Spencer and Alex’s harrowing journey to Montana continues to provide some of the show’s most action-packed moments.
As we pass the halfway mark of the first season of 1923, things are not looking great for the Duttons and their sprawling Yellowstone ranch. Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) has been shot nine times by the army bought with the ruthless Donald Whitfield’s (Timothy Dalton) money and put together by the law-breaking scoundrel of a sheep farmer Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn). Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) has been left to tend to things while Jacob slowly convalesces from his near-death encounter. The ambush by Creighton has left the Duttons depleted, and Cara has sent a letter for nephew Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), to come home from his big game hunting sabbatical in Africa and help defend the ranch from Whitfield and Creighton.
Meanwhile, Spencer has met and had a whirlwind romance with a proper British woman, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer), and the two have quickly become engaged. The news of trouble back home has put the two on a tugboat to cross the Atlantic on a long journey that will, unfortunately, leave some of the show’s best action sequences behind along with it. But their journey across the pond will no doubt continue to provide some of the show’s most electrifying moments — because so far, the scenes with the two of them have been the most enthralling and dramatic action sequences in the first season of 1923.
Hunting Man-Eating Big Cats
We are first introduced to Spencer early on in 1923 as he is quietly stalking a terrifying, man-eating lion that has been feasting on the people of an African tribe. Almost immediately, there is a face-off as the lion emerges from the brush and leaps toward Spencer, who is barely able to fire a unload a round from his shotgun. The lion takes Spencer to the ground, and there are a dramatic few moments where we don’t know if either of them is alive. Slowly, Spencer opens his eyes and with the help of two African guides, rolls the dead lion off of the rattled, but otherwise unharmed big game hunter.
It’s the first in a sequence of dramatic moments involving Spencer and eventually his new romantic interest, Alexandra, as they quickly fall in love, and she accompanies him on another safari trip outside of Nairobi. Before that happens, Spencer also has a run-in with a set of killer leopards, after venturing into the African savannahs and remote wilderness in search of the big cats that have been attacking unsuspecting people.
Stuck in a Tree
After losing a friend and trusted guide to a leopard on his last hunt in Episode 2, “Nature’s Empty Throne,” Spencer is not thrilled about having Alexandra along for the ride in the dangerous steppes of Africa, but the spirited young woman insists on accompanying her new love on his next trip into the wilderness. And right on cue, things quickly take a turn for the worse in Episode 3, “The War Has Come Home,” after their car is upended by a massive, charging elephant.
After surviving the violent collision, the two find themselves in quite a predicament. They are stranded in the middle of nowhere and are surrounded by hungry animals that would like nothing more than to have Spencer and Alexandra for dinner. The only safe spot is a small tree that will get them off the ground. But the tree is too low to the ground, and as night falls, they find themselves surrounded by a voracious pride of lions that are tearing through the dead elephant nearby and take to snapping their jaws at the two lovers’ feet. It’s a terrifying jolt of reality for Alex, who up until that point was acting as if she was on a fun-filled, all-expenses-paid African safari.
Suddenly, headlights appear on the horizon, and the two realize that it is a small caravan of cars that are there to rescue them. The loud cars are enough to scare off the lions, and they manage to escape the tree and are taken back to civilization. During the ride, Alex makes Spencer promise that he will never make her feel that scared again, and Spencer complies. It appears that whatever World War I post-traumatic stress-induced death wish that he has been suffering from has been quelled, if not completely tamed, by his beautiful, new English fiancée. The two move forward from that point as a unit, and Spencer has a new lease on life and a reason to get back to the world and live within society.
A Ghost Ship on a Collision Course
As Episode 5, “Ghost of Zebrina,” arrives, Spencer has received word from his aunt, Cara Dutton, regarding the deadly ambush that has left several of his family members dead and Jacob severely wounded. She pleads for his long-awaited return. He and Alex immediately set out on a perilous, month-long trip across the Atlantic Ocean to return to Yellowstone to help wage war with their adversaries. They end up on a small tugboat captained by a gruff, old mariner named, Lucca (Peter Stormare), a salty sea dog who runs a tight ship, so to speak. The veteran character actor is a wonderful addition who brings some comic relief and believability to the role. The three set out to cross the pond, and soon encounter an enormous ship drifting directly toward the tiny tugboat, Lucca tells Spencer the true story about the abandoned “ghost ship” Zebrina, which was once a British coal liner and has been afloat at sea picking off smaller boats since the end of the war. Lucca is barely able to steer the boat clear of the ship’s massive hull that would surely have crushed them.
After the close call, Spencer and Alex awaken the next day to an eerie calm. Spencer is immediately concerned as to why the boat’s engine isn’t running and takes to the helm to find Lucca dead behind the wheel. As he tries to radio for help, the tugboat is jolted by the drifting Zebrina that has circled back around to T-bone the tugboat. The small boat is pushed onto its port side as Spencer and Alex tumble around the small galleys. Spencer collects himself and tries to throttle out from underneath the massive ship’s stern, but is unable to free the pinned boat. Eventually, the tugboat is completely overtaken and capsizes as the episode comes to a close. Naturally, there is concern that Spencer and Alex have been killed, along with a dead or compromised Lucca, but we will have to wait until Episode 6 to find out what becomes of the three and what they will do next even if they manage to survive. We hope it’s at least Spencer and Alex who makes it out alive, as the epic journey the two have been on throughout the first five episodes has provided the most dramatic scenes in 1923 so far.