1923’s premiere certainly didn’t shy away from shedding light on some of the most graphic and horrific instances from America’s history.
Set a century ago in Montana, USA, Yellowstone prequel 1923 kicked off on the Paramount Network to introduce Cara (played by Helen Mirren) and Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) to the show’s universe last Sunday. Showrunner Taylor Sheridan is no stranger to dipping into the darkest echelons of American history in his shows and the series opener of 1923 was no different. Through Teonna Rainwater (played by Aminah Nieves) and Sister Mary O’Connor (Jennifer Ehle), fans got a brutal peek into the horrific treatment of Native American youngsters at the time.
Teonna was one of the dozens of girls abducted and placed in government-backed and church-run boarding schools in 1923.
For 150 years, thousands of Native Americans were abducted up to 1969 where they were forced to change their names, abused and treated appallingly within the walls of these schools.
Sheridan shed light on this horrific goings-on throughout the series opener as fans got to see the beginning of Teonna and Sister Mary’s feud and plot lines unfold.
Sister Mary physically assaulted Teonna when she answered a handful of questions wrong in the classroom, prompting the furious youngster to lash out and beat her “teacher” to a pulp.
What followed was an even more harrowing punishment courtesy of Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché), the school’s head, who abused Sister Mary so badly that Teonna even begged for mercy.
Father Renaud then turned his attention to Teonna as he brutally lashed her across the back of the legs, creating unbearable pain and profusely bloody wounds.
As she lay in bed opposite a fellow student, fans heard the beginning of her escape plan to flee from Sister Mary and the institution, although whether she’ll be successful remains to be seen.
In the meantime, the stars behind the hard-to-watch sequences have spoken out on taking on such brutal yet true-to-fact roles.
And the pair had nothing but respect for one another when filming the episode, admitting they both gave the other “space” if they needed it over the subject matter.
Sister Mary star Ehle said of the moment: “All the first two scenes you see in episode one, we filmed on our first day.
“It was intense. We had two cultural advisors that day. We had Birdie [Real Bird], who’s Crow, and we had [Yellowstone actor] Mo Brings Plenty. Ben Richardson, our director, was great.
“He was very compassionate and gave us lots of time and space,” she told TV Insider.
Nieves echoed this as she added to the publication: “It was early morning to early morning.
“I think we both handled it pretty well, and we gave each other space when we needed it. It was a very intentional set.
“We made sure to make sure that our boundaries were respected.”
Sheridan has never shied away from delving into the USA’s treatment of Native Americans and has been widely praised for shedding light on issues many perceive were swept under the carpet.
1923 continues Sunday on Paramount Network in the USA and Monday on Paramount+ in the UK.
