If last week’s Whitfield-less hour had you missing Timothy Dalton‘s baddie, you’ll be happy to hear he’s back in full nefarious form for episode 4, “Journey the Rivers of Iron.” The episode begins in his mansion, where he’s wining-and-dining a bunch of bigwig investors. With Banner (Jerome Flynn) by his side, he sells the well-dressed, whiskey-swilling businessman on his idea of turning Bozeman into a tourist town for the upper class.
But before Whitman can build his lucrative ski resort in Big Sky Country, he needs to remove Jacob (Harrison Ford) from his coveted land. Of course, the antagonist isn’t about to get his hands dirty with that matter, so he tasks Banner with building an army to take the Dutton ranch by force.
Those left teetering at the edge of their seats following last week’s Alex-focused cliffhanger will also be relieved to discover that her fate’s decided before the opening credits roll. Unsurprisingly, the creeper that followed her into Grand Central’s bathroom did so with the worst intentions. He sneaks up on her, violently drags her into a stall, knocks her out, and steals her money and jewelry.
As absolutely awful as all that sounds, it’s not Alex’s biggest problem. The more pressing matter is the fact her train to Billings has just arrived. As she slowly regains consciousness on the restroom floor, the conductor yells his final “All aboard!” Alex hastily gathers her scattered belongings, and hoofs it to the platform. To the shock of the conductor, she leaps onto the train and stumbles into a crowded dining car. Looking like someone who just jumped onto a moving locomotive – mere minutes after being mugged – she puts on a brave face and walks to her cabin.
Back at the Dutton ranch, Jacob and Jack (Darren Man) are assembling some sort of contraption that could pass for a torture tool. But it turns out their handiwork is actually a device intended to steady Zane’s head while the doctor drills a hole in his skull. With the ailing wagon boss strapped into the device, the doc begins slowly excavating. It’s a gory, gruesome procedure that turns Jack’s stomach – and may have a similar effect on squeamish viewers – but it’s a success.
While Zane wakes up screaming during the operation, he not only survives, but immediately feels better. His first order of business, after taking a few tentative steps, is exacting revenge on the men ultimately responsible for his injuries. Before the bandaged-up Zane leaves to reunite with his worried wife, Jacob assures him their enemies will be dealt with.
Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren as Cara. Trae Patton/Paramount+
Jack soon shares the good news of Zane’s recovery with his wife, but Elizabeth, still set on leaving him and resettling in Boston, has no interest in talking. She demands Jack leave the room. Jacob decides to speak with Elizabeth using a fresh approach. He empathizes with her, relates to her desire to leave the ranch, and reminds her how much she means to Jack.
Cara (Helen Mirren) soon enters the room wielding Elizabeth’s next rabies vaccine. But apparently moved and emboldened by Jacob’s words, she insists on administering it herself. The injection hurts far more than usual, however, prompting Cara to fetch the doctor. While the girl’s long list of recent injuries and ailments has us anticipating the absolute worst, she finally breaks her bad luck streak.Turns out the extra-painful shot is due to her being pregnant.
Elizabeth runs outside to deliver the joyous news to Jack, while Jacob and Cara watch happily from the porch. In a rare moment of levity for the perpetually dire series, the couple even enjoys a laugh over Jacob initially believing it was his heart-to-heart with Elizabeth that turned her mood around. But not to worry. Despite their playful banter – not to mention Jacob giving Cara a gentle, affectionate slap on the butt – 1923 isn’t about to go soft on us.
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Michelle Randolph as Elizabeth and Darren Mann as Jack. Trae Patton/Paramount+
We next catch up with Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), still en route to the train station after seeing his friend Luca gunned down at a police roadblock. A Fort Worth sheriff pulls up beside him, and insists on driving him the rest of the way. Once locked in the backseat though, Spencer learns the lawman’s real intentions. He knows all about him abandoning the truck of illegal booze, and now wants him to complete the delivery so they can bust the bootleggers.
