Taylor Sheridan does a stellar job of fleshing out the Yellowstone universe with the prequels, 1883 and 1923, but tragedy follows wherever he goes.

Taylor Sheridan is not one to hold back on a shocking and brutal ending for his central characters, as proven by his latest entry in the Yellowstone finale. When it comes to the prequel series, 1923, a similar fate may be lying in wait for some of the Duttons, despite what the audience may expect from the show.

While endless theories exist on social media about where Sheridan is headed with Season 2 of the prequel, there are some that hit the spot while a few others feed into the imaginative fantasy and frenzy. Whatever the end may hold for 1923, Taylor Sheridan will certainly deliver a satisfying finale, considering he has not yet disappointed the audience when it comes to storytelling and world-building.

Taylor Sheridan’s plans for 1923 Season 2: Theory

When Taylor Sheridan began expanding the Yellowstone universe, the fans could not have imagined the legacy that he would go on to create with the prequels. The star-studded affair of both these spin-offs has established a world beyond one’s imagination, filled with history, grief, and destiny – where every decision would leave an impact on generations down the line.

In the case of Season 2 of 1923, numerous theories exist about the intertwined fates of Jack, Elizabeth, Spencer, and Alex, and the legacy they would leave behind for the universe of Yellowstone. One such fan theory on Reddit sounds astonishingly plausible, although devastatingly tragic.

As posted by a fan on the r/1923Series subreddit:

Such a twisted turn of fate might be extremely possible, given Sheridan’s affinity toward shocking his audience with something they would least expect. However, there are certain holes that can be poked into this fan theory as well, if one takes into account Elsa’s monologue at the beginning of the series.

Alternate plausible fan theory about 1923 Season 2

No matter how one may look at it, 1923 can only be headed down one path – with either Jack or Spencer carrying on the Dutton legacy. There needs to be a choice made somewhere down the road considering the prophetic declaration that Elsa Dutton already made at the beginning of the series.

While such a final fate may be cruel to the characters, their rich and complex history is what makes the Western epic so heart-wrenchingly tragic and convincing. An alternate theory about Jack and Spencer’s fate that was crafted in response to the one posited above also sounds convincing enough, although the tragedy remains the same:

Grief is insurmountable and death is inevitable in 1923, no matter the course of actions that lie in wait for the characters in the Taylor Sheridan series. The Dutton universe has always been complicated when it comes to family, and it shouldn’t be any different for the prequels when the mainstream universe had one sibling killing the other in retribution.