The 1923 Series Finale Finally Solves A Yellowstone Family Mystery

This article contains spoilers for the "1923" season 2 finale.

After two seasons of fans speculating about the identity of "Yellowstone" patriarch John Dutton III's (Kevin Costner) grandparents, "1923" has finally provided the answers. The season 2 finale, "A Dream and a Memory," sees Alexandra Dutton (Julia Schlaepfer) give birth to her and Spencer's (Brandon Sklenar) child, resulting in her heartbreaking death and continuing the "Yellowstone" franchise's trajectory of tragedy. Prior to her passing, however, she names their child John Dutton, beginning the lineage of proud Johns in the family.

Prior to "1923," we knew that John's grandfather lost his leg during the war thanks to "Yellowstone," but the comment was made in passing and no more information was revealed about him after that. Given that Spencer is a decorated war hero, he's always been the most likely candidate to lose a limb during a conflict (to hazard a guess, this will probably happen during World War II in the upcoming "1944" spin-off).

What's more, Jack Dutton (Darren Mann) — the other speculated grandfather — was gunned down by corrupt livestock agents during "1923" season 2 episode 6's "Game of Thrones"-esque atrocities, effectively ruling out his chances of fighting in a war and losing a leg. That said, while Alexandra and Spencer are evidently Costner's character's grandparents, Schlaepfer is adamant to keep some of the mystery alive.

Julia Schlaepfer and Brandon Sklenar are convinced that their characters are John Dutton III's grandparents, but even they don't know for sure. In an interview with The Wrap, they revealed that Taylor Sheridan has yet to confirm it to them behind the scenes, but Schlaepfer really hopes that Alexandra and Spencer have the honor of being the people who produced the mysterious character.

"Would I love to be the grandmother of John Dutton? Absolutely. And in my brain do I feel I am? Yes. We seem like maybe we're being coy but we genuinely don't know. They don't tell us. We just get the scripts and then we make of it what we make of it."

Maybe there will be more twists and turns to this mystery, but for now, Spencer and Alexandra being the grandparents is the most plausible theory. Still, this franchise likes to throw curveballs into the mix, so it wouldn't be shocking if Sheridan springs a surprise on us down the line. Plus, who knows what other familiar elements will be set-up in future spin-offs?