Spoilers ahead for 1923 season 2, episode 2, and 1883.

Amid a chilling Montana winter in 1923, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel shows how 1883 could have ended. In season 2, episode 2, Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) journey home to the Yellowstone Ranch from Bozeman when they are caught in an unforgiving blizzard that causes a detour.

To worsen things, Jack Dutton is hauling the ranch foreman, Zane (Brian Geraghty), and his family in the back of the Dutton family’s green wagon. The father is unable to walk after suffering physical and emotional wounds when his family was taken from him in 1923 season 1’s ending.

1923 Season 2, Episode 2, Shows How 1883 Could Have Ended

1923 Has An Alternate Ending For 1883 Fans

The frightening moment for Jacob and Jack on the way home from Bozeman causes quick thinking from the ranchers. As the blizzard picks up, rendering Jack unable to see the path ahead, Jacob instructs the convoy to head to the trees where they can escape the blizzard’s unforgiving winds and blinding snowfall.

Once out of immediate danger in a cluster of evergreens, the group unhitches the horses from Jack’s green wagon to create a shelter. After tying the horses to a nearby tree, the cowboys flip the wagon upside down, creating an enclosed space where everyone can huddle underneath.

Another remnant of 1883 in this scene is the way Jacob and Jack set the hoses free so they can find them later. They know if the horses are left to their own means of survival, they will find warmth and make it. This is a similar decision to the one Sam (Martin Sensmeier) encourages Elsa to make in 1883 when a tornado threatens their party. Eventually, they find their horses again after letting them loose.

The Dutton Family’s Journey In Taylor Sheridan’s 1883 Explained

The Dutton Family Travels In A Covered Wagon To Montana

Taylor Sheridan’s prequel to 1923 and Yellowstone, 1883, follows John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) ancestors as they make a harrowing Oregon Trail journey from Texas to Montana in a green-painted covered wagon. The tale serves as the Dutton family’s Montana origin story, explaining how James and Margaret got sidetracked en route to the Willamette Valley.

James and his family face daunting threats along their journey, including everything from bandits to tornadoes to fatal encounters with Native Americans. The last threat on the list leads to Elsa’s 1883 death, ultimately resulting from settler colonialism in the American West.

However, despite danger everywhere they turn, Elsa and her family don’t confront the Oregon Trail’s most significant threat. Elsa’s 1883 death shortens the journey, landing the family in Big Sky Country rather than passing through the mountains in the snow.

Throughout the trip, wagon leader Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) and other 1883 characters make it abundantly clear that winter is the greatest threat to the party of emigrants. In 1883 episode 8, “The Weep of Surrender,” Shea Brennan (Sam Elliott) contemplates taking his wagon train to Colorado because they are behind schedule, gravely explaining their bleak options.

Shea tells his wagon train that they will reach Fort Laramie in October, leaving them with the ill-fated option of crossing the South Pass through the Rocky Mountains in the snow. The leader says the other option is staying at an army fort through the winter, and he warns the party that neither option is safe.

Shea wants to avoid winter because he knows it is the most guaranteed killer along the Oregon Trail. Brennan suggests his party divert the course to Denver to avoid a fatal winter. The pioneers didn’t listen, ultimately leading to their detriment.

Why Winter Is The Ultimate Killer In 1883 & 1923

Winter Is A Chilling Threat In Montana

Elsa Dutton and her family would have frozen to death if they navigated through the cold, making winter the most certain killer they could encounter. Winter poses a similar threat in 1923 season 2.

While the Dutton family has attained a few modern conveniences, they are left with the same antiquated means of traveling through the snow. Additionally, a wolf breaches the lodge, proving the family still exists in the unforgiving wilderness. In 1883, diverting to Paradise Valley kept the Duttons from facing a winter unprepared. Winter would have ended their journey, resembling Jacob and Jack’s dire predicament in 1923.