Michelle Randolph couldn’t contain her emotions the first time she read the script for the 1923 season 2 finale episode — and after the devastating loss that the penultimate episode brought, that’s pretty understandable.
The second-to-last episode of the Yellowstone prequel series, which aired March 30, saw the unexpected and brutal death of Jack Dutton (Darren Mann), husband to Randolph’s Elizabeth Dutton.
It’s likely, then, that this week’s finale will see the fallout from the loss of his wife, who is expecting a baby, and the rest of his family, including his great-uncle Jacob (Harrison Ford) and great-aunt Cara (Helen Mirren).
Prior to the penultimate episode’s premiere, Randolph, 27, told PEOPLE that she’d read the season 2 scripts “so many times because I just actually enjoy reading it.”
The same is true of the likely heart-wrenching finale episode, of which she admits, “I cried every single time that I read it. You don’t get desensitized to it.”
“It’s so beautifully written and it’s such a strong finale. I’m so excited for people to see it,” Randolph, continues.
She’s also excited to get to see it play out onscreen after reading it so many times. “I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see it.”
The season acted like a “mirror” to the actress’ own life, she says, noting that she felt a sense of “what am doing here?” during season 1.
“And then season 2, I also felt, ‘What am I doing here?’ But also like, ‘Okay, I’ve done this before. I can do it again.’ ”
The same can be said of her character, who married Jack in season 1 and “was kind of coming into this family and everything was unknown.”
In season 2, Randolph says, “We see her find her strength. Now that she’s a Dutton, we get to see her really come into herself, which is exactly what was so fun to play about it … We get to see this evolution of who she’s becoming.”
Jack’s death in the penultimate episode of the season leaves Elizabeth a young widow and a single mother-to-be, and the death left Mann “saddened as a fan of the show and of course as a fan of Jack himself,” he told.
“I fell in love with playing Jack, and I always hoped that he would get his redemption and avenge his father’s death and ride away into the sunset with his lady and raise a beautiful family, but that’s not how it always went, especially back then in that tough world,” Mann, 35, said, referring to Jack and Elizabeth.
“I feel like the message there with Jack is — he almost doesn’t fit into this dark world that they’re in right now and how intense and awful things are getting there in the ’20s. He’s just such a sweet soul, he’s trusting and he’s so face value. He takes things for what they are because that’s who he is,” Mann continued of his character. “You wish a guy like him could love on, a nice soul like that.”
