1923 viewers make same complaint about season 2 premiere

1923 returned with its highly-anticipated second season on Sunday night and while fans were overjoyed to have the show back on screens, some couldn’t help but question the necessity of some violent scenes. 

Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford star in the Yellowstone prequel spin-off, which is created by Taylor Sheridan and takes place on the Dutton family ranch during the Great Depression era. The new episodes follow the Duttons as the harsh conditions of a cruel winter threaten to end their family legacy. 

Taking to social media, viewers complained about the “very dark” series opener, which featured sexually explicit scenes. 

One viewer penned: “Is it necessary for there to be so much sexual violence in #1923TV?” while another added: “This season has gotten off to a sadistic start. I don’t know that I can continue watching this with this kind of violence.”

A third fan asked: “What’s with all the sexual violence starting off season 2? #1923.”

A fourth viewer said the scenes were “too much” while another said they had to “mute and look away too many times”. 

However, not all viewers were bothered by the graphic scenes, with many praising the “excellent” first episode. 

© Paramount

One fan wrote: “Amazing season 2 opening episode. Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren are irreplaceable. Brandon Sklenar is just perfect,” while another penned: “Season 2 1923 episode 1 is a masterpiece.”

A third viewer hailed the opener as “fantastic”, while another added: “New season of 1923 is [fire].  Really enjoyed the first episode of season 2.”

Ahead of the new series, Brian Geraghty and Sebastian Roché revealed what it was like working with leading stars Harrison and Helen during an exclusive chat with HELLO!. 

© Paramount

Brian, who plays Zane Davis, said the pair “set the tone with fun”. “They’re like ‘We’re playing, so let’s have fun, let’s work hard‘. They show up prepared but the most important thing for them is to have fun,” he said, adding: “That was really great for all of us.”

Meanwhile, Sebastian, who plays the villainous Father Renaud, said that while his character had fewer interactions with Cara and Jacob Dutton, he would often watch Helen and Harrison perform their scenes on his day off.

© Paramount

“I would go to the set just to watch them and to see how professional, how passionate and how caring they are about the crew,” said the actor. “It basically imbued the whole set, so I felt I was enveloped by the umbrella of Harrison and Helen.”

1923 season 2 airs on Paramount+ on Sundays.