Journey the Rivers of Iron

Spencer escaped from an murderous sheriff, jumped on a freight train boxcar and finds himself with some murderous vagrants. So far so good, the rest of the episode is top notch and why I gave 8 stars. However, when Spencer is threatened by the vagrants, instead of simply throwing them off, he waits and predictably falls asleep. The vagrants attempt to rob him, he shoots two and knocks out the third.

Now the badly written part...instead of throwing them off the train, he decides to risk hurting himself, jumps off and finds himself in the middle of nowhere. He then proceeds to walk, in the same general direction that the train is going. Why would anyone as clever as Spencer do that?

There is a lot to like about this show.

Call me sentimental, naive and delicate. I am SO tired of not having any enjoyment watching this series. As I said in the subject line, I'll keep watching because I'm so invested.

The actors are giving a master class. Too bad the story goes on & on without even a brief moment of happiness or accomplishment.

(In order for me to post this I have to be all wordy. I am not "all wordy". I have said my bit. My frustration has been documented. I hope that it is clear that I really, really (shameless attempt to be wordy), am trying to like this) This diatribe serves to exemptlfy my application and frustration.

While season 1 was a wonderful story of drama, happiness, and surprises, season 2 is a succession of disasters that occur one after the other. It was simply too much to swallow and tolerate.

When one crisis ends, one is naturally prepared for the next.

While the acting is brilliant, I can't remember anything except danger, taking the form of rape, theft, wolves, lions, snow, etc. Life was harsh in the past, but not all these hardships occurred within the span of two months without any sign of joy or light.

Hope the journey to Monata finishes one day and we see a pivot in the story with new ideas.

These "1923" episodes fly by. I swear, it felt like one second I was watching the opening credits and looking forward to an hour's worth of drama...and the next, the end credits are rolling.

"Journey the Rivers of Iron" was brilliant. Just like every episode prior.

Honestly...what a treat it is to see Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren together. Their chemistry is perfect, their relationship quite believable. I look forward to their scenes together. If only there were more of them.

Every storyline takes a step forward in "Journey the Rivers of Iron". Nothing comes easily, but that's part of the charm of "1923".

There are some fairly violent sequences and one medical procedure that curled my toes. "1923" doesn't ever shy away from depicting things as they were.

And...did we just hear a first mention outside of the OG "Yellowstone" of an iconic spot? I think we did.

I can't wait for next week's episode, already.

Episode four of the second season of "1923," entitled "Journey the Rivers of Iron" and directed by Ben Richardson, propels the series into its grisliest, most complex territory yet, marked by distressing violence, intricate power plays, and moments of fragile hope. It's an episode that not only tests the resilience of its characters but also deepens the thematic scope of the saga, blending a sense of impending modernity with the raw, elemental struggle for survival and dignity.

The chapter launches with Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton), the season's central villain, hosting a gathering of wealthy businessmen. Whitfield's presentation about transforming Montana into a playground for the rich-complete with paved highways, winter resorts, and modern air travel-sets up the primary external threat: the commercialization of the wilderness, mounted squarely against the Dutton family's way of life. This plan is chilling in both ambition and disregard for the region's cultural fabric, positioning Whitfield as the architect of a new, bleak frontier where profit supersedes legacy.

Meanwhile, Alexandra faces immediate peril in New York, violently mugged in a train station bathroom. Her wrenching ordeal is symptomatic of her vulnerable position as a pregnant immigrant alone in a vast, unforgiving city. She manages to board her train to Montana but does so stripped of resources and dignity, heightening the tension around her homecoming and emotional reunion with Spencer. The drama captures both the brutality of urban spaces and the resilience required to traverse them.

At the Dutton ranch, the narrative pivots to a rare spell of optimism as Zane Davis's dangerous surgery proves successful. Fleischmann's performance as Zane is wrenching, his struggle for recovery and the surrounding family's anxiety made palpable through Richardson's intimate filming and restrained script. The success of the surgery injects long overdue hope into a household battered by the ravages of winter, violence, and emotional distress. A domestic miracle is paired with the revelation that Elizabeth is finally pregnant-a long-awaited emotional climax that brings joy and trepidation in equal measure. Jacob's reaction to the news, mixing practical concern with paternal devotion, underscores the persistent tension between hope and the constant threat of loss.

Richardson's camerawork excels at capturing the contrast between the warmth of family and the chill of the looming threats. Muted, icy palettes and close-ups convey the physical and emotional exhaustion felt by the Duttons, while wider frames allow Montana's splendor-and, ironically, its desirability as an investment-to play an ominous supporting role. The episode's editing keeps multiple plot lines distinct but contiguous, balancing Spencer's odyssey, Alexandra's struggle, Zane's convalescence, and the increasingly grotesque developments at Whitfield's estate.

Spencer's journey home is fraught with danger. Detained by law enforcement in Texas, forced into bootlegging schemes, and finally attacked by "tax collectors" on a moving train, his path embodies the series' penchant for escalating, visceral peril. Sklenar brings an embattled, determined energy to Spencer's character, whose running battles, escapes, and brief act of compassion in helping a humiliated sex worker draw out his arc as a beacon of decency amid chaos.

Whitfield's storyline moves further into sadistic territory, baldly exposing the depths of human cruelty. The brutal murder of one of Whitfield's girlfriends and his careless disposal of her body at the now-notorious "train station," a jurisdiction-less dumping ground established by the series, connects the villain's modern ambitions to the Duttons' own future legacy of violence and secrecy (referenced in "Yellowstone"). Banner Creighton's reaction-horror, discomfort, but tacit complicity-complicates his own trajectory, and the scene blurs moral boundaries, pointing to evolving forms of evil in a rapidly modernizing West.

The episode's pacing is purposeful and unforgiving: moments of calm give way to rolling confrontation, the sense of spring's promise set against the knowledge that greater violence and loss lies ahead. Richardson trusts in his cast to elevate these transitions. Michelle Randolph's Elizabeth is a standout, capturing the haunted joy of impending motherhood, while Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren's Jacob and Cara display a mixture of relief, persistent anxiety, and resolve. Alice's watchful fear during Zane's operation and subsequent moments of renewal are delicately rendered as well.

As the cultural ambitions for Montana clash with the region's lived realities, "Journey the Rivers of Iron" examines broader questions about who shapes the meaning of land, identity, and future. Sheridan's script signals an impending transformation of the West that echoes contemporary anxieties-gentrification, displacement, and the erasure of tradition-while wrestling with America's foundational mythos of opportunity.

Despite these strengths, some viewers may find the episode's abrupt violence, including the grisly scenes at Whitfield's estate, both disturbing and narratively overwhelming. The competing threads of Spencer's escape, Alexandra's trauma, frontier medical drama, and impending land grabs risk temporal disorientation, demanding attentiveness from the audience that Sheridan rewards only incrementally.

"Journey the Rivers of Iron" stands as the season's dramatic high-water mark, juxtaposing suffering and hope, cruelty and community, tradition and transformation. Its artistry is evident in the writing, direction, and robust performances; its substance in the courage to confront unpalatable truths about history and human nature. The episode holds a mirror to both past and present, inviting reflection on what must be protected, and at what cost, as the world relentlessly reinvents itself.