Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer, "1923" lovers, on their final reunion, Dutton's birth, and his passing

Warning: spoilers! Details of the "1923" Season 2 finale's plot are covered in this tale.

While the prodigal fighting machine scurried back to the besieged Yellowstone Dutton ranch to save his uncle Jacob (Harrison Ford) and aunt Cara (Helen Mirren), Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) has been frantically trying to get back together with her new husband Spencer Dutton (Brandon Sklenar) for the majority of "1923" Season 2.

Star-crossed lovers In Sunday's two-hour season finale, which is already available to stream on Paramount+, Alex and Spencer joyfully reunited near freezing Montana train tracks after overcoming every imaginable challenge separately on ships, vehicles, and trains. Spencer's euphoric reconciliation with his trapped, nearly frozen wife is so heated when he leaps from his moving train for a last sprint.

It is literally hot. On a soundstage in Austin during the sweltering Texas summer, visual effects and artificial snowbanks were used to replicate the harsh Montana winter for the Taylor Sheridan series.

In a joint interview with Sklenar, 34, for USA TODAY, Schlaepfer, 30, remarks, "Oh my God, it was like 100 degrees hot, the reverse of winter." "We had to perform this strange shivering and sweating mix."

Do you need a rest? Try your hand at the USA NEWS TODAY Daily Crossword.

'1923' was planned out: Inside the 'Yellowstone' prequel Spencer Dutton's return trip to the ranch

Because that eagerly anticipated moment is successful, we submit to the power of storytelling and cutting-edge technology. "It is powerful," admits Sklenar. "You see how they have been fighting to find one another as they run that final kilometer in the snow."

Spencer finds that the new Dutton wife is pregnant. On the tracks, he bravely ties up his frail wife and runs for warmth. Acting unconventionally was necessary.

"It was pretty humorous," Sklenar chuckles as he remembers the moment of death. "Jules had to be held while I jostled her around and pretended to merely run in place. Never before have I had to fake run for a scene this important and dramatic."

John Dutton is born to Alexandra. Which John Dutton, though?

Luckily, the train had stopped, so the fictitious run was shorter than anticipated. But for Alex, who is severely frostbitten by her icy adventure, the conclusion never gets any easier. The adversaries of the Dutton family, whom Spencer essentially smites alone, have a considerably worse time.

Their premature son is miraculously born, and Alex names him John. In the Yellowstone-Dutton-verse, this is the eagerly anticipated Big Bang. You can bet your bottom dollar that this is the child of TV series John Dutton II, who is the father of John Dutton III, who was portrayed by Kevin Costner in "Yellowstone."

"It is entertaining to consider. "It connects to the entire globe," Schlaepfer says of infant John. She quickly clarifies that she is not confirming that the youngster wearing swaddling clothing is Costner's TV dad. "Only Taylor Sheridan himself, speaking directly, could attest to that."

Sklenar adds, "John's a popular name," without confirming that he is Costner's TV granddad.

In the '1923' conclusion, who dies?

The Dutton family's newfound happiness is fleeting. Spencer lies beside Alex as she passes away in the hospital while holding baby John.

Schlaepfer states, "They fall asleep together and she fades away," and that Ford and Mirren attended the scene out of deference. "It cannot be expressed in any other way. Filming was painful.

Spencer puts on his revenge face to vent his anger at the family's bitter rival, the vicious developer and pioneer of downhill skiing, Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton). Spencer shoots Whitfield dead at his breakfast table, surrounded by Jacob.

"At that time, men were not very sensitive to their feelings. "At the time, there were no podcasts on grieving process," Sklenar adds. "His retaliation is vindicating, and his pain manifests itself via his physique. It is a tiny piece of Spencer's power, love's power, and the bullet us power.

Is '1923' coming to an end?

The ultimate posthumous Dutton honor, a gravestone in the renowned ranch cemetery reserved for elite clan members, is given to Alex. Despite being a member of the English aristocracy in Montana, Alex is inducted into the Deceased Dutton Hall of Fame.

It is a true honor. Because (Alex) is a part of the Dutton family cemetery, I know that everyone will be upset," Schlaepfer adds.

However, Alex gave birth to a crucial Dutton child, lived a long and healthy life, left her weak aristo fiance for Spencer, and provided viewers with a love story saga.

Paramount Global and Sheridan have always intended to keep "1923" limited to two seasons while advancing the plot to the following chapter, "1944" (probably including an adult John Dutton II). The Season 2 finale so seems to be the end of the line for Ford, 82, and Mirren, 79. Jacob acknowledges that he is retiring from ranching already. Baby John, Cara notes, is "the future." The closing scene cuts to an occluded view of an elderly Spencer, who has never remarried, resting by his wife's grave. Sklenar declines to verify the death of his character.