Given that his alternative is five years in the slammer, he reluctantly agrees to help the police. When they arrive with the delivery, they’re immediately questioned about Luca’s whereabouts. Things escalate quickly, and the cops and criminals engage in a shootout. Despite being handcuffed to the truck’s steering wheel, the always-resourceful hunter manages to escape. With the sheriff hot on his tail, Spencer not only manages to hop on a moving train – as his wife did at the episode’s start – but also free a tarred-and-feathered prostitute along the way. What a guy!
Unsurprisingly, he encounters even more trouble inside the locomotive car, where two men and a young girl immediately demand he pay a “tax” to share the space with them. Spencer obviously refuses, instead loading his shotgun and pointing it at the squatters. But the trio are undeterred, insisting they’ll take what they want when the visibly exhausted Spencer inevitably gives in to the sleep-inducing lull of the moving locomotive.
We next return to Banner, who’s gone home to his better half with a lot weighing on his mind. He’s enjoying the good life working for Whitfield, but he’s also uncomfortable with his boss’ recent order to eliminate the Dutton clan. While he’s had no problem previously going after Jacob for revenge, he can’t quite justify Whitfield’s more greed-motivated reasons. His wife, on the other hand, is totally fine with taking from those that are better off if it means making a better life for her family.
With the missus’ blessing to unleash hell on the Duttons, Banner returns to Whitfield. The former sheep herder has a 35-man army ready to make the first move, but his moral compass is still nagging at him. He looks to Whitfield for further justification. The smooth talking mogul tries to ease Banner’s mind by reminding him it’s all technically “legal” because he’s paid Dutton’s property taxes. If Jacob doesn’t pay up, the land will default to him anyway.
Sarah Randall as Ellie Creighton and Jerome Flynn as Banner Creighton. Lauren Smith/Paramount+
While this explanation glosses over the fact Jacob and his family will likely be brutally murdered in the process of the land acquisition, Whitfield is ready to move on to the next order of business. He presents Banner with a map marked with an ungoverned county, a place with no laws, crimes, or punishments. He’s expecting Banner’s war with the Dutton’s to produce lots of corpses, and this remote spot is the perfect place to dump them without consequence.
As Banner ponders the extent of Whitfield’s evilness, the scene takes an even darker turn. One of his live-in prostitutes/prisoners enters the room with bad news – it seems she’s accidently asphyxiated the less obedient sex slave. Whitfield gleefully suggests Banner take the lifeless body to this newly discovered, lawless county, so he can get some “practice” disposing of corpses. As a dumbfounded Banner leaves with the dead, naked woman cradled in his arms, Whitfield punishes the other woman by showing her “the right way” to perform autoerotica asphyxiation.
Meanwhile, things are continuing to look up for Teonna (Aminah Nieves), her dad Runs His Horse (Michael Spears), and Pete (Jeremy Guana.) They’ve settled in pretty well with the friendly cowboys, helping round-up their stray cattle to earn they’re place on the ranch. But the trio’s relative safety comes crashing down when Teonna spies one of her “wanted” posters at the rodeo grounds they’ve camped at for lunch. The arena is thankfully empty, but her sketched facade hangs from every pole. She rushes to deliver this news to her dad, but he’s already holding one of the posters.
Brandon Sklenar as Spencer. Lauren Smith/Paramount+
Before the episode packs it in, we catch up one last time with Spencer, whose exhaustion has indeed gotten the best of him. Fighting to stay awake, he glances at the two men and girl resting across from him in the train car. The three appear to be sleeping, prompting Spencer to let his guard down. While clutching his shotgun, he allows his eyes to slowly shut.
Just then, the leader of the sketchy train squatters opens his eyes. He wakes his cohorts, and he and the young girl carefully approach slumbering Spencer. While the former attempts to pry the gun from his hands, the latter holds a blade to his throat. I think we all know how this is going to end. Within seconds, Spencer fills both men full of buckshot, knocks the girl unconscious, and hops out of the speeding train.
Without missing a beat, he grabs his gear off the ground and resumes his journey home on foot.
