Originally published on 4/8/25

If there’s one thing Taylor Sheridan does best, it’s delivering shocking and emotional character deaths—and his Yellowstone prequel, 1923, is no exception. The series follows Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) and his wife Cara (Helen Mirren) as they manage the Dutton Yellowstone Ranch in 1920s Montana. Now that 1923 has wrapped up its second and final season,  we look back at who we’ve lost on this 14-episode journey, ranking their deaths from least to most shocking. Caution: saddle-sized spoilers ahead! 

12. Paul and Hillary (Augie Prew and Janet Montgomery) 

While Paul and Hillary were great friends to Alexandra Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) and did help her finally get to Montana, their deaths were sadly not that shocking—especially after viewers learn that most of the roads they are traveling on are covered in snow. What was shocking?  How they somehow froze to death while stranded in the middle of Montana, and Alex didn’t. Puzzling…

11. Luca (Andy Dispensa) 

Similar to Paul and Hillary, Luca served as someone who helped reunite Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and Alex, but when he was shot and killed while trying to bootleg in Texas, we can’t say we were that surprised—mainly because Spencer warned him that could happen. 

10. Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) 

Marshal Kent’s death was one we knew was coming. What we didn’t know was that it would happen at the hands of his Texas travel companion, Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché), and not Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves), the woman he was hunting. Overall, Marshal Kent was not a good person and killed a lot of innocent Native Americans, so we cannot say we’ll miss him. 

9. Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché)

Speaking of bad people, Father Renaud also died while in Texas, and while it wasn’t shocking, given how evil he was, it was satisfying that we finally got to see Teonna get her revenge on her abuser, so for that reason alone, we put it here. 

8. Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna) 

Pete Plenty Clouds was such a sweetheart who really loved Teonna, and his death, while sad, was definitely used as a plot point to further her along in her journey. At least Teonna got to say goodbye to him one last time before they went their separate ways, allowing us to see for one last time that she was happy and content for a few fleeting brief moments.

7. Runs His Horse (Michael Spears)

Just like Pete Plenty Clouds, Runs His Horse also died trying to protect Teonna. Like so many others, he was shot and killed, and while his death was sad, we were sort of expecting it after seeing what happened to Pete. However, we will say that seeing Teonna’s reaction made this ending so much sadder. 

6. Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn)

Before his death, Banner Creighton was so set on leaving Montana with his family that we did think he would make it—especially after Jacob agreed to help him. In the end, though, like so many others, he was shot and killed in the series finale. Thankfully, Banner’s family made it out with his money, allowing them to start their lives again in Oregon—which was all he wanted. 

5. Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) 

We can all agree that Donald Whitfield is one of the evilest villains of all time. Not only is he greedy and rude, but he also extorts women and forces them to live in his house so he may sexually torture them whenever he wants, making his death so much more enjoyable than the rest of them. To make matters even better, following the shooting, Spencer and Jacob proceeded to burn down Donald’s house, destroying any evidence that they were ever there. Talk about an iconic ending. 

4. John Dutton Sr. (James Badge Dale) 

John Dutton Sr. might have died in Season 1 after being shot, but, to be honest, we didn’t see it coming. Since he had survived the journey from Tennessee to Montana in 1883, we assumed he would spend the rest of his days on this family’s ranch, but life had other plans. John Dutton Sr. left behind his son Jack (Darren Mann) and brother Spencer. 

3. Emma Dutton (Marley Shelton)

Following the death of her husband, John, Emma realized that she just couldn’t go on without him and decided to end her life. This was surprising because she left her son Jack and her daughter-in-law Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) all alone. Just like her husband, she was buried on the Dutton ranch. 

2. Alexandra “Alex” Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer)

Not only did Alex’s death have us BAWLING, but it was also so unexpected given the fact that she had finally reunited with Spencer. Thankfully, she was able to spend a little time with her husband and give birth to their son, but in the end, frostbite took over and ended her life. Alex is buried on the Dutton Yellowstone Ranch, despite never having stepped foot on it. 

1. Jack Dutton (Darren Mann)

For some reason, Jack’s death had us gasping, screaming and crying all within 30 seconds. Maybe it was because he and Elizabeth were finally going to have a baby, or maybe it was because he remained smiling and witty until his death. Either way, Jack Dutton’s death was by far the most shocking, and we are so glad he was buried on the ranch next to Alex

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/tv-shows/most-shocking-1923-deaths-tv-losses-ranked