Warning: This article contains spoilers for the season finale of 1923. It also touches upon the topic of child loss; please take care while reading.
The season finale of 1923 brought with it a lot of unexpected heartache, pain, and turmoil. While fans have grown accustomed to this branch of the Dutton family tree experiencing more than their fair share of tragedy, the events seemed more unfair than we were expecting.
A particularly heartbreaking piece of the story was the loss that Elizabeth and Jack Dutton experienced. As happy newlyweds, it felt exceptionally unkind, as these should have been some of the greatest moments of their lives. The unexpected loss of their unborn child wasn’t something they were even considering, and once it happened, it was a chapter in their story that couldn’t be unread.
Michelle Randolph breathes life into Elizabeth Dutton, and her journey with the family has been full of magic and despair, all in the same moments. While Randolph was familiar with Sheridan’s writing style, she wasn’t sure exactly what the future would hold for her character. Anticipating heartache and going through the motions are two different things, but she feels lucky to have seen Elizabeth grow as she experienced each one. And she shared Deadline, she also thinks it brought her closer to her husband, Jack.
“I know Taylor’s writing because I watched 1883. I had only read the first three episodes when I booked the job, so I didn’t know what was going to happen exactly. But I had a few ideas and I have not been disappointed in all of the growth that Elizabeth has gone through, the hardship. I think it really deepens the love story between Elizabeth and Jack. It’s made them stronger as a couple.”
Of course, as fans know, Elizabeth picked staying with the Duttons over going home with her family early in the series. Randolph had to come to terms with an important question when weighing the loss of her baby with Jack — does she hold resentment towards the Duttons and their circumstance?
“I don’t think that even crosses her mind. The Dutton family is her family, and Yellowstone is her life. I think it might be a little too painful to think that it was caused by anything that has to do with the Duttons or Yellowstone. It’s just something she has to work through.”
Working through an unexpected loss isn’t easy on anyone, but losing one’s own child is something painful and unnatural. We aren’t meant to experience the loss of our kids, yet it’s something that some parents still have to face. When Elizabeth learned she suffered a miscarriage, it was one of the most heartbreaking moments of the entire season, especially in the finale.
It was also a moment of vulnerability between the couple, one that brought them together in a way that allowed them to hold onto their pain and the love they’ll carry with them for their unborn child for the rest of their days. Feeling so many emotions at once while feeling so much hurt was something that required them to lend their hearts to one another. The storyline was something important for Randolph to be conscientious of.
“It’s a very intimate scene, and I wanted to be really careful with it because it’s something that a lot of women have experienced. Same with Darren. We had each other, and our director was really helpful in just creating a safe space to feel those emotions.”
Randolph and Darren Mann gave a beautiful yet heartwrenching performance in those scenes together, and we’re sure that we’ll continue to see how that loss shapes the future of 1923. They have a lot of life left to enjoy with one another and to spend honoring the loved one they lost, carrying them through each new adventure. No matter what the future holds, they’ll lean on one another in the good and bad times. If their love story has proven anything thus far, it’s that nothing in this world will be given the power to break them; they simply won’t allow it.
You can stream the first season of 1923 in its entirety on Paramount Plus now, while patiently waiting to see what the second season holds for our beloved characters.