1923 season 2’s perilous winter reaffirms why summer was John Dutton III’s (Kevin Costner) favorite season in Yellowstone. So far, winter has been as prevalent in 1923 season 2 as series leads Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. The patriarch and matriarch of the Prohibition-era members of the Dutton family tree, Jacob and Cara Dutton, have been trying to hold the Yellowstone ranch together in the face of attacks from all sides by their nemesis, Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton).

Winter compounded the Duttons’ ordeal in 1923 season 2. Taylor Sheridan’s flagship Neo-Western, Yellowstone, set in the present day, presented Paradise Valley, Montana’s natural surroundings as idyllic, but still dangerous. Bear and wolf attacks were to be feared, as well as the most dangerous animals of all: man, whether they were the Duttons or their many enemies. Still, Yellowstone generally showcased Montana in warmer seasons. 1923 season 2, so far, has been about how, as Jacob Dutton put it, “This winter just won’t end.”

1923 Season 2 Is The Worst Winter Ever Seen In Yellowstone
“This Winter Just Won’t End”

Taylor Sheridan waited until 1923 season 2 to fully depict the brutality of a Montana winter. With the omniscient narration of Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) hammering the point home, winter has been exceptionally cruel to the Duttons in 1923 season 2. Besides the possibility of freezing from the snow and ice of blizzards, a mountain lion and a rabid wolf have attacked Elizabeth Strafford (Michelle Randolph). The wolf even penetrated the inner sanctum of the Duttons’ lodge to kill a nurse, proving winter’s wrath has no boundaries.

Yellowstone season 4’s premiere foreshadowed the bleak winter of 1923 season 2. Set in 1893, James Dutton (Tim McGraw), and his young sons Spencer (Charlie Stover) and John (Jack Michael Doke) encountered Native Americans and allowed them to remain on their land during a harsh winter season. It was one of the rare times a Montana winter and its challenges to man and beast were presented in Yellowstone, and it laid the groundwork for what Jacob Dutton’s clan would face in 1923 season 2.

1923 Season 2 Makes It Clear Why John Dutton III Loved Summer
Yellowstone Season 3 Was A Great Summer

While the Duttons are eager for the unforgiving winter to pass, 1923 season 2 nicely reaffirms why John Dutton III loved summer. In Yellowstone season 3, John led the Yellowstone cowboys and their herd to summer camp where they happily remained far from their many troubles and enemies – at least for a little while. Soon, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), Tate (Brecken Merill), and even Governor Lynelle Perry (Wendy Moniz) joined John at summer camp.

Yellowstone season 3’s summer camp was possibly the most John Dutton ever enjoyed himself in the series before his death halfway through Yellowstone season 5. Paradise Valley was never more inviting, and the cowboy fantasy of Yellowstone more alluring for viewers than John Dutton’s summer camp. John sometimes alluded to how unforgiving winter can be in Yellowstone, and audiences are seeing it now in 1923 season 2 while sharing the Duttons’ yearning for another Paradise Valley summer.