SD enterprise: ‘1923’ Has Never Been This Political

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1923 Episode 3 Delivers a Fascinating Portrait of 1920s America

Welcome back to the Cliff-Hanger! I want to start this week by thanking all the Duttonheads who are enjoying the newsletter so far. Today, we have a surprisingly political episode of 1923 to grapple with—and my interview with one of its stars will certainly help us along the way. Let's get right to it.

In last week's episode, Taylor Sheridan blessed The Cliff-Hanger with an ending true to its namesake. Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) and her shotgun went toe-to-toe with a rabid wolf before a sudden cut to the credits left her fate unresolved. Thankfully, episode 3 reveals that she bested the ferocious animal and lived to fight another day.

This week's cliff-hanger belongs to actress Julia Schlaepfer. She plays Alexandra, Spencer Dutton's (Brandon Sklenar) wife. Fresh off the boat from London, Alexandra experiences a grueling and inhumane visit through Ellis Island circa 1923. Her run-ins with prodding doctors and rude immigration officers may depict conditions from over a hundred years ago, but the message behind her journey is just as poignant and timely for America today.

As Alexandra mockingly remarks in the episode, "America runs ads inside every newspaper in London, boasting of the endless opportunity here and the welcoming arms." Then, she recites the poem that hangs on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty:

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The famous sonnet is titled "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, who wrote it to raise money for the construction of the Statue of Liberty's pedestal in 1883 (the real year, not the other Yellowstone prequel). Lazarus was an author and an activist in New York City who helped Jewish refugees flee antisemitic pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Alexandra continues her monologue by claiming that Lady Liberty, "Stares down on you, as you strip us of our dignity and inspect us like cattle. In fact, I would say this is the least free I have ever felt in my life."

After watching a preview of the episode earlier this week, I knew I had to call up Schlaepfer. Episode 3 is not only the actresses' finest performance in 1923 to date, but a major statement from Sheridan as well. She graciously spoke with me on Zoom this past Thursday, where her lack of a British accent wasn't the only thing about our meeting that surprised me. According to Schlaepfer, Sheridan called her before writing the episode.

"He said, 'This is how she would get to America, and this would be her reality,' " Schlaepfer recalls. "In that time, a woman unwed, pregnant, and alone—they don't see her as adding any value to the country. So, she would've probably been violated and hurt."

Naturally, Sheridan wanted to check that she was on board with reenacting traumatic scenes from America's past. She remembers him asking, "'Is it okay if I write this for you? Because I know it will be a very challenging thing for you to have to go through as an actor.'" Without a second thought, she responded, "Yes, let's tell that story."

"It feels very important to me," Schlaepfer told me. "When I think about 1923, it tells so much of the history of our world and what people did to endure. It's brutal and it's hard to see, but it's the truth, and I really wanted to make sure that we told the truth."

The story also rang close to home for the actress. Schlaepfer said that her great-grandfather came into America through Ellis Island with just fifteen dollars to his name. "I know from my family that he was messed with a bit," she revealed, "but this episode feels so current and that monologue she gives to that immigration officer about how everybody deserves a chance at freedom and opportunity is a message that still resonates for so many people today."

You can read the rest of our conversation with Schlaepfer here.

Alexandra's speech in 1923 arrives just at the right time for America in 2025. Fear over mass deportations and increased xenophobia has only worsened since President Donald Trump took office again in January. But for anyone who accuses Sheridan's programming as right-wing propaganda, there's very little for the current administration to love in episode 3.

At a congressional hearing at Capitol Hill earlier this week, House Republicans accused the Democratic mayors of New York, Chicago, Denver, and Boston of providing sanctuary for criminals and illegal immigrants. According to the The New York Times, the six-hour interrogation demonstrated President Donald Trump's clear stance that "unrestrained immigration poses a serious challenge to American cities."

At one point during the hearing, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston cited from the Gospel of Matthew in a speech not unlike Alexandra's sonnet in 1923. "As Scripture says, 'For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat,'" Johnston told the crowd of Republican congressmen. "'I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me in.' "

There are still people in this country who will not stand for hate and fear. Leaders like Mike Johnston, and even creators like Sheridan, who remember what the Statue of Liberty stands for beyond Ellis Island. Say what you will of Sheridan's politics, but he's on the right side of history in 1923.

Heavy stuff, readers! Shall we return to some fun? Lest we forget, 1923 is also a show full of campy Western gunslinging and the occasional on-screen kiss between Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

Schlaepfer is the subject of this week's cliff-hanger at the end of episode 3, when Alexandra enters Grand Central station in New York City to book a train to the Yellowstone ranch in Montana. After a kind ticket teller warns of pickpockets and vagrants, a shady figure follows her into a public restroom. As I remark in my full episode recap: Hopefully there is a janitor who is deadly with a mop waiting to help her next week.

Elsewhere in the episode, checkpoint guards kill Spencer's sidekick Luca (Andy Dispensa) as he attempts to smuggle illegal booze across state lines. Jacob (Harrison Ford) returns home to find out that a doctor will need to drill a hole into Zane's (Brian Geraghty) skull to release excess fluid and save his life. Plus, US Marshal Mamie Fossett (Jennifer Carpenter) is out to arrest Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) after they murdered innocent Comanche children on their hunt for Teonna Rainwater (Aminah Nieves). 1923 is an ambitious tale of the American frontier with many moving parts, but Sheridan is certainly pulling it off.

Thanks for reading. I'll see you next Sunday. Have thoughts or theories you need to share before then? Send me an email at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com.

READ THE RECAP

The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week

Winner: New York City's Warm(?) and Kind(?!?!) Street Vendors

When Alexandra arrives in New York, Sheridan doesn't make a single "Ayyyy, I'm walkin' over here!" joke. Instead, Alexandra meets a kind street vendor who shows her the way to Montana and hails her a cab to Grand Central. "New Yorkers get a bad rap sometimes, but they will help you out," Schlaepfer told me. "It made me so happy. Alex needs those little wins."

Loser: Zane's Skull

When Zane finally returns to the ranch, a doctor tells Jacob that he needs to drill into his skull to relieve some of the excess fluid surrounding his brain. "I have a drill, but no anesthesia," the doctor says. Tough break! We'll find out how Zane survives this one next episode.

Winner: This Genius Doctor

Truly, who is this guy? The year is 1923 and this Montana doctor can immediately register that Zane has a subdural hematoma. He even knows how to cure it?! This is miles above the leeches and bloodletting of 1883.

Loser: Jack Dutton

Jack (Darren Mann) returns home from the blizzard, only to find his wife Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) curled up on the bed. Cara injects a rabies shot into her stomach with a massive needle—and he just stands there without saying anything. Honestly, I couldn't tell you if he even knows about the wolf attack at all. The odds of this man becoming John Dutton's grandfather are plummeting.

Winner: Spencer Dutton

For Spencer, the odds of becoming Grandpappy Dutton are only increasing. He avoids a shootout with some checkpoint guards, telling Luca before his friend is killed that he's "not dying for a bunch of fucking booze." His wife, Alexandra, is also far stronger of a human being than Elizabeth—who is threatening to leave the ranch and return to Boston after the wolf incident. If you don't own any stock in Spencer Dutton yet, buy it now!