Many are wondering how Timothy Dalton’s Donald Whitfield killed Julia Schlaepfer’s Alexandra Dutton in the 1923 Season 2 and series finale if they have never even been in the same room before.

1923 came to a shocking ending that included the deaths of major characters and even a surprise birth that shook up the entire Dutton family tree.

However, some continue to get stuck on a quick line of dialogue during the finale’s climax that featured one character claiming that Donald Whitfield killed Alexandra Dutton.

When Jacob and Spencer Dutton decide to go after Donald Whitfield and end things once and for all, Spencer finally comes face to face with the show’s main antagonist.

When they meet, Spencer claims to Whitfield that he “killed [Spencer’s] wife.” This confused some viewers because Whitfield had absolutely nothing to do with Alexandra throughout the entirety of the series – at least not directly.

No, Whitfield did not give Alexandra frostbite. He never physically harmed her or directly did anything to her, but, in a way, Spencer was right about him killing Alexandra.

If Donald Whitfield had never started a war with Jacob, Cara, and the rest of the Duttons, Spencer would likely not have come home, or at least not in the manner that he did in the show.

Because of Whitfield’s actions, Spencer had to leave Africa and travel back to America as quickly as possible. If Whitfield didn’t do what he did, Spencer would most likely still be in Africa, or at least somewhere with Alexandra living a happy life.

However, since Whitfield’s war forced Spencer to leave Alexandra, which then led to her making the journey to Montana completely by herself, Whitfield was indirectly responsible for Alexandra’s death.

Alexandra’s death at the end of 1923 is undoubtedly one of the saddest deaths in the entire Yellowstone franchise. So many fans hoped that she and Spencer would get to live out their days in Montana together, especially after it was revealed that she was pregnant with her and Spencer’s baby.

Unfortunately, though, Alexandra’s happily ever after never came. After braving a cross-country journey and fighting the cold for as long as she possibly could, Alexandra ultimately succumbed to injuries brought on by frostbite and passed away in the hospital (find out Alexandra’s actress’ thoughts on the character’s ending here).

Because of being out in the cold for so long, frostbite had spread pretty far up her arms and legs. She was given the choice to have her limbs amputated, which could have saved her life, but she chose not to do that.

However, if anything positive could come from the situation, it is that she was able to give birth to her baby, although prematurely.

Some fans also found a bit of comfort in seeing Alexandra get to spend at least a little bit of time with Spencer before she passed away, though. Fortunately, Alex’s legacy got to live on through her son, John Dutton II.