‘1923’ Season 2 Premiere Reveals Pregnancy News in Shocking ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel Return

1923 is back with the highly-anticipated second season of the Yellowstone prequel — and things are looking bleaker than ever as the Duttons try to survive the desolate Montana winter, Donald Whitfield, and maybe a brawl or two. At least we have some big baby news to keep us going… Spoiler-filled recap ahead for 1923 Season 2, Episode 1 “The Killing Season”.

We kick off the season with a letter from Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) to her son Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), filling him in on just how dire things are looking at the ranch while they await his return to save the family. And Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) isn’t the only predator they’re going to have to be wary of — Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) basically runs into a mountain lion on his porch before it runs away. Ominous.

Not as ominous as Whitfield’s house though. He’s got a whole scene with one of the women from last season that ends with the discovery of a sex worker who’s been tied up with a belt in the closet and seemingly whipped. I’ll spare you the graphic details, but it’s very gross. Another gross development is the confirmation that Whitfield is behind the miscegenation charges against Zane (Brian Geraghty) as part of his war against the Duttons.

This all sounds harrowing, so where the hell is Spencer? No, he’s not reunited with Alex (Julia Schlaepfer), he’s working in the engine room of a merchant ship — and saving his fellow sailor Luca (Andy Dispensa) from being raped in his bunk by beating his rapist into submission. The perpetrator gets shot by the captain when he hears tell of the commotion, but Luca is distraught at everything that’s happened to him, and Spencer talks him down from jumping into the ocean to drown himself later in the episode.

Having been saved twice by Spencer now, his new pal Luca has an idea to get them both home quicker — a little Fight Club on the ship! Spencer’s “I only fight for survival” thing is kind of getting stretched here, but he ultimately decides it counts for his family’s survival, and now he’s making money off of fighting his fellow sailors — Luca obviously is getting a cool 20% as his manager. But this little money-making endeavor may be short-lived, because Spencer spots land as he goes above board for a smoke near the end of the episode.

Spencer is one step closer to his family, but what about Alex? Well, she’s pregnant for one! But super depressed to be away from her husband while expecting his child. Alex begs her friend Jennifer (Jo Ellen Pellman) to help her escape from her family’s estate, and after some convincing, Jennifer sells some of Alex’s family jewels to buy her passage on a ship to America. Alex may be traveling solo in tourist class with the “gamblers and thieves,” but she’s thrilled to be making her way back to her man one way or another.

Now let’s check in with Teonna (Aminah Nieves). Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and his detectives are terrorizing Comanche villages looking for her, but she’s still keeping a low profile with her father (Michael Spears) and Pete (now played by Jeremy Guana after the death of actor Cole Brings Plenty).

Teonna’s father asks her if she wants to offer Pete her hand in marriage, which is a huge yes, obviously. Teonna suddenly wants to go find Pete on his hunting expedition, who would have thought, and they’re about to take their relationship to a whole new level when they see a white man on horseback nearby. Now this guy seems friendly enough, he says he’s just looking for stray cattle and reveals the trio has found their way down to Texas, but I’m worried Pete and Teonna are preoccupied with their romance and may be missing a bigger threat.

And with that, we come to the end of the Season 2 premiere of 1923, which features a little return visit from the mountain lion Jacob saw. In the final moments of the episode, the big cat is just moments away from eating Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) when it’s shot and killed by Cara. But there are more predators out there on the horizon for the Dutton family.

This article was adapted from the latest episode of PopCulture Social Call, streaming weekdays on PopCulture.com’s YouTube channel. You can now watch this episode, which is embedded in the above article.