A key character is killed off

The winter-battered second season of 1923 has been filled with death, despair, and destruction. And that’s without accounting for Alex’s (Julia Schlaepfer) seemingly endless stretch of extremely bad luck. 

But the brutality of the previous five weeks can’t hold a candle to the heartbreaking cruelty — and skyrocketing body count — of this season’s penultimate installment, “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters.”

Episode 6 begins on a relatively happy note. Following Zane’s (Brian Geraghty) successful surgery and Elizabeth’s (Michelle Randolph) surprise pregnancy, the Duttons are gathered around the dinner table feeling pretty good about their recent wins. They score another victory when Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick) arrives to report Spencer’s (Brandon Sklenar) imminent return. 

While Cara (Helen Mirren) is left speechless over the joyous news of her long-lost nephew’s homecoming, Jacob (Harrison Ford) isn’t ready to celebrate just yet. He is, of course, happy, but he also realizes Spencer’s arrival invites the risk of Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) having him killed the second he steps off the train.

Jacob’s concerns are quickly justified when we catch up with Banner (Jerome Flynn) and his goons at a speakeasy. Upon hearing his henchmen — including Livestock Agency mole Clyde (Brian Konowal) — hype up Spencer as a war hero and great hunter, Banner calls for him to be executed alongside the rest of the Dutton clan.

Before the opening credits roll, we also get some closure on last episode’s cliffhanger. The shoot-out between Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) and Pete (Jeremy Gauna) did not end well for the latter. As Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) approaches the grisly scene, we learn that Kent was apparently the quicker draw. But the priest is upset over the young man’s death — he demands justice, not murder. He’s fed up with Kent hiding behind his badge, slaughtering anyone who gets in the way. He’s so fed up, in fact, that he turns his firearm on the lawman and delivers God’s punishment with three pistol shots. 

For those keeping count, that’s two characters dead before the episode even properly kicks off. And it’s just getting warmed up. 

Back at the ranch, Jacob has gathered a room full of men and a table full of guns. He orders Jack (Darren Mann) to stay back and watch over Cara and Elizabeth while he heads to the train station to secure Spencer’s safe arrival. Cara makes him promise that he’ll return home in one piece.

While the Duttons are mobilizing, Whitfield is giving his new prisoner/prostitute a warm welcome. The girl’s feet are bound to his bed, while her head and hands are locked in a pillory. He orders his other live-in sex worker to alternate between torturing and pleasuring the terrified girl. 

Banner interrupts the sexual sadism to deliver the news of Spencer’s arrival. Whitfield doubles down on his previous orders, instructing the former sheepherder to murder all the Duttons and dump their bodies in the lawless border town. 

Before Banner leaves, he voices his disgust over his boss’ abuse of the girl: “Ya know, that’s someone’s daughter.” Flashing a sinister smile, Whitfield tells him that, if given the chance, he’d do the exact same thing to the girl’s mother.

We next catch up with Teonna (Aminah Nieves) and her dad, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears), who are bedding down beneath the stars. She’s worried about Pete, but her father comforts her, promising they will look for him in the morning. He keeps his word, and the next day they find poor Pete and Kent lying dead under circling vultures. Runs His Horse again attempts to console his daughter, telling her Pete sacrificed himself to save her and, with the marshal dead, they can now safely return home to their people.

At the ranch, Jack is patrolling the grounds. But when the impulsive cowboy learns his uncle Jacob went to the train station with just three men, he decides to catch up with him to help secure Spencer’s arrival. Speaking of the great white hunter’s trip home, we briefly check in with Spencer on his train. While trying to get some rest in the dining car, he learns that the relentless snow is still delaying and canceling routes. The conductor suggests a more reliable — but lengthier — path to Montana, and changes his itinerary. 

Meanwhile, Sheriff McDowell, Jacob, and his army of three are already at the station waiting for Spencer. But given that they don’t know exactly where or when he’ll arrive — or how many men Banner will send to intercept him — they’re a bit on edge. On the plus side, Jack is on his way to help strengthen their ranks.

Or maybe not. Jack is riding through the wilderness on his way to meet Jacob when he spots two cowboys. It’s Clyde and another man, who announce themselves as livestock agents. Relieved to discover the men are allies, Jack comes out of hiding and flashes a smile and his badge. Clyde shoots him dead. 

That gut punch is thankfully tempered by some good news, as it seems Alex has finally caught a break. Her new British friends are so touched by her story that they decide to drive her home to Montana in their fancy motorcar. Excited, if a little naive, over the prospect of a road trip, the trio chart a path to Big Sky Country.

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An uncharacteristically jaunty montage follows Alex and her charming friends from Wisconsin to South Dakota. Their jolly good time is dampened a bit, however, when a gas station attendant warns them they’ll never make it to their destination by car. Undeterred, the Brits fuel up, fasten snow chains to their vehicle’s tires, and continue forward. 

While we cross our fingers for Alex, the episode returns us to Teonna and her father. Still reeling from Pete’s murder, the former is losing her will to move on. As her dad attempts to comfort her by the fire, Father Renaud watches them from afar. Later that evening, the priest slowly approaches while they sleep. He shoots and kills Runs His Horse before turning his pistol on Teonna. He commands her to ask for forgiveness before he executes her. She refuses. He condemns her to hell, then pulls the trigger. 

As an unseasoned gunman though, he hasn’t accounted for how much ammo he has already used. Teonna reacts to his empty pistol’s click by feeding him a face full of burning embers. She then stabs him repeatedly before firing a few bullets into him for good measure.

With Pete, Marshal Kent, Runs His Horse, Father Renaud, and Jack now dead, the episode’s body count rises to five. But there’s still a few minutes left. 

After checking back briefly with Spencer, who’s about to board his next train, to Deadwood, the episode returns to Alex. No longer enthusiastic about their road trip, the Brits are cold and looking a little nervous. While they sip from a flask to keep warm, the car’s fuel gauge needle hovers above “empty.” Alex later awakes in the back seat to discover the vehicle has stopped, and the British man is no longer behind the wheel. She asks his wife where he went but gets no response. The woman is frozen solid. Alex exits the vehicle and sees a body buried in a nearby snowdrift. Shivering and sporting blue lips, she goes back inside the car and shuts the door.

Following seven visits from the Grim Reaper, the episode finally draws to a close. The camera slowly pulls back to reveal the British couple’s car iced over and surrounded by snow in all directions. With that final, bleak shot, the screen goes black until next week’s season finale.