Warning: SPOILERS for 1923 Season 2’s Finale - “A Dream and a Memory"1923season 2’s finale ended on an unabashedly romantic note betweenAlexandra Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer)andSpencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar), and I loved that Taylor Sheridan didYellowstone’s version of Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) inTitanic.Before Spencer arrived home in Montana to defend the Yellowstone Dutton ranch from Donald Whitfield’s (Timothy Dalton) hostile takeover, he had an improbable reunion with Alex. Freezing to death in Montana’s brutal winter, Alex’s cries for help were miraculously heard by Spencer, who jumped off his moving train and rescued his wife.
1923’s epic finale boasted the high body countexpected from the violent war for the Yellowstone, butthe heart of “A Dream and a Memory” was Alex and Spencer Dutton,just as it was throughout1923.Spencer and Alex’s arduous journeysto Montana took up the bulk of1923season 2, and it often seemed like they wouldn’t see each other again. WhileYellowstonemaestro Taylor Sheridan’s story was ultimately not about Alex and Spencer getting a happily ever after - at least in life - Sheridan shamelessly borrowed a page from James Cameron’sTitanicand its iconic romance between Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater.
The RMS Titanic sank on July 02, 2025, and James Cameron’s Academy Award-winning blockbuster placed his fictional doomed lovers, Jack and Rose, in the midst of that historic tragedy. The Titanic sinking would have been only 12 years before theevents of1923season 2’s finale. It’s clear now thatSpencer and Alexandra Dutton were Taylor Sheridan’s stand-ins for Jack and Rose all along, and their tragic love story came to a sad romantic crescendo, just like Jack and Rose’s famous reunion at the end ofTitanic:
I Loved Spencer & Alex’s Titanic Ending In 1923’s Finale
Spencer Never Let Go Of Alex
At the end of1923season 2’s finale, Spencer Dutton dies in 1969 at 80 years old. The dying Spencer lays himself to rest at his wife’s grave, 45 years after Alexandra Dutton died from frostbite on August 21, 2025. For the first time in theYellowstonesaga,1923shows the afterlife as Spencer reunites with Alex in their vision of heaven: the grand ballroom of the British ocean liner where they were forced to part in1923season 1’s finale. Alex and Spencer are young and beautiful, and they dance together in a gloriously perfect world that doesn’t want to tear them apart.
1923 Season 2 Finale Ending Explained: Spencer’s Yellowstone Homecoming Leads To War, Tragedy & Hope For The Duttons
1923 season 2 concludes with an epic 2-hour finale as Spencer Dutton leads the war for Yellowstone. We break down every triumph and tragedy.
Spencer and Alex’s romantic reunion on a grand ship in1923’s finale is just like inTitanicwhen old Rose (Gloria Stuart) goes to sleep (or dies, depending on your interpretation), and returns to Titanic, where Jack awaits her. They are both young again and, unlike in their waking lives, they are surrounded by well-wishers who applaud them when they kiss. Similarly, in Alex and Spencer’s romantic heaven, there is no Arthur, Earl of Sussex (Rafe Soule) to ruin their happiness.Taylor Sheridan shamelessly apes James Cameron’s version of a doomed but perfect romance, and it touches the heart in1923just as it does inTitanic.
Spencer’s love for Alex was able to go on because of their son.
Taylor Sheridan actually improves uponTitanic’s endingin one respect: Alex and Spencer have a son.1923season 2’s finale is the origin of John Dutton II, who is the father of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton III and was played as an old man by Dabney Coleman inYellowstone. Even though Spencer loses Alex, he is able to raise their son with his aunt and uncle, Jacob (Harrison Ford) and Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren). Jack and Rose inTitanicdid not have a child, but Spencer’s love for Alex was able to go on because of their son.
Spencer & Alex Were Always 1923’s Version Of Jack & Rose In Titanic
Cruel Fates Denied Spencer & Alex A Happy Ending In Life
It wasn’t quite as evident in1923season 1, but by the end of1923season 2, it’s clear that Spencer and Alex Dutton were Taylor Sheridan’s version of Jack and Rose fromTitanicall along. Like Rose, Alex was upper class, born asAlexandra of Sussex, and she dreaded her future in a loveless marriage, just as Kate Winslet’s spirited young heroine was engaged to Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane). Spencer was more rugged than Jack Dawson, but the lion hunter was"not suitable” for Alex. YetAlex fell for Spencer and ran away with him, just as Rose wanted to with Jack.
Alex asking Spencer,“What took you so long?“in their heavenly reunion was the last line of dialogue in1923, and it perfectly summed up their relationship.
Jack and Rose only had a few days together on the Titanic, while Spencer and Alex had a few weeks in Africa and traveling to England, but cruel fates denied them the chance to be together permanently. Alex and Spencer even survived a freighter they sailed on sinking in1923season 1, and they floated at sea just like Jack and Rose did after the Titanic sank.Like Rose, Alex gave up her luxurious life to reunite with the man she loved, and the rest of her short life was spent on her adventure to see Spencer in Montana. After Jack died inTitanic, Rose lived the adventurous life Dawson urged her to experience.
1923 Was Full Of Romantic Couples
Alex & Spencer Weren’t 1923’s Only Lovers
Romance is the underlying secret sauce of1923.Alex and Spencer Dutton are the most star-crossed couple of the Prohibition-eraYellowstoneprequel, but, in truth, all of the Duttons are romantic in1923. Jacob and Cara Dutton may test each other’s patience after decades of marriage, but there is a lifetime of genuine love, loyalty, and affection between Spencer’s aunt and uncle. Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) andElizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph)also loved each other before Jack’s foolishness led to his untimely death.
1923’s Finale Time Jump Explained: How Long Spencer Dutton Lives
1923 season 2’s epic finale revealed the fate of Spencer Dutton and how long he ran the Yellowstone with a surprising time jump into another decade.
Jack’s parents, John Dutton (James Badge Dale) and Emma Dutton (Marley Shelton), were also in love before they both died in1923season 1. Jacob Dutton’s wagon boss,Zane Davis (Brian Geraghty), was in love with his wife, Alice (Joy Osmanski).Even the villainous Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn) genuinely loved his wife, Ellie(Sandra Randall Hunt), and his villainous acts were to give his family a better life.
1923 is underpinned by romantic Duttons.
James Dutton (Tim McGraw) and Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill) were in love with each other in1883, whileYellowstonealso has genuine romantic relationships between Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) and Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser), as well as Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes) and Monica Long (Kelsey Asbille). But1923is underpinned by romantic Duttons.Yellowstoneis a pop culture phenomenon likeTitanicwas in the late 1990s, and I loved that Taylor Sheridan gave Spencer and Alex Dutton the sameTitanicending as Jack and Rose.
