Life is relentlessly difficult for the Duttons, and Paramount+’s 1923 season two episode six delivers a series of heartbreaking events. Just when you think the key characters are finally edging closer to a reunion at Yellowstone Ranch, the writers pull the rug out from under them.
And now our recap of season two episode six, “The Mountain Teeth of Monsters.” There are spoilers ahead!
The Duttons gather around the breakfast table for a relatively peaceful breakfast that doesn’t hint at the battle looming on the horizon. Zane (Brian Geraghty) is eager to get back on a horse, but Jacob (Harrison Ford) reminds him that not even a bruise heals in a week. Both Jacob and Cara (Helen Mirren) have relaxed smiles, noting this is the first time since before the war that every seat at the table is filled.
Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick) interrupts their breakfast with news that Spencer’s on his way to Bozeman. Jacob admits he hoped Spencer was heading home, but the news isn’t all good. Switchboard operators have probably passed the information on to Whitfield. Jacob and McDowell believe Spencer’s heading to the Livingston station. After a brief argument, they agree that some of Yellowstone’s cowboys will join the deputies guarding the station.
If Denver’s open, then Spencer’s two days away. If it’s snowed in, he’ll be delayed and forced to go through Fargo. Jacob understands the gravity of the situation and warns McDowell what will happen if Whitfield kills Spencer. “I swear to God, I will burn his f**king house to the ground with him in it.”
Banner Learns Spencer’s Incredibly Dangerous
Banner (Jerome Flynn) drinks with Clyde (Brian Konowal) and Alec (Colt Brown), two of Whitfield’s men who have infiltrated the Livestock Commission, and discuss the impending arrival of Spencer. Banner is shocked to learn that Spencer won the Medal of Honor with the First Infantry at Argonne. When Spencer returns, the plan is for him to take over control of the Yellowstone. Banner’s not going to admit to being impressed and thinks Spencer must have been hitting the bottle for the last six years. That assumption quickly evaporates when he’s informed that Spencer has been killing lions in Africa as a hunter for the British.
Banner orders the men to kill Spencer as soon as he steps off the train, admitting he would much rather fight Jacob than a war hero who kills big cats. Banner agrees they can take more men to the Livingston station. After Spencer dies, they’ll kill the rest of the Duttons.
Banner heads to Whitfield’s to fill him in on Spencer’s return. He’s worried Spencer will take over Jacob’s men and teach them military tactics. Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) doesn’t seem concerned and advises Banner to kill them all and leave them in their secret dumping spot, which will become the Duttons’ infamous “train station.”
Jacob Prepares for Spencer’s Arrival
That evening, Jacob meets with his men and confirms he will take Carl, Judge, and Spade with him to the Livingston station. The rest will stay on patrol at the Yellowstone, with Zane guarding the house. Jack (Darren Mann) wants to go to the station, but Jacob reminds him that their most precious things are Cara and Elizabeth. He needs to stay behind and help guard the gate.
Everyone takes up their positions, but Jack disobeys his uncle’s orders. Instead of staying at the gate, he rides off to catch up with Jacob. Jack’s sure three men aren’t enough and that he should join them at the station.
Cara and Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph) are chatting about the fight over their when Zane interrupts. Cara knows it’s terrible news and sends Elizabeth off to fetch tea, giving Zane time to explain that Jack rode off alone to Livingston. Her reaction? “Stupid boy.”
The sun is rising as Jacob and his men arrive at the Livingston train station. Jacob nearly gets shot when he wakes Sheriff McDowell, who’s sleeping on one of the benches. McDowell learned that there’s a snowdrift blocking the train in Fargo. His best guess is that Spencer will arrive from Deadwood in two days.
McDowell hasn’t seen any of Banner’s men, and he and Jacob agree it’s a horrible place for a gunfight. Jacob steps outside and scans the area. He determines Banner’s goons will use the crowd as cover when they attack Spencer. That’s what he’d do if he were in Banner’s shoes. McDowell isn’t thrilled about having to sit around for three days, just waiting for Spencer and the expected gunfight.
Meanwhile, Jack hears someone riding up behind him and steers his horse into the trees. Clyde and Alec announce themselves as members of the Livestock Commission and confirm they’re also heading to the train station. Jack tells the men that Spencer is his father’s brother, and Alec admits that everyone thinks Spencer’s something special. Jack confirms that’s true and boasts that he’s a close second when it comes to gunfights. That response earns him a shot to the chest! Jack tumbles from his horse. A second bullet appears to finish him off. They tie a rope around his feet and drag him away from the road. Jack’s killers unsaddle his horse and let him wander off.
Spencer’s Stymied by Snow
Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) overhears an update on the train’s route that indicates a drift ahead could delay them by a week. He asks about the drift’s location, and the porter informs him that from Big Timber to Minneapolis, “the world is white.” The porter looks at his ticket and thinks that Spencer should switch trains in Fargo or Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls is his best bet, and the porter suggests Spencer get some sleep in his sleeping car. Spencer confesses he can’t sleep there, and the porter immediately understands that Spencer fought in the war. He agrees Spencer can sit where he is for as long as he wants.
Later, as he waits for his next train, Spencer strikes up a conversation with another passenger. They discuss the weather, and Spencer says there are only three seasons in the Rockies: July, August, and winter.
