‘1923’ season 2’s most controversial scene is defended by the show’s stars
The Taylor Sheridan written Yellowstone prequel 1923 is no stranger to savage and unsettling storylines. However, one in particular is being framed as unnecessarily brusque, despite the show’s time period in America. In spite of its apparent brutality, the storyline is being defended by the actress who plays Lindy: Madison Elise Rogers.
At the conclusion of the first season, business overlord Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) procured the services of two prostitutes: Lindy and Christy (Cailyn Rice). Does he treat them well? He does not. In fact, he forces them to perform violents acts on each other for his own twisted pleasure. In season 2, we see this wasn’t just a passing fad: the girls are not only in the new season they’ve also taken on a new power dynamic.
In one especially uncomfortable scene, the girls are forced to whip each other with Whitfield’s belt. Lindy especially takes on this new role and starts to exert her control over Christy in a very violent way.
Rogers, in an interview with ScreenRant, said that it made sense for Lindy to become evil, so to speak, because of who she was being influenced by in the first place. Being in the orbit of a man so “powerful and dangerous” makes the transition feel all that more real.
“I think there’s something realistic about it. I feel like, if Whitfield existed, this would be something that actually happens,” she said, adding that she understands how people will react to what’s going on. “I know it feels brutal, but I think it’s showing this very real side of a dangerous man and how he abuses his power. These women are just collateral in his scheme.”
To take the theme of manipulation even further, Rogers said Lindy is in a house with an “obviously very dangerous man,” and feels like he’s accepted her in a sense, so she feels “favored by him.” She also knows it’s a game of survival, and while she’s leaning into it she’s “completely been brainwashed.”
This means the scenes don’t just exist for shock value. They’re a valuable insight into the world that carries 1923 on its back and the disturbing proclivities of antagonist Whitfield in general.
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