Well, so much for figuring that out…
Perhaps Taylor Sheridan didn’t want to paint himself into a corner, but 1923 has failed to shed any light on the Dutton family tree, and fans are left utterly confused at how the modern-day Dutton family came to be. In fact, it’s even more perplexing than it was when the series started.
Following the conclusion of Yellowstone prequel series 1883, there was one big question regarding how the Dutton family got to Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton III, from James Dutton (who was played by Tim McGraw) in 1883. Does the line run through James’ son John Dutton, and his son Jack Dutton? Or does the line run through James’ son Spencer? Unfortunately for fans of the Yellowstone, we’re no closer to figuring that out.
Here’s how I had it shaking out prior to the start of 1923. Note that Jr. is typically used when you’re named after your father, and II is generally used when you’re named after another relative… John Dutton’s (Kevin Costner) father is always referred to as John Dutton II in official show commentary, meaning that his father is certainly not John Dutton… not that we think he is, but just remember that going forward.
My hunch was always that the line went through John and Jack because that added generation in there would make for 7, and we know that John Dutton III (Kevin Costner in Yellowstone) was a “5th generation rancher” and that the land would be returned to the Native Americans after “7 generations.”
If the family runs through Spencer, that would mean that another generation would have to be included, and I have a hard time believing that you could squeeze two generations in before the birth of John Dutton III, who was most likely born somewhere in the 50s. If that were the case, Spencer’s son, who was named John after his late brother, could have a son (who would be Kevin Costner John Dutton’s father) at the earliest around 1940 (he’d be roughly 17), and then if he had John at a young age sometime in the late ’50s. It would be plausible, although, he probably would’ve been drafted following the attack on Pearl Harbor…
It was also always my hunch that Jack named his son John after his late father, however Jack didn’t live to see the birth of his own child, and Taylor Sheridan completely ignored that obvious implication once Elizabeth told Cara that she was moving back to Boston. Does Jack’s child have anything to do with the greater Dutton story? It remains unclear, however, with the upcoming spinoff series, The Madison, set for release, could that be a connection? The show, starring Michelle Pfeiffer is set to premiere in late 2025 or perhaps early 2026, and will tell the story of a grieving family who moves from New York City to the Madison River Valley (where Yellowstone is set), and it’s presumed that there is some loose connection to the Dutton family. Maybe Jack and Elizabeth’s part of the family tree returns home after spending a few generations back east? It’s an interesting thought, but Taylor Sheridan hasn’t exactly been great about connecting the dots… I guess we’ll see.
So all that being said, here are our options as to where the line flows through:
Spencer and Alexandra’s Son, John
As detailed above, this makes sense given the name, but doesn’t quite fulfill the 7 generations prophecy unless John has another son in between… but because he would also have to be John (to be Kevin Costner’s character’s father), wouldn’t that make for 4 John Duttons? Costner would be John Dutton IV. Or are we getting real loose with the term “generation”?
Also, can we admit that a baby born 3 months early in 1923 would have virtually zero chance of surviving, and that Alex could’ve gotten surgery to save her life and it would have had zero effect on the baby’s survival? She endured through so much just to call it quits at the end? Make it make sense…
Spencer & The Widow’s Son
We know Spencer had another son with a widow, but we know that he never married her, and that he died at Alex’s grave. All the same implications of the above would be in play, but it remains a possibility. It would certainly fix the “too many Johns” problem, but the timeline would be even more scrunched than it would be with Spencer and Alexandra’s son.
Jack and Elizabeth’s Son
As I mentioned above, this was always my hunch, however with Elizabeth moving back to Boston, it really throws a wrench in the “generations of ranchers” narrative. We know John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) father was named John (John II) and was a rancher as well. So unless Elizabeth also names her son John (knowing that Jack’s uncle named their son John), and he comes back to Montana relatively quickly, it just doesn’t seem to make much sense. The far-fetched “The Madison theory” actually makes much more sense.
To be honest, I think that Taylor Sheridan left this purposely vague in order to give himself some room to work, or… he just screwed it up. The more you “set in stone” so to speak, the more you have to abide by when writing subsequent spinoffs… then again, has continuity ever mattered to Taylor Sheridan? He certainly seems to take some creative liberties and we know that 1923 was originally named 1932, but it got moved up to fit the timeline. Is Sheridan just really bad at math?
All in all, I thought 1923 would answer this big question about the Dutton Family Tree, and it has served to only make it more confusing. Spencer naming his son John fits, but then that would be 6 generations of Duttons.
It sounds like Sheridan may have backed himself into a corner here…
Stay tuned…
The post Did The 1923 Series Finale Completely Mess Up The Dutton Family Tree? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.