It Didn’t Have To Be That Way, The Ending Of Season 2 Of 1923
Brandon Sklenar (playing Spencer Dutton) and Julia Schlaepfer (playing Alexandra Dutton) in season 2 of 1923 | Photo Credit: 1923 Official/Instagram
Looking specifically at the character of Alexandra Dutton, when we choose to rush ahead and not count the cost, it leads to all kinds of destruction
Writer and director Taylor Sheridan and executive producer David Glasser sure do know how to make epic and gripping television shows. From Landman, to Mayor of Kingstown, and to where it all started with Yellowstone and their spinoffs 1883 and 1923, they have created shows that magnetize viewers.
Funny story, Taylor Sheridan tried to make it as an actor but didn’t succeed, but he has excelled as a writer and director. He acts well in series that he has written with Glasser and I can’t speak to what makes a good actor, but his calling and place is in writing and director because he makes hit TV show after TV show- a reminder to us all that when we find our calling, we will excel, so it’s better to pursue our calling and not things outside of it.
Anyways, 1923 is a precursor to the Yellowstone saga and the renowned Dutton family. Starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Brandon Sklenar, and Julia Schlaepfer it draws the viewer in. If you haven’t seen or finished season 2 then this is where you’ll want to stop reading. What stood out to me the most in the series is Alexandra Dutton (played by Schlaepfer) and her impatience to want to be reunited with her husband Spencer Dutton (played by Sklenar).
Alexandra Dutton: from England, to New York, to Chicago, to Montana
Alexandra depressed being separated from Spencer | Photo Credit: 1923 Official/Instagram
Alexandra, working on a train from New York to Chicago, making her way to Spencer| Photo Credit: 1923 Official/Instagram
In her quest to get from England where she was with child and separated from her husband, Alexandra was determined to get to him in Montana. I get it, she was madly in love with her husband, forcibly separated from him, and unsure of her fate in England being pregnant by a man her family didn’t approve of. But, waiting until she could make contact with Spencer, who himself was trying to make his way back home to Montana (and facing challenges of his own) would have been best. But, ok, she trudged onwards to New York and made it through the challenges of Ellis Island- great. But soon encountered a robber in the bathroom at Grand Central Station which made her journey onward more challenging.
Alexandra continued to face challenges like having to work in the kitchen of her train from New York to Chicago, and faced being sexually harassed- things that could have been avoided if she would have held out in England. But the kicker is the Chicago couple that met on her train to Chicago, that took her into their home was a godsend. If she would have just waited for winter to pass out West, and stayed put in their home she would have lived. But inspiring them to drive from Chicago to Montana in the harsh winter, in a 1920s car with no heat led to all of their detriments. They died and she suffered frostbite that later led to her death.
The Bible is full of so many passages on waiting on God. While 1923 is not a faith television show, Alexandra’s angst and impatience can lead one to ponder on the myriad of passages in the Bible that tells us to wait on God. When we don’t wait on God it can lead to self-made hardships, losing out on blessings, and a richer life that God intends for all of us to have. If only Alexandra would have waited.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Alexandra relied on her own understanding, not considering that winters out West in the United States are harsh, brutal, and unforgiving. She also didn’t have street smarts. Having grown up in an affluent British family, she had never traveled alone or in inner city America, where crime was more rampant than her aristocratic lifestyle. How many times have you and I relied on our own understanding? When we do that, not counting the costs, our paths become crooked.
Finally, when she and Spencer reunited, her frostbite was irreversible and being her headstrong self, she refused to get her hands and feet amputated- a decision that I understand but one that led to more heartbreak for Spencer. The line that Spencer spat out was most gripping, “you didn’t have to do it like this, I was coming for you.” For me that was a Jesus moment. The Pursuer of our souls, who loves everyone, and who like Spencer’s character is full of honor and cowboy-like every sense of the word is always coming for us, we don’t have to do life’s heavy lifting. Alexandra didn’t have to leave England and go through all the hardships that she did because even if her family would have given her a hard time while she was waiting for him, he was going to fight for her, he was going to go and get his wife- just like Jesus is always coming to help us in our time of need (Psalm 46:1).
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
When we act like Alexandra in life and take matters into our own hands, causing our own life challenges, instead of seeking and surrendering to God and His will, we will inevitably become weary and faint as she did on her journey. I don’t know about you but I’d rather operate in God’s strength, I’d rather soar on eagles’ wings, I’d rather run, and I’d rather walk. There’s wisdom in making plans, counting the costs of decisions, planning, and waiting on God. It leads to life and not death- spiritually, metaphorically, and physically speaking.
Well, that’s that. Onwards to the next prequel from Sheridan and Glasser with the Dutton family, 1944!
