A powerful and emotional farewell to an excellent series, despite its tangled storylines and ridiculous writing. A Dream and a Memory leaves a lasting impression, and is not an episode to be forgotten.
Spoilers ahead!
Wow, what a series! The phenomenal performances across the board, breathtaking cinematography and (mostly) strong writing makes 1923 an excellent precursor to the events of Yellowstone almost a century later. This last episode was a genuine and heartfelt conclusion, despite having some wacky plotlines and, quite frankly, ridiculous writing.
Alex and Spencer: Epic or Exhausting?
Let’s start with perhaps the most moving, and annoying, plotline in this episode and series in general. Alexandra and Spencer’s respective journies are really quite remarkable, despite getting more and more ludicrous as they continued. I’m aware this is a television show, but in my opinion their expeditions stretched just too far out of the realm of possibility, leaving me detached from the characters and their experiences.
My thoughts on both these plotlines are really quite the same. I just got sick of stuff happening to the couple that seemed so far removed from reality that it was simply frustrating. There’s just no world in which a person would experience that much adversity and opposition trying to get somewhere. I’m aware this is early America that no one would’ve wanted to watch the couple get on a boat to America, then get on a series of trains to Montana without adversity arising, but this series took it a little too far in my opinion.
I find Alex’s story the most irritating. Why on earth would you continue driving past the last fuel station for hundreds of kilometres (miles are more appropriate I suppose…) in the middle of a viscious winter in the mountains. Paul and Hillary are clearly not stupid, neither is Alex, but apparently not one of them stopped to think for a second about how much further they’d need to go and whether the car could get there. Not to mention the fact that they were specifically told by the lady at the fuel station about this little problem! This kind of writing is just so absurd I find it jarring and lazy.
Once we realised just how stuffed Alex was in her position, it became increasingly obvious that somehow someone was going to swoop in and save her. I did enjoy the anticipation and suspense built here, but again it just feels too far fetched that Spencer would be sitting on the correct side of the correct train at the correct time to just catch a glimpse of Alex through the window who is somehow not dead yet and has managed to set the car on fire and… get me? Constructing whimsical and fragile plotlines that are so delicately balanced seems to be a common thread in Sheridan’s work.
Spencer’s Detour: What Was the Point?
We’re out of chronological order here but while I’m fired up let’s talk about Spencer. After he jumped out of a train in the middle of Texas (instead of throwing the dead thieves out the door and continuing on his merry way), he is magically found by US Marshal Fossett who is out looking for Marshal Kent, The Priest, and Teonna. What a coincidence! He’s questioned by Fossett who determines he’s free to leave, so off he goes to Montana on the train. The whole sequence with the thieves and jumping out of the train and being found by the marshal just seems to be unnecessary to me. What purpose did this really serve? Demonstrating Spencer’s undying loyalty to his family and Alex? I think that is already well enough established, and hence this whole thing just seems extraneous.
Alex’s Death: An Impossible Decision
Alex’s death also annoyed me due to it being so unnecessary. I understand that she didn’t feel as though she could raise her son properly if she was severely disabled, but surely it’s better than death? She’s travelled such a distance and endured so much to be with her beloved Spencer, only to decide she’d rather die than receive life-saving surgery albeit at the loss of her limbs? It is a pretty crappy situation to be in when I think about it, to be fair to Alex.
Also, can I just say off the record that it was absolutely criminal to kill off Alex after all she’d been through?! How hard would it be to let the woman live a happy life!
Banner Creighton: One of the Series’ Best Arcs
I really liked Banner’s character. His arc is one of the best in the series, supported by Jerome Flynn’s excellent performance. The scene of him sitting in the dark when he’s discovered by his wife was outstanding. He examines his own conscience and morality, and considers Jacob Dutton and Donald Whitfield in comparison to himself. I found this very insightful and interesting as it revealed his transition from a vengeful and greedy sheep grazier into a contemplative and conflicted man, concerned with the impacts of his actions on the world and those around him.
I found Banner’s decision to leave Montana with his family unexpected and an interesting twist. Despite it being obvious that he would never make it on the train, I was content observing his rejection of Whitfield’s evilness and his efforts to ‘tourify’ Montana. His Darth Vader-esque decision to save Jacob by shooting the man he had organised to help kill Spencer was another welcome development in Banner’s arc. In the end, he seemed like a man truly conflicted between great riches and morality, as is the muse of many of the Yellowstone universe’s characters.
Teonna’s Story: A Different Kind of Power
Let’s talk about Teonna’s story. Although her whole existence in 1923 felt like a bit of a side-quest from the outset that was irrelevant to the rest of the plot, I did enjoy it thoroughly. Aminah Nieves’ performance was excellent; the raw emotion and hurt was visceral, and I feel a strong connection with her character. I find Sheridan’s stacking of unlikely and exaggerated events to be annoying, but in this case it felt neither unlikely or exaggerated. It felt real, and that’s probably why it was so compelling.
Final Thoughts
I know I’ve just bashed a lot of the writing in this episode and series, but truthfully most of it was exceptional. All the main characters were written extremely well with excellent development across the two seasons, and I had a great time watching them evolve. The cinematography of the beautiful American landscape was spectacular, and provided a steady grounding point throughout the series.
1923’s finale A Dream and a Memory provides a poignant and powerful farewell to an excellent series. I thoroughly enjoyed the performances of the entire cast in this episode and series, and the writing was also stellar at times. Despite its misteps, 1923 succeeded in building a rich, emotional world that meaningfully expanded the Yellowstone universe. I’ll remember this series fondly, frustrations and all.
