Is it time for the Duttons to get their long-awaited revenge? It seems so.
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As The Rule of Five Hundred,” the penultimate episode of “1923,” begins, we see Jake and Jack Dutton saddling their horses on a cold, snowy morning and heading out with their posse. But wait: They’re riding into town. Yes, Cara’s wisdom has prevailed, and the Duttons will not be going it alone but instead using the help of local law enforcement to put Banner in his place.
Meanwhile, cut to Banner, who’s in a posh mansion on the edge of town owned by Whitfield. Wearing a slinky robe and looking like a prohibition-era Hugh Hefner, he opens a cupboard filled with pricey Champagne, port and other booze, which he then takes upstairs to two naked prostitutes in bed.
The doorbell buzz interrupts Banner’s extracurriculars with the two women—who are more interested in each other than Banner, to be honest—and he’s met with the sheriff and the Dutton posse. Banner is going to jail on charges of two counts of murder, four counts of attempted murder. But, as he threatens while being loaded into the car, it won’t be the last we see of him.
Banner’s booked into jail and promptly visited by a high-powered attorney sent by Whitfield. But the knowledge of Banner’s incarceration came to the lawyer from an unlikely source. Remember the former Chicago cop Cara hired to join her force of Livestock Agents? He watched the whole thing go down and promptly ran to Whitfield’s mines (where he’s having a field day with dynamite!) to let him know.
Banner’s lawyer is confident that he’ll have the con man out within a day, and Banner lets the lawyer know about the two prostitutes in the house. We then see a (perhaps unsurprising) darker side of Whitfield, who blindfolds one of the prostitutes before gleefully watching her partner beat her with his belt.
In the Dutton house, where it’s nightfall, we finally witness some fun and tangible warmth from Cara and Elizabeth, who are baking a cake together in a scene that would be appropriate if Nancy Meyers made cowboy movies. I’m sure Cara felt some smug relief that Jacob decided to forego his vigilante justice in favor of enlisting actual law enforcement. Jacob and Jack arrive home, and for seemingly once, all is well for the Duttons—until they get in a fight about politics at the dinner table. Families of 1923—they’re just like us!
Teonna’s unwavering resolve
At Teonna’s grandmother’s house, we see that she has died as a result of her encounter with law enforcement. Her body is discovered by a mysterious Native American man we’ve not seen before. Teonna’s father, perhaps?
He’s approached by a younger man on a chestnut horse—it’s Hank’s son, arriving to share the word of Teonna’s trouble. We confirm that the older man is, in fact, Teonna’s father, who is remarkably calm for having just discovered his deceased mother. Teonna’s father tells the boy to keep a low profile for his return trip, and in a beautiful, heart-wrenching scene, he sets out to bury his mother before heading out for his own revenge.
But the three cruel priests, sent by Father Renaud, are still on the move and quickly encounter Hank’s son, brutally beating and binding him and threatening to drag him back to school. While one priest does just that, the other two continue their search for Teonna.
Over a campfire that night, the primary kidnapper reams Hank’s son, talking about his missions served around the world, helping “people with no tribe.” Hank’s son fires back, telling the priest that his God doesn’t exist. The priest flies into a blind rage, beginning to recite the Lord’s Prayer, but his demonic attack is cut short by Teonna’s father, who scalps the priest before slitting his throat.
Of course, as we’ve seen, there are few happy endings in Teonna’s story. She’s soon encountered by the two priests, who mistake her for a boy. Their suspicions are raised and they draw closer, prompting her to flee. One rips her shirt off, and she counters by gouging one of his eyes. Hank shoots both, but true to Taylor Sheridan’s style, the battle isn’t over. The one-eyed priest rises and shoots Hank in the back before attempting to reload and off Teonna. Teonna is faster, though, grabbing a well-placed boulder and bludgeoning the final priest.
While she has survived, the damage is done: She lets out a primal scream over Hank’s limp body.
Destination: home?
In the last 10 minutes of “The Rule of Five Hundred,” we’re connected with Spencer and Alex. Are they getting closer to home? It seems so. The SS Lambridge has dropped them off in Italy (the stunning port of Valletta, Malta, plays the part here), and over a lunch of pasta and wine, Spencer tells Alex that their passage leaves on Thursday.
The two chat about their demons and their future, with Spencer poking fun at the Brits and Alex, in turn, poking fun at the French. Alex sits on his lap on the sun-dappled patio, and all seems right with the world for this duo—finally.
But this episode ends with a wild cliffhanger: Alex’s fiancé and family appear on the patio, her former future mother-in-law literally clutching her pearls at the sight of the two… and scene.
Next week will mark the end of this season, and this edgy episode has left more than a few questions unanswered. It’s now likely that fans will have to wait another year before Spencer graces America’s shores, we may or may not see Banner get out of jail and continue his revenge plot on the Duttons, and, for dear Teonna’s sake, let’s hope that we see a reunion with her father. Only time will tell.
