1923 just gave fans Yellowstone's most gruesome scene since 1883
This just took things to a whole new level.
Spoiler warning for 1923 season 2 episode 4 'Journey the Rivers of Iron'
Whether it’s in his various movies or his TV series, screenwriter and director Taylor Sheridan has never shied away from brutal displays of violence on screen. Yellowstone has been no exception, and from its first episode until its last, death and violence have been ever-present in the series.
That said, the Yellowstone TV franchise has never been especially gory and gruesome, and for the most part, there haven’t been too many occasions where viewers have had to avert their eyes - until now.
1883, the first prequel series to the Kevin Costner-led Western, probably featured the bloodiest moment to date with the amputation of Josef’s leg using a saw.
However, the latest episode of 1923 (itself another prequel to Yellowstone while also being a sequel of sorts to 1883) has now indisputably taken that crown and undoubtedly holds the record for the most gruesome moment in Yellowstone history.
In 1923 season 2 episode 4 titled 'Journey the Rivers of Iron', we saw a flurry of plot developments, with both Spencer and Alex making headway in their journey to Montana, where the rest of the Duttons - hunkering down at the Yellowstone ranch - are still reckoning with an especially harsh and brutal winter.
Even within that context, it’s arguably the loyal ranch foreman Zane who’s had to deal with the worst situation of all the characters after being diagnosed with a subdural hematoma, leaving him close to death.
Thankfully, with a doctor to hand, the good news for Zane was that there was one viable path to survival for the cowboy. The bad news was that it involved his head being manually drilled into.
With Jacob and Jack Dutton both holding Zane down, the doctor used chloroform to temporarily sedate Zane, before cutting into his scalp and using a hand-cranked drill to create a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure caused by a build-up of blood: all shown to the audience in explicit detail, with blood spurting out from under the chipped bone and torn skin.
To make matters worse, the chloroform wasn’t enough to keep Zane under, and he woke during the process, screaming and kicking.
Yellowstone fans will be incredibly familiar with casual violence by now, but the gruesome gore of the medical procedure took things to the next level, seriously putting audiences’ squeamishness to the test.
Read more:
- Why Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan didn't visit 1923 set, according to Game of Thrones star
- 1923 just revealed the origins of an infamous Yellowstone location
Thankfully, Zane made it through, and the treatment was successful. It put an end to a long-running story arc in the show after a period of uncertainty as to whether the character would survive his injuries or not.
Now, back in action, his first request to Jacob was to pursue revenge against the cruel Donald Whitfield. And, as 1923 hits the midway point in its second and final season, it looks like a confrontation between the Duttons and their enemies isn’t far away.
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1923 season 2 launched on Sunday 23rd February 2025 on Paramount Plus. Get a seven day free Paramount Plus trial at Amazon Prime Video.
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