There are two different ways to interpret Spencer Dutton’s (Brandon Sklenar) ending in 1923’s finale, and either perspective has a massive impact on Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone show. Spencer finally made it to Montana at the end of 1923 season 2, fending off Banner Creighton’s (Jerome Flynn) men at the train station in Livingston and the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. Spencer was a crucial element in helping his aunt and uncle, Cara (Helen Mirren) and Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford), win the war against Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), with Spencer killing Whitfield in 1923’s finale.

Still, Spencer suffered a tragedy in 1923 season 2’s finale, with his wife, Alexandra of Sussex, succumbing to complications of hypothermia after an extended amount of time in the cold. Her death marks a grave loss for the family amid their Prohibition-era struggle, but Alex’s fate isn’t the only death we witness. Spencer Dutton’s time jump in 1923 season 2’s finale sees the war hero collapse on his wife’s grave, dying 45 years later. After the finale, it was clear that viewers interpreted Spencer Dutton’s ending differently, and each perspective has compelling ramifications.

2 Yellowstone Fan Theories About Spencer Dutton’s 1923 Ending Explained
Viewers Interpret Spencer’s Final 1923 Scene Differently

After Alex Dutton’s fate in 1923 season 2’s finale, the episode jumps decades into the future, showing Spencer Dutton’s death in 1969. Spencer’s sister and 1923’s narrator, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), explains that Spencer survived almost half a century after the family’s war. Still, he never forgot his soulmate. Elsa tells us that Spencer was intimate with a widow after losing his partner, having another son with her, but never committing to a life with her. Elsa reveals Spencer, therefore, had two children. Before Alex’s death, Alex and Spencer had a son, John Dutton, so Spencer’s bloodline continued after 1923.

Many believe that Spencer was John Dutton II’s father after the events of 1923 season 2, since he and Alex named their son John. John Dutton II, played by Dabney Coleman in Yellowstone season 2, is John Dutton III’s father. As the parent of Coleman’s John Dutton II, Spencer would be the grandfather of Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton III. In Yellowstone season 4, John tells Jimmy Hurdstrom (Jefferson White) that his grandfather lost a leg. Therefore, if Spencer is John Dutton III’s grandfather, the war hero loses a leg sometime between 1923 season 2’s finale and his death.

Some viewers believe that 1923’s closing scene confirmed that Spencer was John Dutton III’s grandfather.

Some viewers believe that 1923’s closing scene confirmed that Spencer was John Dutton III’s grandfather. When he walks to Alexandra’s grave, Spencer drags his legs, walking with a slight limp. Many viewers point to this detail as confirmation that Spencer is John’s direct ancestor, with the impairment suggesting he is walking with a prosthetic leg. Other viewers saw the final scene and felt there was no way that Spencer could be John Dutton III’s grandfather. They saw Spencer walking relatively normally for an 80-year-old man and suggested the scene confirmed Spencer had both his legs intact at his death.

Why Spencer Dutton’s 1923 Ending Is So Important To Yellowstone’s Story
We Still Don’t Know Who John Dutton III’s Grandfather Is

The ending 1923 scene is worth scrutinizing because Spencer Dutton’s fate has massive ramifications for Yellowstone’s story, impacting John Dutton III’s place in the Dutton family tree. If Spencer indeed walks with a prosthetic in 1923 season 2’s finale, that means he lost a leg in the 45 years that passed, and that he is the link to Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III. This would confirm that Taylor Sheridan broke the Dutton family tree in 1923 season 2’s finale. Spencer is a second-generation Dutton, so being the father of fourth-generation John Dutton II doesn’t quite add up.

Conversely, if Spencer walks with both legs, confirming that he didn’t lose a limb, then he isn’t John Dutton III’s grandfather, and the mystery of how Costner’s character links to his ancestors continues. If Spencer doesn’t lose a leg, then perhaps he and Alex’s son lost a leg in World War II at 20 years old, and fathered another descendant named John Dutton. Spencer’s not being John Dutton II’s father could also mean that Costner’s character’s father is the child of Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) and Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph). Sheridan’s next Yellowstone story, 1944, will likely confirm Spencer’s status.

1944 is set to be 1923 season 2’s follow-up, taking place 20 years after the events of the family’s war against Banner Creighton, picking up amid World War II. It’s entirely possible that Spencer would return to the front lines, a seasoned war hero from the first major international conflict. If Spencer’s war story parallels life on the ranch in 1944, then we could witness him lose a leg, confirming once and for all the link between John Dutton III and his ancestors. We could also witness Spencer’s son incurring the injury, similarly solving the mystery that orbited 1923’s events.