Some 1923 Fans Are Underwhelmed With The Story Progression In The Finale

Contains spoilers for "1923" Season 1 finale, "Nothing Left to Lose"

The first episode of "Yellowstone" prequel "1923" had fans picking their jaws up from the floor, as befits a show that can boast what just might be the most impressive cast in a "Yellowstone" show yet. As the series progresses and the Duttons — led by Cara (Helen Mirren) and Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) — face woes in many parts of the world, they meet foes and allies played by famous faces ranging from Timothy Dalton and Robert Patrick to Peter Stormare and "Game of Thrones'" Jerome Flynn. 

We already know that "1923" will be back for Season 2, so fans have plenty more Dutton Ranch-adjacent excitement to wait for. However, it's not all smooth sailing for the show. In fact, some fans have already expressed their disappointment on the way the show's Season 1 finale handled things. Let's see what they had to say. 

As fast-paced and epic the first episode of "1923" was, the show is content to take things comparatively slow in the final episode of its Season 1 — and "Yellowstone" fans who are used to more explosive season finales were quick to voice their aggrievances in the Reddit discussion thread for the episode. Some of the criticism involved cliffhangers, which several viewers found underwhelming. 

According to redditor u/Certain_Moxie, the episode wasn't a particularly fun watch. "Nothing much even happened in this episode it was very frustrating," they wrote, and listed a number of events they felt led to nowhere. "The story moved no further and the cliff hanger isn't even a violent one in it basically all boils down to taxes."

Likewise, redditor u/–jsm criticized the episode's cliffhanger game, focusing in particular on the one involving Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and Alex (Julia Schlaepfer), and what it might mean for the show's future pacing. "So they find Spencer inoccent, but they throw him off the ship, and now they are both going to make their own way to Bozeman?" they wrote. "Great. So now I suppose Spencer will make it to Yellowstone ahead of Alex, and we'll get to watch Alex most of season two trying to find her way there!"

User u/DreamingLittleDeaths had a more overarching issue with the series, as they questioned the entire show's setting and atmosphere. "Is there anything remotely redeeming about the 1923 western world?" they asked. "At least the version shown in this show. Like f***, this is horrible for anybody who wasn't very rich, very white and very male."

While u/Cjkgh was happier with the overall episode, they felt that the characters' mysterious ability to locate each other in pre-GPS times was enough to break suspension of disbelief. "Everyone is in the middle of nowhere, there are no street signs, how is s*** so easy to find. Then just taking a lucky guess on where they're heading? ANNOYING!" they wrote.

The biggest issue multiple viewers foound with the finale wasn't necessarily that it was bad. Instead, several redditors pointed out that its pacing and events didn't actually feel like a finale at all. 

"Wait this was the season finale?" u/Schoobacca expressed their confusion, receiving multiple replies that agreed that "Nothing Left to Lose" felt like anything but. Elsewhere, u/deathhurts expressed similar sentiment, and went to further lengths about the pacing and lack of memorable events in the episode. "I will most likely remember none of this in the year it takes for s2, seems rushed and stretched out at the same time, bleh," they wrote. 

Others opted for a more optimistic route, hoping that the episode's season finale status is actually just a big swerve and a more impressive finale will arrive later down the line. "They're going to surprise us next week and drop a 2 episode finale? Aren't they? Please?" u/MyIpodStillWorks indulged in wishful thinking. 

As much as "1923" Season 1 started with a bang, it looks like a number of fans feel that it ended with a whimper.