Around three weeks ago, Taylor Sheridan brought to an end yet another sensational story of his by concluding the second season of 1923, pulling a lot of strings out of which some sat beautifully while others struck tragically. In fact, from what I observed, I can’t help but feel like the brainbox went seriously biased with one character while completely destroying Alex.

Although Sheridan crafted almost all the arcs super interestingly, some of his decisions felt arguably biased to me, like he favored some characters over others. One of those ostensibly backed up by him included Jerome Flynn’s Banner Creighton, whose arc ended on a beautiful note after substantial character development, while Julia Schlapfer’s Alex continued to suffer.

Taylor Sheridan biasedly allowed Banner’s arc to end on a beautiful note in 1923

Jerome Flynn’s Banner Creighton was originally introduced as a villainous character in 1923, whose ambition and desire to protect his family drove him to conflict and violence, particularly against the Duttons. Using cruel and manipulative methods, he used his position to gain power and protect his family, becoming entangled with the wealthy and ruthless businessman Donald Whitfield (played by Timothy Dalton).

However, his character didn’t stay the big bad until the very end. Rather, as the story progressed, Sheridan had his perspective shift, making him see the true nature of his actions and his associates, especially that of Whitfield. To say the least, Creighton underwent significant development as he sought to atone for his past mistakes and protect the Dutton family from the threats of Whitfield.

In the end, he found the opportunity to make amends with Jacob Dutton (played by Harrison Ford) and his family. In fact, in a moment of sacrifice, he even shot and killed Clyde, a henchman working against Jacob, to protect Jacob’s life. This was followed by Sheriff McDow (played by Robert Patrick), a righteous lawman, shooting Creighton after being tricked into believing he was an enemy agent.

Thus, despite being one of the most loathsome characters in the beginning, Creighton was allowed a beautiful arc that redeemed him in the end. But the same could not be said for Alex.

Alex, in the meantime, suffered tragedy after tragedy at the hands of Taylor Sheridan

While Sheridan had Creighton growing as a person and wrote him among the only characters whose arc ended on a beautiful note despite his death, he wasn’t all that kind when it came to writing for Julia Schlaepfer’s Alex. For one, he had her embark on a perilous journey to reunite with Spencer Dutton (played by Brandon Sklenar) after learning she was pregnant and that he was in Montana.

If the mere journey wasn’t enough, Sheridan continued to write her arc as tragically as ever, making her navigate through brutal circumstances like being robbed, assaulted, and even r-ped. Not to mention all the instances where she got stranded in a snowstorm in a car, suffered from frostbite, and nearly died from hypothermia before reuniting with Spencer when he happened to spot her from a passing train.

To say the least, it didn’t feel to me at all like Sheridan intended to go easy on her at all as he then proceeded to have her health deteriorate due to the frostbite, leading to gangrene. In a final gut-wrenching moment, after reuniting her with Spencer and having her give birth to their son, Sheridan had Alex die in Spencer’s arms while holding their son, after refusing to have surgery to treat the gangrene.

Of course, tragedy is necessary to pull off the drama. But was Taylor Sheridan biased in his treatment of Banner Creighton, allowing him such a beautifully redeeming arc but withholding it from Alex and instead completely destroying her? In my opinion, yes, yes he was. And as gut-wrenching as it is, this fact will probably continue to haunt me for years.