Inside the Unbelievable ‘1923’ Twist

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Meet the Dutton Family's Worst Nightmare in 1923

This story contains spoilers for 1923 episode 6.

Howdy, folks. This week, our guest is just as much a surprise to me as he likely is to you. I mean no disrespect to actor Brian Konowal, but before episode 6, I would have been surprised if you even knew that his 1923 character's name is Clyde. That's how quickly Banner Creighton's (Jerome Flynn) Scottish henchman climbed the ladder from a Livestock Commission spy to the man who shot Jack Dutton (Darren Mann). Now, he's 1923's Public Enemy No. 1.

"They're gonna hate me now," Konowal told me over Zoom earlier this week. I had to talk to the actor following episode 6's shocking death, because in all my years of watching TV, I've never seen a background character vault into the spotlight this quickly.Lucky for me, Konowal was also born outside the Philadelphia area. So, after we exchanged a few "Go birds!" and mocked the Delco accent, the actor told me all about his biggest scene yet.

"All credit to Taylor [Sheridan], but when I read it, I was like, Ooh boy," Konowal said of the day he received the scripts for season 2. "I'm all in."

Konowal first appeared as Clyde in season 1, episode 3, when Cara Dutton (Helen Mirren) and Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick) hire more Livestock agents. Clyde waxes the duo a story about how he's a former Chicago cop who is just looking for a job. Little do they know, he was sent by Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) and Banner Creighton to spy on the Dutton family. Jack is even standing right behind him in the scene.

"That's what's so great about Taylor, just his storytelling and his foreshadowing," Konowal told me. "He kills this character that everyone loves. You just never know."

Konowal sent in audition tapes to work on both Yellowstone and 1883 before he was finally given the green light to play Clyde in 1923. "I was a huge fan of Taylor's from Sicario, so even before Yellowstone I wanted to work with him and I know I'm not the only one," Konowal recalls. "Plus, I loved Jerome Flynn on Game of Thrones." Now, it's a dream come true for Konowal to work on one of Sheridan's shows, even if his character is now a walking nightmare for Dutton fans.

Though he swears the Yellowstone creator runs a tight ship, Konowal ended up working more with director Ben Richardson on his 1923 scenes. In fact, the director even had some notes for Konowal before he killed Jack Dutton.

"He told me to play it subtle," Konowal recalled, "I did a take, and he said, 'More subtle… like a cold killer.' "

The scene begins in the woods, as Jack mistakes Clyde and his partner for fellow Livestock agents. Jack boasts that the Dutton family will finally have some help once Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) arrives—even though he's "a close second" when it comes to gunfighters on the Yellowstone ranch. Suddenly, Clyde fires away. "If you're a close second, I'm not much worried about the first," he says over Jack's dead body. A cold killer, indeed.

Nowadays, TV has a way of convincing you that a character isn't gone for good until you see the body for yourself. So, Clyde shoots Jack with his pistol for a second time. "Just to make sure he stays dead," Konowal joked over Zoom. "Hopefully Darren doesn't hate me."

We'll see what becomes of Clyde in the finale next week. Right now, no one else in the show is aware that Jack is dead. Spencer has yet to even arrive in Montana. Meanwhile, Alexandra (Julia Schlaepfer) is stranded in a blizzard, and John Dutton's (Kevin Costner) parentage remains up in the air. You can read the rest in my full episode recap here.

"Fans should be ready for some revelations that no one expects," Konowal teased at the end of our call. "I'll say that." Hell, if anyone knows how to keep a secret, it's certainly the man who killed a Dutton.

Brian Konowal, courtesy of Christopher Saunders/Paramount+

Elsewhere in the Sheridan-verse, Luke Grimes is reportedly in talks to star in his own Yellowstone spin-off for CBS. The actor would reprise his role as John Dutton's son, Kayce. According to Puck's Matt Belloni, the proposed series is separate from the Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly spin-off, which is apparently in pre-production.

When I spoke with Grimes at the end of Yellowstone season 5 in December, the actor told me that he was ready to bid the series farewell. "It feels like good timing," he said of the finale. "Seven years is a long time to do anything, and I had never played a character for more than a few months before. I've loved all of it. But there is a part of it that—once you read those final episodes—sees that there's a finality to it."

Grimes did confirm at the time that "there's always talks of spin-offs," even though he just couldn't see it working out story-wise. "I'd do it, [but] I just don't understand how it would work once the story ends," he told me. "Kayce wants to be a cowboy and be happy with his family. He doesn't want to kill people anymore. He doesn't want the weight of a huge mega ranch that isn't sustainable in today's times. He wants his little slice of heaven. It's that simple."

Somehow, it sounds like Sheridan figured out how to pull Grimes back in. I'll never forget how Harrison Ford originally signed on for 1923 without a script simply because the writer wined and dined Indy at his ranch in Texas. "I poured about two bottles of wine down him," Sheridan told Deadline in 2022. "He said yes."

If Sheridan can keep the wine flowing, the future for Yellowstone is looking bright.

Have thoughts or theories you need to share before next week's 1923 season 2 finale? Send me an email at josh.rosenberg@hearst.com.

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READ THE RECAP

The Cliff-Hanger's Winners and Losers of the Week

Winner: Taylor Sheridan

Last week, I wrote that the Yellowstone creator needed to pick up the pace—and he certainly delivered in episode 6. Sheridan killed seven (!) characters this week. It was an absolute slaughterhouse. Let's see what he has in store for the finale.

Loser: Donald Whitfield

Whitfield had a very real chance to become the greatest Yellowstone villain of all time. Actor Timothy Dalton brandished a delightful trifecta of threats against the Dutton ranch, as he sought to embody everything the Duttons hate most in this world. I mean, that's a former James Bond on screen, folks! Still, his character has spent nearly all his time since then sexually torturing women completely outside of any relevant storylines. Get this man off my TV.

Winner: Teonna Rainwater

She's finally free! Though I always wished more for the killer priest (which is a very cool idea for a character), at least Teonna finally vanquished her enemy. Her ancestors will own the Dutton ranch one day—at long as this rumored Luke Grimes spin-off doesn't muck anything up.

Loser: Elsa Dutton's Voice-over

I have a sneaking suspicion that Paramount forced Elsa Dutton's voice-overs on Sheridan to better connect all his Yellowstone spin-offs. Still, Elsa says the craziest s**t in these moments. At the end of episode 6, she muses about man's eternal fight vs. nature before stating that another ice age is upon us. "There have been five mass extinctions on this planet where almost all life was eradicated," she says. "It only stands to reason that a sixth one is coming." Okay, damn! Hold your horses. We're just waiting for a man to arrive on a train.

Winner: Harrison Ford

Ford earns himself the best line of the episode when he channels the Red Hulk gamma radiation from Captain America: Brave New World and yells, "IT AIN'T PREVENTABLE!!!" at Sheriff McDowell. "If Whitfield finds out [about Spencer], he will kill him!" Ford continues. "And I swear to God… If I find out, I will burn his fucking house to the ground with him in it!!!" That's why you hire Harrison Ford right there. I hope he does exactly what he says he's going to do next week.