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Taylor Sheridan’s 1883 episode 9 brought the story back to the opening scene from episode 1. Elsa Dutton gets shot with an arrow by the Native American people, and viewers have yet to see her fate. Given what James and Margaret Dutton discussed in episode 9, it doesn’t look good for Elsa moving forward in 1883 episode 10. Now, they have a choice to make.

[Spoiler alert: 1883 episode 9 spoilers ahead.]

Is Elsa dead? ‘1883’ episode 9 reveals James and Margaret Dutton talking about her future

'1883' stars Tim McGraw as James Dutton and Isabel May as Elsa Dutton standing together for a portrait
Tim McGraw as James Dutton and Isabel May as Elsa Dutton | Emerson Miller/Paramount+

1883 episode 9 has fans concerned for Elsa Dutton. Does Elsa die from the arrow she’s hit with? After she was struck, she insisted the wound didn’t hurt, and she was able to have the arrow fully removed from her torso. But after James and Margaret Dutton saw the arrow, they knew Elsa was in bad shape. The arrow was filthy, and they assumed their daughter would succumb to infection in the coming days.

“If we don’t accept it now, she’s gonna die in some fort with some doctor doping her up so badly she can’t see straight, and we will have robbed her,” James explains to Margaret during the episode. “We will lie to her and tell her she’s fine. We’ll let her look at this world with those big dreamer eyes until she can’t see anymore.”

By the end of the episode and heading into 1883 episode 10, Elsa catches wind that her father’s hiding the truth from her, too.

The Duttons seemingly have to make a choice as to where to bury Elsa in ‘1883’ episode 10

Elsa Dutton with an arrow through her midsection talking to a Native American on a horse in '1883' episode 9
Isabel May as Elsa Dutton | Emerson Miller/Paramount+

1883 episode 10 marks the season finale for the show. Viewers anticipate watching Elsa’s declining health. And in episode 9, James and Margaret discuss settling in the place where they bury Elsa. Episode 10 will likely focus on the parents making the heartbreaking choice of where to bury their daughter and where to settle.

With this in mind, it’s possible James and Margaret never make it to Oregon. The Duttons in Yellowstone, the sequel to 1883, have their ranch in Montana. Theories suggest Elsa dies before the Duttons can reach Oregon, thus causing them to bury her in Montana and settle there.

Elsa seems to know she’s dying, too. There’s a chance the Duttons stop in Montana and send someone to alert Elsa’s husband, Sam, of her condition. This could also cause James and Margaret to park their wagons in Montana as they wait for Sam to catch up.

Do James and Margaret Dutton have another son?

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If Elsa dies, James and Margaret Dutton will carry on with their lives with their son, John Dutton, in 1883 episode 10 and beyond. But do the couple have another son?

According to The Cinemaholic, Spencer Dutton is James and Margaret’s next son. He hasn’t been born yet in 1883, and it’s unclear if viewers will see how he comes about. But fans see him in the Yellowstone Season 4 premiere in an 1893 flashback. The flashback shows Spencer with his brother, John, and his father, James. The publication notes he appears in another flashback later in that same season.

There’s a good chance 1883 Season 2 will follow James and Margaret as they give birth to their second son. And, of course, we’ll see what happens to Elsa.

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