Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) blames Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) for Alex Dutton’s (Julia Schlaepfer) tragic death in 1923’s finale. Still, the greedy mining tycoon is just one of the many culprits responsible for her fate. At the end of 1923 season 2, Alexandra dies of complications from hypothermia, opting out of having her arm and legs amputated as her frozen limbs succumb to necrosis. The event topped the long list of horrible things that happened to Alex Dutton in 1923, leading Spencer to kill Whitfield in his dining room, exacting vengeance for his loss and the war on his family.
Alex’s death was a multifaceted event, and many factors contributed to Spencer’s partner being unable to join him at the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Their journey began when the pair met in Nairobi, Kenya, as Alexandra of Sussex was on a holiday to celebrate her engagement to the Earl of Sussex, and Spencer was between hunting excursions. Alex ran away with Spencer, and the pair fell in love. They wed and decided to spend their lives together. However, Alex and Spencer’s love story was ill-fated in the end. Still, Whitfield isn’t entirely to blame.
7Donald Whitfield
Donald Whitfield Funded The War Against Jacob Dutton’s Family
In the final scene of the Dutton family’s Prohibition-era war in 1923 season 2, Spencer kills Donald Whitfield, shooting him in the head for killing his wife. Spencer’s display of vengeance turns into a dramatic affair, with Jacob’s nephew yelling at Whitfield in a booming voice to say Alex’s name as the mining tycoon sits at his dining table. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Brandon Skelnar addressed Spencer’s scene with Whitfield, explaining why he blames the villain for losing his life partner:
Sklenar explained that, while a bit of dialogue was cut, Spencer blamed Whitfield for Alexandra’s death because Donald came after his family, which prompted his journey home. However, Spencer blaming Whitfield for Alex’s death still makes no sense, despite Sklenar’s explanation, because Whitfield wasn’t the one who came after Spencer’s family. Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) is the one who started the war against the Duttons, firing at them on their way home from Bozeman in 1923 season 1, episode 3, and killing John Dutton (James Badge Dale).
1923 season 1 contains a line about Spencer Dutton that suggests Alex Dutton lives after season 2, but Taylor Sheridan had something else planned.
Still, the explanation that I accept for Spencer blaming Donald Whitfield for Alex’s death is that he doesn’t know any differently. Spencer is grieving after Alex Dutton’s death in the finale, and when he asks his aunt, Cara (Helen Mirren), who is to blame for the war against their family, which inadvertently caused Alex’s fate, his aunt points him to Donald Whitfield. Spencer has had virtually no communication with his family, and there’s no time to explain that Banner is the one who attacked the Dutton family first, prompting Spencer’s journey home.
Harrison Ford’s Jacob Dutton in 1923 solved a Dutton Ranch problem that Kevin Costner’s John Dutton never hacked in Yellowstone’s five seasons.
Banner was the Duttons’ original adversary in 1923. He blames Jacob Dutton for the tribulations he faces with raising sheep, accusing the rancher of being greedy about the Dutton Ranch’s resources. However, Banner is the one causing issues, allowing his sheep to graze on others’ land and shooting at Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) when he is the one trespassing. Therefore, if Spencer is looking to blame the person who started the war against his family for Alex’s death, he should have blamed Banner.
5Spencer Dutton
Spencer Dutton’s Actions Caused His Separation From Alex
1923‘s central hero could be looking for someone to blame because, in reality, Spencer Dutton is partially responsible for Alex’s death. After they join forces and fall in love in 1923 season 1, Spencer and Alex retreat to a hut on the shore of Zanzibar, Tanganyika. It is there, as they enjoy long days in the sun and nights in bed, that Alex encourages Spencer to read the backlog of letters from his aunt, uncovering Cara’s plea for Spencer to return to Montana. The moment prompts Alex and Spencer to make a journey from Africa to America.
Spencer Dutton has had a long road to where we see him in 1923 season 2. Here’s his entire story pieced together by the three Yellowstone shows.
Their journey to Montana at the end of 1923 season 1 is full of obstacles, but Alex and Spencer overcome everything that’s hurled at them until they board a British liner heading for London. It is there that Alex and Spencer encounter the remainder of Alex’s wedding party, returning home from their excursion. Upon seeing his would-be wife with Spencer, Alex’s former fiancé, Arthur (Rafe Soule), the Earl of Sussex, challenges Spencer to a duel, and it ends when Dutton throws the English noble overboard.
The massive 1923 season 2 finale confirmed one character for Taylor Sheridan’s next Yellowstone prequel about the Dutton family, 1944.
