‘1923’: Why Is Spencer Dutton in Africa?
When Spencer Dutton first appears in 1923, he is hunting a lion in Africa. Spencer is the youngest of James and Margaret’s children, who was born sometime after the events of 1883. The rest of the Duttons are now working on the family ranch in Montana, so why is Spencer on the other side of the world?
[Warning: 1923 premiere spoilers ahead.]
Spencer Dutton is James and Margaret’s youngest child
1883 tells the story of the 19th-century Dutton’s treacherous journey West in search of a better life. James and his wife Margaret braved the journey with their children Elsa and John, but their daughter didn’t survive the trip.
Yellowstone Season 4 introduced Spencer Dutton, John’s younger brother, who was born sometime after the family’s arrival in Montana. In the year 1893, James sets out to confront a group of horse thieves while Margaret, John, and Spencer wait at home. In the battle, James receives a gunshot wound, which 1923 confirmed was fatal.
Why is Spencer Dutton in Africa in ‘1923’?
1923 jumped forward several decades in time. John and Spencer Dutton are now grown men carrying on their father’s legacy. John, now 45 years old, works at the ranch and has a wife named Emma and a son named Jack.
Spencer is estimated to be in his mid to late 30s. When 1923 first introduces Spencer Dutton, he is living in Africa, stalking a ferocious lion that nearly gets the best of him. Spencer shoots the creature, and he and his partners carry it through the grass. In 1923, big game hunting was lawful in Africa. Spencer works as a hunter for hire, killing predators that plague human settlements and encampments.
Later, Spencer suffers a nightmare of his time serving in WWI. Though his service made him handy with a gun, he’s also clearly struggling to deal with the trauma that the rest of his family can’t understand, which leads him to live a nomadic life in Africa.
When the United States entered WWI in 1917, Jacob and John would have been too old to be drafted, and Jack was likely far too young. Unfortunately for Spencer, it seems he was within the age range to enter the fighting.
Does Spencer die in the ‘1923’ premiere?
Later in the 1923 premiere, Spencer arrived at a camp of Europeans in Africa. This time a leopard is plaguing the small group. He and his team plan to use themselves as live bait to kill the creature, but they run into a problem. There are actually two leopards on the attack. One of the leopards kills a British woman at the encampment, and the episode ends with the other creature lunging for Spencer.
Fans will have to wait for 1923 Episode 2 to determine if Spencer survived the attack. At the beginning of the premiere, Elsa Dutton’s narration points out that only one of James and Margaret’s children would live to see their children grown, which could suggest Spencer dies. However, the official 1923 trailer appears to show Spencer in a future scene in the series.
New episodes of 1923 are released Sundays on Paramount+.
