The Dutton family will continue fighting for the ranch in the prequel to Yellowstone called 1923, which fleshes out the family’s Depression Era struggles. It follows the events of 1883, which details the earliest-known members of the Dutton family as they traverse a variant of the Oregon Trail from Texas to Montana. At the end of 1883, John Dutton’s ancestor, James Dutton, makes it to Montana, and 1923 picks up where 1883 leaves off 40 years later. In 1923, Jacob and Cara Dutton ran the ranch, as portrayed by Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

Elsa Dutton’s Yellowstone narration in the 1923 prequel explained how Jacob and Cara Dutton took over the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch after her parents died. Jacob and Cara don’t have any children, but they raise Margaret’s remaining children, John and Spencer, who are already adults when the prequel story picks up. 1923 season 1 showed the Dutton family’s conflict to maintain their ranch. Moving forward, the prequel story will wrap up the events of the Depression Era, and the struggle is eerily similar to Yellowstone.

The Dutton Ranch Is Under Attack From Developers In 1923 Season 2
The Duttons Must Fight Donald Whitfield And Banner Creighton

After a harrowing fight began in season 1, a trailer for 1923 season 2 confirms the all-out war for the Dutton Ranch will continue. The new footage builds on critical cliffhangers from its freshman year, which built anticipation for the story’s continuation. It fills in some blanks about what the Dutton family will overcome in season 2. As the Dutton family struggles to make ends meet along with the rest of the ranchers in the valley, Donald Whitfield, a powerful business tycoon, closes in.

The businessman wants to cash in on the Dutton Ranch’s rich resources. In the finale of 1923 season 1, Whitfield reveals to Jacob Dutton that he paid the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch’s massive property tax bill, meaning the deed to the ranch would revert to him if Jacob didn’t pay him back by the end of the year. The trailer confirms that Whitfield will continue his scheme in 1923 season 2, telling a group of wealthy suits he wants to make Montana a playground for the elite. It shows Jacob, Cara, and those at the ranch defending the land with rifles.

Yellowstone’s Final Season Saw The Duttons Fight Developers To Preserve The Property
John, Beth, And Kayce Fight Market Equities

At the end of 1923 season 1, when Whitfield reveals his plan to take the ranch, he speaks a prophecy that comes true in the flagship. The villain tells Jacob Dutton in 1923 that in 30 years, neither cattle nor mining will be the largest industry in Montana. Whitfield tells Jacob Dutton that tourism will be the most profitable industry in the state, saying tourists will come to Montana by the millions to experience the majesty of its wilderness. Likewise, the threat of tourism is rampant in the modern era and defines Beth and Kayce’s ultimate struggle.

In Yellowstone season 5, part 2, Beth and Kayce are fighting to protect the ranch from a company from New York intent on making billions of dollars by creating a high-end development complex in Montana. Therefore, the struggle in 1923 season 2 repeats Yellowstone’s season 5 story while also setting it up for the flagship, with the trailer confirming the family has been fighting tourism for 100 years. The modern plan begins by building an airport on the Dutton Ranch, allowing wealthy tourists to access Paradise Valley and the quasi-city Market Equities plans to build.

1923’s Dutton Ranch Conflict Will Have A Different Result Than Yellowstone’s
Jacob And Cara Will Win Their Fight Against Whitfield

Still, despite similar fights, the end of 1923 season 2 would have an entirely different result from Yellowstone. Since 1923 is the precursor to Sheridan’s flagship, its story sets up its predecessor. We know that the Dutton family maintained stewardship of the land through the Great Depression since John Dutton ran things in the modern era. Elsa Dutton’s narration in 1923 also confirms that the family will make it through the depression and the other woes that came after. In 1923 season 1, episode 1, James Dutton’s late daughter says the following:

Elsa: My father had three children. Only one would live to see their own children grown. Only one would carry the fate of this family through the depression and every other hell the 20th century hurled at them.

Thus, Jacob and Cara will succeed in saving the ranch from the developers who desire to take it from them, contrasting Yellowstone’s ending. Beth and Kayce had to surrender the ranch to the Broken Rock Tribe to save it from tourism, beginning with the airport that would shepherd in the elite Whitfield talks about in the 1923 season 2 trailer, albeit 100 years later. Kayce was the first Dutton to discover that giving the ranch away was ultimately the only way to save it. Therefore, the Dutton family will win their fight for the ranch in 1923.