Crime
Adolescence
In Netflix’s Adolescence, 13-year-old Jamie Miller is accused of a violent murder. And the motive behind this alleged crime haunts the people around him.
The Great Depression began in 1929. Unfortunately, no one told Montana to wait: The state’s gotten a head start.
In fact, the state’s been in the grips of depression ever since World War I wrapped up. While the rest of the country enjoys the “Roaring Twenties,” the ranchers in Montana are struggling to survive. Drought and locust infestations have caused the little remaining grass to be dried up and eaten, leaving little left for the thousands of grazing animals still needing food. Disease plagues the cattle who do find their cud. And even if that weren’t the case, the demand for agricultural products has fallen, meaning there’s less money in ranching anyway.
It’s left a lot of ranchers in a desperate situation, including Jacob Dutton, the surviving brother of 1883’s James Dutton and current owner of Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. He’s the state’s livestock commissioner, and his decisions during these trying times aren’t leaving everyone happy ranchers—particularly, Banner Creighton and his fellow shepherds, who feel that their sheep are being overshadowed in favor of cattlemen. If their sheep don’t get the grass they need, they’ll certainly die.
But the Creightons aren’t the only threats. Plenty of other players think that the decade is the perfect time to pounce on all the Duttons hold dear, such as businessman Donald Whitfield. He thinks that, what with the increase in automobile ownership, Montana’s the perfect place for tourism growth … if only ranchers like the Duttons weren’t in the way. That’s why Whitfield’s taken the liberty of prepaying those property taxes James is behind on—and if James doesn’t repay him soon, he’ll take their land for himself.
Paramount+’s 1923 is the sequel to 1883, both of which stand as prequels to Yellowstone. And two things remain constant throughout. First, the Dutton family owns its Montana ranch. And second, they’ll fight to the death for it.
For fans of the franchise, 1923 will be a welcome addition to their viewing repertoire—one that’ll give additional insight into the callous family business. The inclusion of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren will certainly draw the attention of others, too.
But, if its older counterparts didn’t warn you enough, viewers can expect a whole lot of blood-soaked violence, even including onscreen male rape and the physical abuse of a female prostitute. Likewise, full-frontal female nudity is frequent and salacious. And these ranchers don’t rein in their language, either.
And if all that wasn’t enough, a Catholic school for Native Americans is filled to the brim with priests and nuns who don’t mind abusing the kids under their care.
So while Whitfield might think the Dutton ranch is the perfect spot for tourism, we’d advise you book your vacation elsewhere.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Tensions rise between ranchers as they try to find enough grass for their livestock in drought-plagued and locust-infested Montana. Spencer Dutton hunts dangerous animals in Africa.
A woman references a “wh-re house.” Girls at a Catholic boarding school for Native Americans bathe, and we briefly see part of a girl’s rear. Jacob and his wife make crude talk about sex. Jacob’s grandnephew Jack kisses his fiancé, Elizabeth, prompting Elizabeth’s father to be upset that the two are kissing before they’re married. Jacob responds that “in my experience, Bob, when the first baby comes, you don’t want to be too picky with your math and a calendar.” Spencer urinates on the side of a tent (and we see the stream), and a woman urinates in the wilderness (and nothing is shown).
A man is shot twice and killed. Before he is shot the second time, he begs the woman not to kill him, saying she’ll go to hell if she does. Soldiers are shot and killed on a World War I battlefield. In the battle, someone is stuck with a bayonet, and another person has their head bashed in with a helmet. A person is attacked and killed by a leopard, and we see the resulting blood on her neck. A fistfight breaks out in a town hall.
Spencer shoots and kills a lion and a leopard. The corpses of a dozen cattle are seen decaying and covered in fleas.
In the Catholic boarding school, a nun repeatedly smacks Native American Teonna’s knuckles with a ruler until they are raw. This prompts Teonna to punch the nun many times in the face. The two of them arrive at Father Renaud’s office, where he whips the nun’s knuckles and Teonna’s rear as punishment, saying that though he has compassion, he has no mercy. Father Renaud forces the nun to recite 1 Corinthians 13:1 while he beats her. We later see the bloody scars on Teonna’s upper thighs. A man tells Jacob that “God owns the grass, and you’re no god.” Jack exclaims that “God ain’t made” a horse that can knock Jack off its back.
Women advocate for prohibition. “Don’t drink that devil’s drink,” one yells. A woman drinks alcohol. A man smokes a cigar.
The f-word is used three times. “H—,” “b–ch” and “b–tard” are also used a number of times. God’s name is abused four times, including once in the form of “g-dd–n.” Jesus’ name is abused once. Furthermore, the slurs “m-ck,” “paddy” and “jock” are thrown around at Irish or Scottish men, respectively. “Wh-re” is used once.
Jacob’s nephew, Spencer, shovels coal in exchange for an ocean passage back to the United States. While on the voyage, he protects and befriends an Italian immigrant. Meanwhile, Spencer’s wife reveals surprising news.
In a recap of previous episodes, we see people get shot and killed. We also see the dead body of a corrupt nun. A naked man and woman kiss, though nothing is seen. A car gets tipped over by an elephant.
We see a naked prostitute whose breasts and rear are visible for some time. She joins a man in the tub and compels him to intimately touch her. Then, she leaves the tub and opens up a closet, where a bound and naked prostitute waits. She kisses the other woman. In another scene, we catch a woman seduce her male partner by removing her clothes in front of him (in this instance, she covers her breasts with her hands from view). The two kiss and have implied sex. We hear a reference to arousal. A man and woman kiss.
The other prostitute sobs as she’s pulled by the first one with a belt around her neck, and we see scars on her back from abuse. We see a man rape another man aboard Spencer’s ship, and we hear grunts and cries (though no critical areas are seen). The victim claims that the other man has been raping him since they had left port, some time ago. When Spencer sees the act, he beats the rapist with his belt, and an officer aboard the ship shoots the rapist in the head. Later, the male victim contemplates committing suicide by jumping off the boat, but Spencer talks him down.
Later, Spencer fistfights other men for money, and he causes his first opponent to collapse by kneeing and kicking him multiple times. His second opponent slams him against the wall, and they trade punches until Spencer bites the man on the side of the throat.
A marshal shoots and kills a couple of Native American men. Then, he takes a woman and child hostage, threatening to shoot them unless their tribes provide information. As he leaves, he runs down a young child with his horse, and it’s unclear if the child is unconscious or dead.
A woman shoots and kills a mountain lion. Someone transports a carved deer carcass.
A priest travels with the marshal. When he sees the marshal grab the child hostage, he yells, “As a man of God, I demand that you release this child.” The marshal quips that he’s seen the priest’s graveyard and knows that the priest filled it. But the priest retorts that “God’s will filled it,” causing the marshal to claim that he, too, is “the will of God.” Someone wishes that God would have made him stronger. A man says that he’d “lay with the Devil” to give his son a future. Someone says that spring is the season when “God tries again.”
People smoke and drink alcohol in a speakeasy.
We hear the f-word three times. “B–ch” is used once. God’s name is used in vain once.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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