Teonna’s Losses Multiply
Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) is furious that Marshal Kent (Jamie McShane) killed Pete. It’s just the latest murder in a long line of men and children Kent has killed while they hunt for Teonna. Father Renaud decides it’s Kent who needs justice and sends him straight to hell by shooting him twice in the chest. He adds a shot to the head and says, “Now you go scream with the devil.”
Teonna (Aminah Nieves) and her dad, Runs His Horse (Michael Spears), set up camp at night. Pete hasn’t returned, and Runs His Horse assumes he’s staying put for the night wherever he is so that he won’t get lost. Teonna confesses she knows in her heart that something is wrong.
Morning arrives, and Teonna and Runs His Horse discover Pete and Marshal Kent’s dead bodies. Teonna sobs, unsure of what to do next. Runs His Horse believes Pete gave his life so she could be free. They should now head home.
They make camp at night, and this time Runs His Horse lights a fire. Teonna wants to give up; she’s had enough of fighting for her life. Runs His Horse reminds her that they are Crow, and if she doesn’t live, their culture and history will be forgotten. When white men pave over the world and the world revolts, they’ll need someone to teach them how to live with the land.
Father Renaud is hiding nearby and watches as Runs His Horse and Teonna fall asleep. The horses get restless when Renaud approaches, and Runs’ horse wakes up. He sits up and grabs his pistol, but Father Renaud shoots first. Next, Father Renaud commends Teonna to Almighty God and hopes Christ will give her peace. He demands that she repeat after him and ask forgiveness for her sins. She refuses, and Father Renaud becomes emotional, insisting he’s trying to save her soul. Teonna renounces salvation, and Father Renaud says, “Then to the devil with you!”
He pulls the trigger, but he’s out of bullets. Teonna attacks Renaud with her hands before grabbing her father’s gun and killing him. She screams in anguish as she kneels by her father’s dead body.
Elizabeth Hits the Road with Hillary and Paul
Elizabeth (Julia Schlaepfer) recounts her and Spencer’s wild adventures that led up to her crying in a Chicago train station. She confirms she knows the location of Spencer’s family and is certain he’s aware that’s where she’s heading. Elizabeth admits she shouted from the ship’s stern that she’d meet him in Montana as he was being taken off the ship in a dinghy.
Hillary (Janet Montgomery) and Paul (Augustus Prew) are stunned, and Paul says, “I’m tempted to drive you to the home of Edgar Rice Burroughs and force him at gunpoint to write down every word as you told it.”
These acts of God keep thwarting her, but Paul and Hillary offer a solution. They’ll drive her to Montana in his car. Paul whips out a map and plans their route, noting that there’s a town called Buffalo, even though there are bison in the States, not buffalo. Their path should take them through St. Paul, Pierre, Big Timber, and Livingston, and then down to Emigrant, Montana. All together, that’s a 1,500-mile trip that should take three days. He’ll teach both women to drive so they can take turns. They’ll pack warm clothing, food, water, and of course, alcohol.
Paul raises his glass and toasts, “We journey the path of the pioneers in the name of lost love soon to be found.”
Western Wisconsin: Elizabeth gazes out the back seat window as she and Hillary enjoy a drink. They make it to Minnesota, and Elizabeth gets her first driving lesson. Hours pass, and now it’s Paul driving in the pitch-black night.
In Eastern South Dakota, they stop for a break in the middle of nowhere to relieve themselves. And then it’s on to the Rosebud Reservation, and Elizabeth smiles as wild horses race their car. Snow begins to fall as they drive through the reservation.
Elizabeth wakes, and it’s night. Paul informs her that they’ve hit a “spot of weather” now that they’re in Wyoming. He also confirms Buffalo is 15 miles ahead. They make it to a gas station, and the attendant places chains on their tires. The clerk tells Elizabeth and Hillary the chains will keep them from sliding off the road. She’s skeptical when they announce they’re driving to Emigrant, Montana. “Take the train in Sheridan. Car won’t make it.”
The clerk says a car can drive there; however, there aren’t any gas stations in some areas. Hillary’s unconvinced. The clerk shakes her head no at Elizabeth, and Elizabeth looks worried.
It’s freezing inside the car, but Hillary insists they’re accustomed to frigid temperatures since they live in Chicago. Paul suggests to Elizabeth that she get down on the floorboards where it’s warmer. After she does, Paul and Hillary exchange glances, and Paul passes his gloves to Hillary. They look at the gas gauge, and the needle’s sitting at just a quarter of a tank. They agree this is quite the adventure.
Elizabeth wakes in the morning, shivering, and she can see her breath. The car has stopped, and ice covers the windows. The needle indicates they ran out of gas. She leans forward to ask where Paul went and discovers that Hillary has frozen to death. Elizabeth opens the door and scans the horizon. A hundred yards up ahead lies Paul’s body. There’s nothing on the horizon to indicate their location, and the road has disappeared under the snow.
Episode six ends with Elsa’s voiceover noting that man destroys everything. Man’s been at war with the world since his arrival. “Life is a constant state of battle for survival,” says Elsa. There have been five mass extinction events, and odds are there will be a sixth.
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