The rabid wolf in 1923 season 2 called back to one of Kayce Dutton’s (Luke Grimes) best lines from Yellowstone. The ending of 1923 season 2, episode 2 saw the same rabid wolf that attacked Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) return for more blood. Though it bit her and likely gave her rabies, the wolf also burst through the doors of the Dutton ranch and killed a nurse who was there to treat Elizabeth. It was a very dark and violent moment for 1923, but it also included a subtle callback to Kayce Dutton in Yellowstone.

Though they take place a century apart, 1923 continues Yellowstone’s story and the generation-spanning tale of the Dutton family tree. As such, everything that happens to the cast of 1923 serves as a prelude to the modern-day Duttons, including Kayce. One moment in 1923 serves as an almost direct callback to Kayce’s story in Yellowstone, and it highlights how the Duttons have been fighting the same enemy since the first Yellowstone spinoff show, 1883.

1923 Season 2’s Killer Wolf Calls Back To Kayce In Yellowstone
Kayce Had A Complicated Relationship With Wolves Throughout Yellowstone

1923 season 2 was far from the first time wolves have played a major role in the Dutton family’s story. In Yellowstone season 3, Kayce saw a wolf while out camping with Monica (Kelsey Asbille) and he told it “I am not your friend. I’m your enemy, whether I like it or not,” and some of Kayce’s visions in Yellowstone season 4 also prominently featured the wild predators. Wolves have always represented danger for the Dutton family and the Yellowstone ranch, and 1923’s rabid wolf was the perfect callback to Kayce’s complicated relationship with them in Yellowstone.

Kayce asserted that he and the wolf were natural enemies, and 1923 proved him right. By attacking Elizabeth and killing a nurse in the Dutton lodge, 1923 showed once again that nature is one of the many enemies the Duttons faced throughout the generations. Duttons and wolves had been battling for a hundred years by the time Kayce encountered them in Yellowstone. The wolf in 1923 was just an extreme example of how both sides of that battle took losses over the years.

What 1923 Season 2’s Wolf Symbolizes For The Duttons
The Wolves Are The Natural Order Of The Yellowstone & Nowhere Is Safe From Winter

The real meaning of the wolf in 1923 speaks to the entire story of the Duttons and their ownership of the Yellowstone ranch. The wolf – and the mountain lion in 1923 – symbolizes nature, winter, and the danger they pose to the Duttons. The Duttons may own the Yellowstone, but the land it’s on belongs to the natural world. When the wolf burst through the doors of the lodge and killed a nurse, nature was essentially showing the Duttons that they could never be truly safe from winter, not even in their own home.

When the wolf burst through the doors of the lodge and killed a nurse, nature was essentially showing the Duttons that they could never be truly safe from winter, not even in their own home.

The wolves also highlight just how precarious the Duttons’ hold on the Yellowstone really is, something that 1923 has been trying to emphasize. Between Donald Whitfield’s (Timothy Dalton) use of tax law and Banner Creighton’s (Jerome Flynn) physical attacks, the Duttons have almost lost everything in the Yellowstone prequel. The wolf attack shows that when the Duttons leave their guard down for even a moment, they invite danger into their home. They’ll be able to keep the ranch until Yellowstone, but 1923 may have more danger in store.