This story contains major 1923 season finale spoilers!
Okay y'all. I'm still reeling over the fact 1923 season 2 ended with Alex's death. She seemed invincible to me, and I had such hope that Alex and Spencer would spend the rest of their lives together. But after surviving a snowstorm, Alex ended up succumbing to the effects of frostbite and died in Spencer's arms. And all of us (including actors Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer) were emotional.
Here's what Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer said about Alex and Spencer's long-awaited reunion in the 1923 season finale — and the tragedy that followed.
What happened with Spencer and Alex on 1923?
Even though Spencer loses Alex at the end of 1923 season 2, I am glad they got to have one final reunion, and hold their baby together. "Losing his wife, his best friend, is really f—ing tragic," Brandon Sklenar tells The Hollywood Reporter. "The hospital stuff was incredibly emotional. Really, we had to come up with jokes because it was super heavy and it was a lot of crying. Too much crying, just crying all the time. A lot of crying!"
And the tears weren't just saved for those sad scenes; Brandon also cried when Alex and Spencer reunite in a dreamy 1920s afterlife where they can dance for eternity.
“It just hits me right in the heart every time, even just thinking about it now,” Brandon says. “I remember filming it and standing in the corner and just having to wipe my eyes because it was so beautiful."
How did Spencer and Alex reunite in 1923 season 2?
Fans were not happy about the fact these two spent all of 1923 season 2 apart — and Julia herself admitted to Brit + Co she "barely" saw Brandon while filming, and that "it was very much like, suddenly we were ripped apart. But that's what the characters are going through...It was very helpful as an actor because that's what they're going through as well."
Channeling that IRL experience also helped for Alex and Spencer's reunion; When Alex is stranded after a snowstorm and Spencer spots her from his train, he jumps into the snow to literally sweep her off her feet and carry her to safety. And the desperate and emotional reunion was desperate and emotional for a reason.
“It was the first scene we shot together this season, which I’m sure was not by accident,” Julia added in her and Brandon's conversation with THR. “When we got to film that scene, for both me and Alex, I felt like I exhaled.”
Did Alex get to meet Jacob Dutton?
But in a classic Taylor Sheridan plot twist, Alex and Spencer aren't together for long. Spencer sets off to help Cara and Zane protect the Yellowstone ranch, leaving Alex and Jacob to head to the hospital. And Julia loved having Harrison Ford with her during those intense scenes.
"It was everything I ever could have dreamed of, times a million. He took such care of me that day when I was fully intending on letting him completely take the lead," she says. "I was so excited and I learned so much watching him. But I think he knew what the content of the scene was, and he wanted to make sure I was good. He knew when to crack jokes at the right time to keep things light. At the end of the scene, we both just stared at each other and cried, and he held me while I was on that bed with this baby."
"I’m really still in the process of grieving everything that she went through, everything that I went through with her, because you really become one," she continues. "She’s a piece of me forever, and I don’t quite know how I will process everything this season, but I’m just trying to enjoy how beautiful and special playing Alex was. It was truly the gift of a lifetime."
Will Brandon Sklenar play Spencer Dutton again?
Even though Spencer and Alex's romance has come to an end, we are getting a 1944 — and Brandon's totally down to return.
"Yeah, definitely. I’d do it. [Their son John Dutton's] got to learn how to do things. Someone’s got to show him," he says, to which Julia replies, "I’ll come back and haunt you both."
Is 1923 Season 3 Coming? What To Know About The Duttons' Future — & The Next Yellowstone Spinoffs.
