Warning: this article contains major spoilers for season 1, episode 3 of 1923 on Paramount+.
1923, the long-awaited Paramount+ prequel series to Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, premiered last month, and the latest episode – which dropped on Sunday – has left fans reeling after a shocking and devastating twist right at the end. James Badge Dale, who plays John Dutton Sr. in 1923, sat down to discuss the shocking episode conclusion and what’s next for the show.
1923 season 1, episode 3 – titled “The War Has Come Home” – was dropped on Paramount and Paramount+ on New Year’s Day. The episode follows Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) as he enacts his revenge against a group of local sheep farmers that shot Jacob’s nephew’s horse after a long and drawn-out war over the Dutton’s land. After Jacob hangs all but one of the sheep farmers on the Dutton Ranch and takes his family out for a celebration, Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), the lone surviving sheep farmer, escapes and returns home to rally the area’s other sheep farmers for revenge against their fallen brethren.
Together, the local sheep farmers plan to catch Jacob and his family in an ambush – after their plan succeeds, Jacob Dutton himself is shot in the stomach and badly wounded, with several other casualties occurring on the ranch, including John Dutton Sr., Jacob’s oldest nephew, who’s portrayed by James Badge Dale in 1923.
John Dutton Sr. isn’t the first major character to be killed off by Yellowstone and 1923 creator Taylor Sheridan, with that dubious honor belonging to Leo Dutton in the first season of Yellowstone, but John’s death on Sunday left fans shocked and upset by the realization that no character was truly safe.
James Badge Dale Discusses John Dutton Sr.’s Death on ‘1923’
James Badge Dale recently sat down with Deadline to discuss his character’s death after only three episodes of the new show. Dale has admitted that he knew this conclusion was coming ahead of time, as the show’s crew was “very upfront with me on what they were looking for and what they needed.”
With John Dutton Sr.’s death meant to spur the family into action and call Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) back to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, it’s clear that his death was necessary and well-thought-out by the show’s crew – Dale recalls how his death scene took three days to shoot, between the complications that naturally arise from working with gunfire and horses.
Moving forward from here, the Dutton family will have to pick themselves and piece themselves back together, with Jacob’s other nephew Spencer and his fiancée returning from Africa, where they’ve been hunting big game. With Spencer returning home and his demons from World War I waiting in the wings, the family is going to be forced to survive the deaths of some of their most important members – or else.
1923 is currently available to stream on Paramout+. The next episode is currently scheduled to air on Sunday, December 8th.
