Saddle up, Dutton fans, because while Yellowstone may have (probably?) come to an end (unless, of course, it didn’t), the television trials and tribulations of Montana’s most famous ranching family aren’t over yet. 1923, the second of the Dutton universe’s prequels, is back for an all-new season, and—in keeping with former Game of Thrones star Jerome Flynn’s presence—winter’s not just coming, it’s here.

Here’s what you missed on the season premiere.

Winter is the Killing Season

While it’s not entirely clear how much time has passed since the season 1 finale, it’s been long enough that the Duttons have been forced to sell off almost their entire herd of cattle to pay off their taxes and avoid the looming threat of conniving businessman Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) taking over the ranch’s deed. Food is scarce; snow has made traveling impossible (more on that in a minute); and everyone is suitably depressed.

Even the mountain lions can’t find enough to eat, leading to one camping out on the Dutton porch. Initially Jacob manages to scare it off, assuring his wife that the cat wasn’t after them, but once the men are away later in the episode, the animal turns up again to punish Elizabeth for daring to be briefly happy that the sun came out. Cara, fortunately, manages to shoot it through a pane of the French doors (side note: this seems like an impractical design choice in a pre-central heating era), but as Elsa Dutton’s disembodied narration ominously reminds us over a chorus of wolf howls, only the strong can survive the winter.

Another Little Sting

While the Duttons have barely been scraping by, Whitfield has been working on whittling down the Yellowstone ranchers. His gambit from late last season is coming to fruition as the wife of Dutton ranch cowboy Zane is about to go on trial for miscegenation—he’s an Asian woman and Zane’s a white man, which under Montana law means their marriage is illegal. (You may remember her being arrested last season while Zane was brutally beaten by law enforcement in front of their children.)

Of course, it’s not that Whitfield cares about Zane’s marriage, just the havoc he can wreak upon the Duttons through the trial, explaining to… look, I’m just going to call her his “girlfriend.”

Anyway, he explains to her, “The honeybee kills more people each year than the rattlesnake. More than the grizzly. It’s the accumulation of thousands of little stings, which kill the bee as well, I might add. They sacrifice themselves. The trial’s just another little sting.” I’m not entirely sure this metaphor holds up the way he intends it to since he seems to be positioning himself as the bees, but also notes that this whole affair kills the bees, but fine, whatever.

Nice Things Happen to Teonna

In warmer climes, Teonna is enjoying a brief respite from the horrors that plagued her in season 1, traveling with her father, Runs His Horse, and her love interest Pete. (Note: This episode is dedicated to Cole Brings Plenty, the actor who originated the role of Pete and sadly passed away before filming started on season 2. The character is now played by Jeremy Gauna.)

After a rousing debate with her father over the nature of government, Teonna admits that she wants to marry Pete and then goes off to find him so they can have sex. (Apparently in the world of show creator Taylor Sheridan, it’s very normal for daughter to tell their fathers about their sexual exploits. See: Landman.)

Unfortunately, the young couple doesn’t quite get down to the fun stuff before a cowboy rides up to inform them that they’ve actually wandered into the Texas panhandle and are currently on the JA Ranch. He assures Pete that he doesn’t need to worry because ranch owner Mr. Goodnight was a friend of Quanah Parker and respects the Comanches. This all feels a touch info-dump-y, but considering that in 2024 Taylor Sheridan acquired the rights to Empire of the Summer Moon, a history of the Comanches which heavily features Parker and his mother, this could be a hint at something new coming down the Sheridan-verse pipeline.

Teonna’s still being hunted by Father Renaud (the head of the boarding school that she escaped in season 1) and two marshals, though, so don’t expect this to be the end of her troubles. Back in the Oklahoma Territories, that trio are spreading chaos in their search as they run across a Native encampment, shooting several people and running over a small child with a horse. Renaud is clearly upset by this behavior, but that aspect of his personal morality still can’t dissuade him from his quest to bring Teonna to his version of justice.

Don’t Bring a Knife to a Belt Fight

The wayward Dutton son isn’t having quite as nice a time as he’s working away his passage to the US by working in the engine room on a steamer ship. Of course, he’s quickly confronted with a problem in the form of a fellow young crewman, Luca, who’s being sexually assaulted by another sailor (yes, obviously what this show needed was another sexual assault.) Despite the rapist pulling a knife on him, Spencer handily beats the guy using only his belt before the captain comes in and puts a very permanent end to the issue with a bullet to the assailant’s head.

Having his attacker dispatched, of course, doesn’t alleviate all of Luca’s trauma, and the next day Spencer finds him preparing to throw himself overboard. He’s written a note for his powerful cousin in Galveston that he promises will lead to Spencer being rewarded for saving him, but Spencer points out that if he jumps overboard, Spencer won’t have saved him at all and gently talks him back over the railing.

The newfound friends discuss lions, family, the rising threat of Mussolini, and the need for cash. Apparently revitalized by this new lease on life, Luca quickly involves Spencer in an involuntary version of Fight Club. Despite having said that he doesn’t fight for money approximately one hour before, Spencer immediately fights two guys for money and he and Luca walk away with a sizable sum.

Escaping Sussex

It was widely speculated at the end of last season that Alex’s persistent seasickness was actually morning sickness, and the show doesn’t keep us waiting long before she confirms it—there’s a new little Dutton on the way! (This officially places Alex and Spencer as the frontrunners in the inexplicably long-running debate over who will be the grandparents of Yellowstone’s John Dutton, but given the twists and turns that mark the Dutton universe, it could still be anybody’s game.)

Unfortunately for Alex, she’s still stuck in England at her family’s Sussex estate (Alex’s version of ‘unfortunate’ is quite different from some of the other characters on this show) and has no money to get to Spencer in America. Increasingly desperate to get back to her husband and afraid of what her royal ex-future-father-in-law might do once she becomes visibly pregnant (he’s already banished her family from London, apparently) she convinces her friend Jennifer to sell off some of her jewelry and buy Alex a ticket to America.

Though the gems don’t sell for as much as she’d hoped, Alex is able to get a “tourist” (AKA lowest) class ticket on a ship to New York and the two friends bid a tearful goodbye with Jennifer musing, “I wonder if it’s colder in Montana,” and Alex assuring her, “It can’t possibly be any colder than this.” The entire state of Montana laughs.

Assorted musings:

• It’s difficult to express how much I did not need to return to the sadomasochistic sexual assault triad between Whitfield and the two women from last season. Timothy Dalton imbues every moment on screen with the same level of gleeful, operatic villainy as Cruella de Vil being put in charge of an all-Dalmatian animal shelter: we really don’t need the details of his sex life to prove he’s the bad guy here. Trust the performance.
• As far as I can tell, Luca’s name was never said on screen, but I’m cribbing it from the credits, so don’t feel bad if you missed it.
• Between Cara and Alex, it seems that Spencer is the only person anyone wants to write letters to, which is particularly interesting since he doesn’t seem to be much of a pen pal. I wonder if any of the other Duttons are jealous that no one writes to them?
• Similarly, communication looks poised to be a major theme this season, with the issue of letters that can’t reach their destination, and the specter of the telephone both looming large over this episode.
• Spencer and Luca apparently make $420 off of their night of fighting, which according to my inflation calculator would be almost $8,000 today. What are these sailors doing that they’re throwing this much cash around?!
• From the very beginning of Yellowstone there’s been an ongoing debate over whether Taylor Sheridan’s shows have a political message. If he was hoping to quash that speculation, the protracted discussion between Teonna and her father about how governments want their citizens to be beggars so they can control them certainly doesn’t seem like it’s going to put that issue to bed.