Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for 1923 Season 2 Episode 3.
With each new episode of 1923, Taylor Sheridan throws his audience into the fire, and “Wrap Three in Terror” is no different. While much of the season so far has focused on Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton’s (Helen Mirren) attempts to keep their ranch afloat during a brutal winter, this third episode pivots to Alexandra Dutton’s (Julia Schlaepfer) adventures as she braves the voyage to America. Unfortunately for her, Sheridan isn’t sugar-coating anything, and Alex is put through the wringer as she arrives at Ellis Island, the next step in her journey to Montana.
The Duttons Deal With New Challenges in ‘1923’ Season 2 Episode 3

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The episode opens with Jacob, Jack (Darren Mann), and the other ranch hands breaking out of the snow that has engulfed the wagon. The storm is over, but the danger is not. The broken Zane Davis (Brian Geraghty) wants Jacob to burn the wagon to keep his kids warm until Jack and the rest find the horses, but Jacob notes that the wagon is the only thing that will get Zane home. Zane stands to prove his point, claiming he can ride just fine. Meanwhile, at the ranch, the wolf has been strung up, and Dr. Steven Miller (Mark Daneri) carries his dead nurse’s body to the car. Cara and the doctor go to Liz’s (Michelle Randolph) room to give her the next shot. She hides in the bathroom, but they come in and get her. Cara tells her to act like a woman and take it, as they now know that the animal was rabid. Liz says she’ll stand and Cara gives her the shot on her own.
Later, the doctor reminds Cara that Liz will need one shot a day, and just before Miller is about to leave, they see Jacob, Jack, and the others traveling through the snow to the house. They bring Zane — who had been nearly beaten to death last season — inside and the doctor returns to examine him. “The winter just won’t end,” Jacob notes, burdened by the continual wasting away. The doctor examines Zane and reveals to Jacob and Cara that fluid has built up in his brain. Unfortunately, the only way to deal with this (which should have been done at the hospital), is by drilling a hole in his head. While Miller has the drill ready, he has no anesthesia to help with the pain. Jacob tells Zane the news, and we’re left to wonder what comes next.
Finally reunited after the beginning of the season, Jack walks in on Liz as she packs her things. She was serious when she told Cara before that she planned to leave the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, and though she loves Jack, she claims that this life wasn’t part of their vows. The end of Season 1 was hell on Liz, and Season 2 has almost been worse. She tells Jack that he can fulfill his vows just as well in Boston. Ironically, Liz wouldn’t be the only Dutton to have to travel through Boston if she were to leave Montana, but we’ll get to that. When Cara comes in for Liz’s rabies shot, Liz makes her husband watch as she takes it. “Eight more and I’m done with this place,” she says, more as a statement than a threat.
“Wrap Thee in Terror” Centers on Alex’s Journey to America

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Despite the episode opening with the Dutton clan in Montana, it largely revolves around Alexandra as she arrives at Ellis Island and ventures into the United States. She’s beaten up a little when she gets to customs — especially after introducing herself as Alexandra of Sussex — so instead she takes on her married name, Dutton. As she waits through each line, it seems as if she is no closer to her goal. She meets a scared pregnant woman who is told that pregnant women are sent back since they can’t work, so Alex tries to hide the fact that she is carrying her husband’s child. When called back for a medical exam, she is told to remove her clothing. The whole thing is violating, as the doctor examines her, despite her protest. Of course, they discover that she is pregnant, and she is soon marked. Afterward, Alex is coldly informed that there are three examinations in total, leaving her utterly humiliated as each occurs in immediate succession.
Afterward, Alex is returned to the waiting room alongside many other pregnant women. She meets a woman who tells Alex that she will likely have to trade sexual favors to get into the country. However, Alex refuses. She waits until she is called, and eventually, she is pulled into the office of the supervisor. Though he seems to insult her at first, things turn around when she is asked if she offers any marketable skills. Alex reads in front of the man, standing her ground and noting how she has never felt less free than she has trying to get into America, which seems quite counterintuitive to the country’s promises of freedom. Remarkably, she is accepted into America, and when she travels to New York City, she is soon pointed towards Grand Central Station and given a few extra tips for keeping her money safe. Arriving at Grand Central, Alex secures passage to Billings through Boston, where she will need to rebook her ticket to Bozeman. The episode ends with her sitting in the station writing to Spencer. However, when Alex gets up to use the restroom, she is soon followed in by a man.

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Spencer and Luca’s Story Ends in Tragedy in ‘1923’ Season 2 Episode 3

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Although the episode ends with Alex, there’s a lot more that occurs in between. As Alex arrives in the United States, getting one step closer to meeting her husband, Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) is still thousands of miles away. In the Italian countryside, filled with cattle, he and Luca (Andy Dispensa) travel to deliver the booze that the latter’s cousin, Sal Maceo (Gilles Marini), tasked them with in the previous episode. But things get a bit dicey when Spencer spots an armed checkpoint further up the road. When he checks it out, it spooks him, and he and Luca decide to find another route. The problem is, Spencer realizes that they aren’t going to escape the authorities, and though Luca notes that the pistols were given to them for that very reason, it’s not enough for the Dutton heir, who is unwilling to die for Maceo’s alcohol.
As they pull into a barn, Spencer tells Luca that he isn’t going any further. Luca pulls a gun on Spencer and tells him to drive, but the Great War vet quickly disarms his companion. Luca goes on about how his cousin built his business from nothing and that he is finally getting a cut for himself, but Spencer tells Luca that this isn’t his cousin sharing their fortune with him; it’s Maceo trying to get rid of him. Though Spencer tries to convince Luca to join him on his walk to the train station, Luca refuses. “Right or wrong, they are family,” Luca says. “Look what you do for your family.” Spencer understands, and they part ways, but not before Luca retrieves his pistol. Tragically, it doesn’t take long before Spencer hears gunshots. When he arrives at the overlook, he sees Luca driving through the checkpoint, in armed combat with the officers. He loses, and is quickly killed. Without a friend left in this foreign land, Spencer is left alone on his journey home.
Father Renaud and Marshal Kent Close In on Teonna in “Wrap Thee in Terror”

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Down in Texas, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears) finds the ranch camp he set off to look for in the previous episode. He’s told that he could help with the cattle drive and earn a wage in the meantime, a job he gladly accepts. The cowboys don’t seem at all concerned that he, Teonna (Aminah Nieves), and Pete (Jeremy Gauna) have settled on the land. Elsewhere, wanted posters for Teonna are hung up all around Oklahoma, and Marshal Mamie Fossett (Jennifer Carpenter) and many Comanche tribal members come upon the massacre of young Natives done by Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) and Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché). Fossett’s companion tells the Comanche to leave justice to them, but it becomes clear that they intend to find revenge, not justice. As this occurs, Kent and Renaud travel near Texas. Kent believes that cowboys won’t care about the color of Teonna’s skin or the others with her, and with that in mind, they venture toward the border, finally catching up with their prey.
New episodes of 1923 Season 2 are available every Sunday on Paramount+.

1923

Julia Schlaepfer shines in a 1923 episode that puts her character in continual peril.

Release Date

2022 – 2024

Network

Paramount+

Directors

Guy Ferland

Pros & Cons

Alex’s story is heartbreaking, but shows her tenacity.
We’re glad that most of the Duttons are back at home.
No Whitfield is a win in my book.

What? We couldn’t get more Teonna and Pete?
Luca’s death is tragic, but it would have been far more interesting to keep him around.