Alex Didn’t Really Have To Do THAT In 1923’s Finale — Why Fans Are Divided Over Her Decision
Still, despite their serendipitous 1923 season 2 reunion, Spencer leaves Alex on the train to Bozeman with Jacob (Harrison Ford) while he returns to the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch to help his aunt, Cara (Helen Mirren). When Spencer reunites with his wife at the hospital, Alex tells him that she has refused the procedure to amputate her legs and arm, opting not to live a life that lacks her former capabilities. While Alex has her reasons for opting out of the amputation, her death was a tragic occasion for Spencer and the entire Yellowstone franchise, prompting questions about whether it was necessary.
Alex Sacrificed Herself To Save Baby John Dutton, According To 1923: Alex’s Legs And Part Of Her Arm Is Necrotic In 1923 Season 2’s Finale
According to the mother’s reasoning, Alex Dutton sacrifices her own life to save baby John Dutton at the end of 1923 season 2. At first, Alex makes this choice because she is six months pregnant, and the doctors want to abort her baby to rush her into surgery to amputate her arm and legs. However, Alex initially refuses the procedure so that she can deliver John Dutton and give her baby a fighting chance at life. Miraculously, Alex Dutton indeed delivers her baby amid her declining health, and yet, she continues to refuse the medical treatment that would save her.
After she delivers her baby, Alex holds off on surgery to hold onto John. The doctors warn her that the infant won’t survive, but Alex wants to cradle her son anyway and takes a moment to nurse him. While having that contact with his mother was doubtlessly a lifeline to John Dutton while he was struggling to survive, Alex opts out of the procedure yet again after she has a moment to feed him. In the end, Alex says, “The mother that would choose herself over her child is no mother at all,” implying she sacrificed herself.
How Alex Could Have Saved Herself And John Dutton In 1923’s Finale: 1923 Season 2’s Baby John Dutton Story Was Already Far-Fetched
Still, the clamor from some Yellowstone fans after 1923 is that Alex could have saved her own life and baby John Dutton. While it’s true that her decision improved John’s outcome, Alex sacrificed being present for the rest of John’s life by not trying to save herself. Alex needed to take a moment to nurse and hold John Dutton after his birth, but she was in a medical facility, and likely could have passed her baby onto a nurse to keep him warm and comfortable while she underwent surgery, attempting to save both their lives.
It was unrealistic to start with that Alex’s baby would survive in the 1920s at six months old, so it’s no less probable that John Dutton could survive a few hours without her. What doesn’t make sense is that baby John survives on goat’s milk, or that Cara feeds a premature baby on the front porch when there is still snow on the ground. Her decision is supposedly a sacrifice, and yet, Alex proves her decision is dual-purposed. Alex’s choice is also for herself, saying, “I’m not a dreamer. I don’t imagine running through fields. I have to do it.”
Why Alex Dutton’s Death In 1923 Season 2’s Ending Was Disappointing: Some 1923 Viewers Have Poked Holes In Taylor Sheridan’s Writing
It’s worth scrutinizing her fate because Alex’s death was a massive loss for Spencer, Cara, and the entire 1923 Dutton family. The majority of 1923 fans anxiously awaited Alex and Spencer’s reunion, hoping they would run the ranch together, even through all the horrible things that happened to Alex Dutton in 1923. After all the awful circumstances she endured, from being dehumanized at Ellis Island to being beaten at Grand Central Terminal, Alex was due for a win in the finale, and dying after her baby’s birth wasn’t enough, even if her final scene with Spencer was a redeeming end.
With her death, too, died our hope that Alex would meet Spencer’s family or helm the next Yellowstone prequel, 1944. Still, perhaps the most disappointing part about her choice is that Alex departs from her tenacious will to survive, which defined her 1923 season 2 story up to that point. Alex sacrificing herself is a noble and sad Yellowstone death. Yet, there are enough moments in the plot to make the viewer question whether the choice is necessary.