Therefore, it was Spencer’s actions, in part, that caused the Earl of Sussex to separate the couple, which he was able to do since they were aboard a British asset. Had Spencer opted to defend himself in any way other than throwing Arthur overboard, hurling him to his death, Spencer and Arthur would have settled their duel and moved on with their night. However, since Spencer killed Arthur, it left his father with plenty of fuel to separate the couple, sending Spencer away, where he was unable to see that Alex would make it to Montana without harm.
Alex Dutton Made Several Short-Sighted Calls In 1923
As much as anyone, Alex could be blamed for her death, but it’s not because Alex made a premature journey to America without any documents and barely any money. As Alex alludes to in the 1923 season 2 premiere, the Earl of Sussex had already banned her family from London, and she worried about what they would do to her when the news broke that she was pregnant. It wasn’t uncommon for women in Alexandra of Sussex’s position to be sent away for having a child, and it wasn’t out of the question that she couldn’t keep her baby.
While Alex had been forced to persevere, and that could have confused her, continuing in the car wasn’t a necessary choice.
Alex can’t be blamed for the horrors that happened to her along the way. Even if her guard was down, Alex’s not being able to travel safely wasn’t her fault. However, after she has gained agency on her journey and Alex is traveling with her new friends from Chicago, Alex doesn’t heed the call from the local woman to take the train the rest of her way, because the roads will be unforgiving. While Alex had been forced to persevere, and that could have confused her, continuing in the car wasn’t a necessary choice.
1923’s finale had an uncanny resemblance to the end of Taylor Sheridan’s first Yellowstone prequel, and it was the best part of Alex Dutton’s ending.
After that, Alex is ultimately most responsible for her fate because she chooses not to have the procedure to amputate her dying limbs, which would have saved her life. While she opts out of the medical procedure to deliver and nurse John Dutton initially, she continues to refuse medical treatment even after her baby is born. While Alex said her reasoning for opting out of amputation was that she couldn’t be a proper mother with “stubs for feet and clubs for hands,” Spencer and baby John surely would have preferred to have their matriarch around.
3Cara Dutton
Cara Dutton Prompted Alex And Spencer’s Journey Home
While it does feel a bit ridiculous to blame Cara, the letter that the matriarch wrote to Spencer, pleading for him to come home, was the catalyst for his journey. While Cara’s letter was a response to Banner Creighton’s attack on her family, asking Spencer to come home and fight the family’s war was a choice she and Jacob made. After watching the Dutton family’s war against Donald Whitfield and Banner Creighton play out, some have said that the Dutton family could have won with a few more men, saving Spencer the trip home.
She acknowledges his demons and that her nephew has stayed away for a reason, but Cara urges Spencer to come home anyway. It makes sense, since she and Jacob are 80 years old and have no one to pass the ranch to. Jacob and Cara took over from James (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill), Spencer’s parents, so part of Spencer’s coming home was just a necessary part of the ranch’s succession. It therefore made sense for Spencer to fight for it. Still, Cara and Jacob’s waiting for Spencer takes six months and disrupts his first respite in years.
In a way, Alexandra Dutton met Spencer’s aunt Cara and the rest of 1923’s Yellowstone Dutton Ranch family, but not how many audiences hoped.
2Jacob Dutton
Jacob Dutton Puts His Family In Danger Fighting For The Yellowstone
Jacob Dutton is the least to blame, but he does play a role in Spencer coming home and what happened to Alex when they both made it. First and foremost, like James Dutton before him and John Dutton III (Kevin Costner) after him, Jacob Dutton puts his family’s lives in danger by protecting the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Rather than relinquish stewardship of the land, Jacob chooses to stay and fight, understandably, and that means that everyone in the family, including Cara and Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph), must put their lives on the line, as well as, indirectly, Alex.
Jacob is responsible for enforcing Alex’s request not to have the amputation procedure that would have saved her.
1Paul & Hillary
Paul & Hillary Don’t Stop When The Going Gets Rough
Paul (Augustus Prew) and Hillary (Janet Montgomery) played a significant role in Alex’s death. More than anything, Alex’s friends were a kind-hearted couple who just wanted to help her. Still, their journey was partially self-serving, with the well-off Brits wanting a taste of Alex Dutton’s exciting journey. Therefore, having committed to the adventure, Paul and Hillary don’t cut their road trip short when they are warned at the gas station in Buffalo, Wyoming, not to continue their journey by car. Hillary gets the warning inside, and Paul surely gets it from the attendant who pumps gas.
