Taylor Sheridan’s Next Yellowstone Prequel Needs To Answer 1923’s Biggest Teonna Rainwater Question

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Taylor Sheridan’s next Yellowstone prequel needs to answer the biggest outstanding question about Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves) after 1923. The Yellowstone executive producer has teased a follow-up to 1923 season 2 called 1944, which would pick up amid the events of World War II. 1944 could include key members of the Dutton family tree, like Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) and maybe even, as a ghost, Alex Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer). That said, 1944 can also include Teonna, who had a bittersweet ending in 1923 season 2’s finale, walking free of the crimes she committed against her abusers.

Starting at an assimilation school run by the U.S. government and the Catholic Church, Teonna Rainwater overcomes horrible things in 1923. Teonna is abused by two nuns, Sister Mary (Jennifer Ehle) and Sister Alice (Kerry O’Malley), and she kills them before escaping. While Teonna will be able to start a new life after she is relieved from her former burdens, her freedom costs her everything, as she said to Two Spears (Dougie Hall) at the end of 1923 season 2. Still, despite all we have witnessed of her life, there’s one unresolved aspect of Teonna Rainwater’s 1923 story.

Taylor Sheridan’s 1944 Spinoff Must Explain Teonna Rainwater’s Yellowstone Connection: Teonna Rainwater’s Story Runs Parallel To The 1920s Dutton Family

Despite 1923 ending, we don’t know how Teonna Rainwater connects to the Dutton family. It’s an asset to 1923 that Teonna had a story independent of the Duttons, painting a more complete picture of life in the American West amid the Prohibition Era. Unfortunately, 1923’s worst story is based on real life, and Teonna’s escape from her boarding school experience is one of 1923’s strongest elements. Still, the Dutton family is the soul of the Yellowstone franchise, and there are clues that Teonna’s story plays a big role in the modern-day saga led by Kevin Costner as John Dutton III.

John Dutton’s original adversary, the first person who tried to take his land in Yellowstone, was Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham). Teonna and Thomas Rainwater share a surname, suggesting tribal chairman Rainwater may be the descendant of Nieve’s 1923 character. Still, when Teonna’s story ends in 1923 season 2, all we know is that she is potentially heading to California, where Two Spears says there’s “fruit on the trees and game on the hills.” Therefore, all we can assume is that Teonna headed West. Many assumed Teonna’s story would eventually connect to the Duttons in 1923, but that didn’t pan out. Some Yellowstone fans began losing interest in the Native American tale due to not understanding its larger role in Yellowstone’s complete timeline.

1944 is the next opportunity to explain Teonna Rainwater’s link to the Dutton family, and its creators need to take advantage of the opportunity in some way to entice fans to continue to subscribe to Teonna’s journey, especially if she’s included in 1944’s cast. Some Yellowstone fans began losing interest in the Native American tale due to not understanding its larger role in Yellowstone’s complete timeline, despite its inspirational and subversive qualities. 1944 can bring those fans back in, connecting Teonna’s story to the Dutton family. Still, 1944 needs to continue Teonna’s story, even if her story isn’t directly connected.

How Teonna Could Connect To Yellowstone In 1944: Teonna Rainwater’s Story Could Continue In 1944

Taylor Sheridan, Yellowstone’s screenwriter, is bound to explain how Teonna connects to Yellowstone eventually, and there are a few ways he could do that in 1944. At the end of 1923 season 2, when Two Spears tells Teonna to go to California, he says there are “more Mexicans and Indians than whites.” We know from Yellowstone season 1 that Thomas believed that he was Mexican until he was 18, when his adoption records were unsealed. Therefore, Teonna going to a place where her descendants could pass as Mexican in 1944 would embolden her potential connection to Thomas.

If 1944 shows Rainwater in California, then Yellowstone fans could say with more confidence that Teonna was Thomas Rainwater’s grandmother or great-grandmother, confirming the most popular theory. Resuming 20 years after 1923, Teonna’s 1944 story could explain where she settled, how she was faring, and whether she had a child. If Teonna became pregnant with Pete Plenty Clouds (Jeremy Gauna), 1944 could reveal that Teonna had a 20-year-old child, continuing her lineage. Still, 1944 may be too premature to reveal Thomas’ link to Teonna, since he was born decades later, with Sheridan potentially saving the connection for his future 1960s-era prequel.