This article contains spoilers for “1923” Season 2.
“1923” isn’t an easy show to watch, especially when it comes to the persecution faced by its Native American characters at the hands of the authorities and the church. Season 1 focused on the horrific Native American abuse in boarding schools, resulting in Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) killing two sadistic nuns and going on the run. With Season 2 now underway, she finds herself being pursued by the authorities, led by the ruthless Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) and his deputies.
The second season’s first episode, “The Killing Season,” sees Kent venture into Comanche territory and demand to know the whereabouts of Rainwater. Desperate to get answers from the tribe (who have no idea who Rainwater is, let alone where she’s hiding out), he grabs a little girl and points a gun at her head. Kent also seems more than happy to shed the blood of a child if it means completing the task at hand, which isn’t surprising considering that he’s killed innocents before.
While the corrupt lawman doesn’t pull the trigger (he lets the child go free after Father Renauld, who’s played by Sebastian Roché, protests), it’s yet another example of the larger “Yellowstone” franchise pushing the boundaries of good taste. Indeed, the scene in question is reminiscent of one of the wildest moments on “Yellowstone,” and it’s bound to have the same unsettling effect on viewers.
Marshal Kent pulls a Kayce Dutton on 1923
Many people believe that Taylor Sheridan ruined “Yellowstone” Season 5, especially following Kevin Costner’s departure and the messy storytelling that came with it. Season 5 certainly has its flaws, but it still contains scenes that pack a shocking punch, most notably when Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) holds a child up at gunpoint and threatens to pull the trigger in front of the kid’s hitman father. Needless to say, he gets his point across and then some.
The scene illustrates that Kayce is willing to destroy entire families to protect his own kin, and to be fair to him, the hitman he threatens was heavily responsible for the murder of his father. That said, pointing a gun at an innocent child is arguably extreme, especially after Kayce’s own son, Tate Dutton (Brecken Meriill), almost died and went on to become traumatized. In this world, though, it’s tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. Empathetic parents are few and far between in the “Yellowstone” universe.
Of course, Kayce’s actions were calculated, while Marshal Kent’s were more erratic. Their reasons for pointing pistols at kids are also wildly different, but they’re similar in the sense that they typify this franchise’s fondness for shock value. However, only time will tell if Kent’s threats against young characters will be as polarizing as Kayce’s exploits in “Yellowstone” Season 5.
New episodes of “1923” premiere Sundays on Paramount+.