes away 45 years after the demise of Alex, she tells him about her long wait to be with him again. Furthermore, the English ball represents the luxury they haven’t been able to afford or experience after getting together as a couple.

The final scene of the second season of ‘1923’ also highlights how inseparable Spencer and Alex really are. Even though life has separated them many times, they conquer everything that happens to be on their way to being together again, although in the afterlife. The scene shows us that not even death can truly separate them from being a couple.

Who is Spencer and Alex’s Son John? Is He John Dutton II?

One of the overarching mysteries of ‘1923’ is the history behind John Dutton II, the father of John Dutton III, Kevin Costner’s protagonist in the mothership series ‘Yellowstone.’ John II was initially considered the son of Jack and Elizabeth Dutton, and the viewers were forced to reevaluate this conclusion following the latter’s miscarriage in the first season. In the finale of the sophomore installment, Alex gives birth to her and Spencer’s son, whom she names John after her husband’s late brother, John Dutton Sr. Since the Englishwoman and the war veteran’s son is the second John in the family, it is safe to conclude that he is the same John II.

Even though the epilogue of the second season reveals that Spencer has a second son with a widow, the chances of this boy being John II are little to none. First of all, the war veteran does not marry the said widow to accept his second child as his legitimate heir. Considering the conservative legal frameworks of 20th-century Montana, such a son becoming the lord of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is unimaginable. In addition, Spencer may not have named the child John since it is also the name of his firstborn. Even if we consider the possibility of the first son dying early, since he is born way before he attains maturity inside Alex’s womb, an illegitimate child becoming the father of John Dutton III is nearly an impossibility.

The second season of the show further affirms that Jack and Elizabeth are not the parents of John II. Upon learning about her husband’s death, she leaves the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to start a new chapter of her life. Such a person has no reason to name her child after her dead father-in-law, especially since she must have married another person who has nothing to do with the Duttons. Considering these factors, we can conclude that Spencer and Alex’s John is the John II we know from ‘Yellowstone,’ which also explains why Cara calls him the “future” of the Dutton family.

Where Does Elizabeth Go? Why? What Happens to Her Baby?

Elizabeth leaves the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch seemingly for Boston, where she initially plans to settle after breaking up with Jack Dutton. The young woman decides to leave the family for good after nearly getting killed by a rabid wolf in the second episode of the sophomore installment. She becomes convinced that she does not want to sacrifice her life at the ranch, even if it means she has to part ways with Jack. In other words, Elizabeth has always valued her life over her relationship with her husband. Still, she decides against leaving when she learns that she is pregnant with Jack’s baby.

However, after Jack’s death, Elizabeth has no reason to remain at the ranch anymore. She knows that the place is not suitable for either her or her unborn baby, especially after confronting her death at a short distance again because of the men sent by Donald Whitfield. The young woman does not want to deal with another winter, another rabid wolf, or another vicious businessman, which is a good enough reason for her to leave the ranch. Although she tells Cara that she will always have Jack in her heart, the former is experienced enough to know that she may remarry and become the matriarch of another family.

If Cara is right, Elizabeth must have become part of another prominent family, likely in Boston. Since she has lost a baby before due to a miscarriage, we can’t be sure about her completing the term and giving birth to one after her departure from the Duttons. If she has given birth to Jack’s child, she possibly raised the kid without any association with the Duttons. Since Elizabeth wants a fresh start, it doesn’t make any sense for her to raise her baby as a Dutton, far away from Yellowstone. However, it does not mean that we can completely rule out the child’s association with the Duttons.

‘The Madison,’ an upcoming spin-off of the mothership series ‘Yellowstone,’ revolves around the McIntosh family from New York City. While we are yet to learn whether this family has any connection with the Duttons, Elizabeth’s storyline makes us wonder whether a link can be her baby. New York City is not far away from Boston, where she wants to settle down. If her second marriage leads her to the McIntosh family, her child may have grown up among the New Yorkers. If that’s really the case, the McIntosh family members we will meet in ‘The Madison’ can be the descendants of Elizabeth’s son or daughter.

Why Does Alex Dutton Choose to Die Over Surgery?

Spencer reunites with Alex after she nearly dies due to frostbite. Upon spending around two days on a frozen wasteland, she is lucky to have found a way to remain alive. When she reaches a hospital in Bozeman, her condition further worsens. She gives birth to John prematurely, which makes the doctors predict that he will only live an hour. Alex then chooses to die over surgery because of two reasons. First of all, she does not want to stay away from her son. As a mother, she does not want to abandon her child to death to prioritize her own well-being.

Alex decides to spend as much time with John as possible, even if it means she has to sacrifice her life to do it. She sees no meaning in her survival as a mother after leaving her child to die alone. If John dies, she wants him to leave this world after experiencing her warmth and love. She knows that she cannot raise any more babies after leaving one to die. The second reason is that her surgery will result in removing her feet and hands. Alex does not want to live as a person who would need help or assistance even to fulfill basic functions.

Alex embraces death over her life as a grown child who demands care from her loved ones. She does not want to burden anyone with her limitations or disabilities following her surgery. Instead of living a life that will be filled with hardships and challenges, she chooses to die. Her belief that John will die soon also gives weight to this second reason. Contrary to what the doctors say, Alex’s son remains alive, proving the one-hour window a wrongful assumption. Would Alex have chosen to live without her feet and hands if she had known John would survive? It is hard to answer, but she has no way of knowing the future, which makes her accept her death easily.

Spencer Dutton Kills Donald Whitfield and Protects the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch

After the shootout concludes at the Livingston railway station, Spencer arrives at his house in the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to protect Cara, Elizabeth, and the ones working at the place. He singlehandedly kills Donald’s men and asks his aunt about the mastermind behind the attack, only for her to inform him about Donald. The war veteran then joins his uncle, Jacob, to confront the vicious businessman after Alex dies lying beside him. Spencer’s wrath towards Donald intensifies after he loses the love of his life to death. He sees the businessman as the real killer of his wife since his greed to conquer the Dutton Ranch makes Cara write for him.

If Donald had not set his eyes on the Dutton Ranch, Spencer wouldn’t have had to prioritize his family and land over being with Alex. The businessman’s action makes the war veteran leave for Montana after abandoning his wife to her fate, which results in her death after exposure to a fatal cold for two days. Thus, Spencer confronts Donald not only as the person who is after his land but also as the murderer of his wife. The young man puts a bullet in Donald’s body right after seeing him, even before uttering a word. Soon, the confrontation ends with more bullets in the businessman’s body that kill him.

Spencer and Jacob also put fire to Donald’s mansion to send a message to all the businessmen like the latter. Montana has become the place where the rich come to become even richer. The uncle and the nephew don’t want to deal with any of that in the future. They want these potential threats to fear them after learning about what happened to Donald and his “royal palace.” In other words, killing the businessman is not all about exacting the Duttons’ vengeance. It is also their way of sending a message that nobody should dare to touch the Dutton Ranch. Fortunately, Spencer lets Mabel, the sex worker tortured by Donald, escape from the place before he kills the businessman.

Donald’s mansion then burns down with the dead bodies of the businessman and Lindy, who gets killed by Spencer for standing up against him for her master. After the old man becomes no longer a threat to the ranch, Jacob retires and decides to spend the rest of his life playing with his grandnephew, John, and experiencing the peace and comfort of doing nothing with Cara, sitting at the porch of their house.