Jack Dutton's legacy carries on post his tragic fate in 1923 Season 2 and the next Yellowstone spin-off holds all the possible answers

As Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone closed yet another chapter in the YS universe, 1923 season 2 didn’t end with just some quietness—it left behind a lot still remaining to be unpacked.

The 1923 finale extended no pity, taking Jack Dutton away from him being at the very heart of the family tree…only just as his roots were on their way to grow deeper.

And yet, in the middle of Jack Dutton’s tragic end, it ingrained just a tiny seed of legacy—one Sheridan is now on the edge of watering in his next prequel, 1944.

If 1923 asked the question of who the Duttons were at the beginning of their dynasty, 1944 might beyond any doubt reveal who takes this established legacy forward.

Jack Dutton’s premature end reshapes the Dutton mythology

For fans who love Yellowstone and its prequels, Jack Dutton's demise was both a kick in the gut, narrative-wise wise and a haunting emphasis of an old truth: Dutton men hardly ever meet their end due to old age.

After deciding on wanting to leave his post behind—and his very pregnant wife, Elizabeth—to stand up for Spencer Dutton, Jack fell into a trap set up by the men of Thomas Whitfield.

His death, buried deep in the wilderness, deprived him of his chance at liberation and the heroic arc he wanted to make happen. He didn’t just fall prey to bullets out of a gun; he fell victim to a long-time running Dutton curse—a repetition of loss that continues to outline the family from 1923 to the modern-day Yellowstone.

It wasn’t long before Cara Dutton sent ranch hands to get back Jack’s dead body, wanting to give him a proper funeral next to his kin. But Jack’s funeral scene carried more importance than it carried grief—what it most importantly carried was its questions.

Would Jack be reminisced about as a tale to tell someone about, or would he be remembered for something more meaningful?

A broken love story with roots in the future for the Yellowstone universe

Elizabeth’s goodbye to the Yellowstone ranch was as much an act of wanting to live on as it was heartbreak. Jack was now gone, and her pregnancy provided a little sense of comfort as she prepared herself to leave her life in Montana behind.

But unlike the first time she was pregnant and had a miscarriage, this time? It was all too real and happening, and so was the legacy that this baby was going to carry.

The final scenes that Elizabeth and Cara Dutton shared were quiet, but filled with a grief-stricken widow turned away, and also with a feeling of finality.

Elizabeth walked towards Boston with a belly full of Jack and his memories—and perhaps, the next successor to the Yellowstone name.

Now here’s where things get fascinating for long-time fans of Yellowstone.

With Spencer and Alexandra’s child established to be John Dutton II—the link to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III—there’s still one remaining thread: Elizabeth’s child with Jack. By the time 1944 is here, that child will be in their 20s.

The platform could be all open with regards to a generational crossover, where Jack’s child goes back to Montana and unsuspectingly steps into the echoes of their father’s past.

Michelle Randolph, who plays Elizabeth, disclosed indecision in interviews as regards whether her child or Alexandra’s child is the true ancestor of John III.

That vagueness surrounding this topic is, however, quite deliberate, letting the mystery stay on for the Dutton lineage to live on even in death.

The timeline may be on its way forward, but the phantoms seen in 1923 will certainly haunt the next Yellowstone show. With 1944 projected to pick up nearly two decades after Spencer’s return and Jack’s death, Sheridan has a picture-perfect blank canvas to bring in a new generation influenced by war, legacy, and the ever-shifting American landscape.

Trending

Jack’s child, brought up far away from the Yellowstone ranch, could be pulled back into the mix—maybe on the lookout for answers? Land? or a lost sense of their identity, perhaps? The possibilities are endless.

And in doing so, they’d succeed in not just a legacy, but the disturbance, loyalty, and all of the bloodshed that comes along with it, which makes 1944 not merely a continuation but rather a reckoning.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback