Julia Schlaepfer and Brandon Sklenar on 1923’s Heart-Wrenching Finale and the Enduring Power of Spencer and Alex’s Love

When it comes to epic love stories in the Yellowstone universe, none have captured the hearts of fans quite like Spencer and Alexandra. 

Their journey across continents, through war zones and family turmoil, was wild and sweeping — an old-school romantic adventure with real emotional weight. 

And when it all came to a close in the 1923 finale, the payoff was every bit as stirring as the heartbreak that preceded it.

I had the chance to sit down with Julia Schlaepfer and Brandon Sklenar to talk about their characters’ unforgettable arc and the emotional journey they took to bring it to life.

“Am I in heaven?” I joked as the interview began. “Did I meet you guys in there?”

Brandon laughed. “If this is heaven, I’m leaving. I don’t want to spend eternity in a Four Seasons.”

It was a fitting opener for a conversation that would soon return to heaven — literally.

Schlaepfer’s Alexandra made one of the show’s most haunting choices in the finale, refusing surgery in order to spend every remaining moment with her newborn son.

“It was just a no-brainer,” Julia said. “That’s, I think, the most Alex decision and choice that we’ve maybe seen thus far in the show. She has always done just what she wants and has followed her heart and her gut.”

Even as she lay dying, Alex was teasing Spencer and protecting their son with her final breaths. “It’s so emotional and beautiful,” she said. “And I think it was the right way for her to go, if she was going to go.”

Spencer’s road to redemption — after war, trauma, and the ghosts of his family — ultimately led to a single, decisive act: putting a bullet between Donald Whitfield’s eyes.

“It was his first move to sort of healing himself,” Brandon said. “He blames Whitfield for sure. But that’s just an extension of how he feels about himself. He bears that burden.”

Even with Whitfield dead, Sklenar doesn’t believe Spencer ever fully recovers. “That affects him for the rest of his life.”

Their final reunion — chaotic, passionate, and perfectly on-brand — was filmed as the first scene Julia and Brandon shot together for 1923 Season 2.

“It was our reunion as actors as well,” Julia said. “All the air was sucked out of the room. I think we all really needed a win. Their love is the backbone of their story… it just felt like no time had passed.”

And then, there’s that closing sequence —  the afterlife, a dance floor, a tuxedo, and a long-awaited smile.

“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever read,” Julia said. “They were always… this odd pairing where it shouldn’t make sense. But it doesn’t matter because they love each other so much that they find each other in the next life, and the next life, and the next life.”

Brandon was equally moved. “I still, to this day, I could sit here in this chair and think about memories I have of being Spencer, and I have a very real emotional response to them.”

He described shooting the final scene in heaven — seeing her through the crowd, hearing her say “What took you so long?”

“It just hits so hard. Every time we’d do that take and she’d hit me with that… God damn, this is so good. It’s just the most beautiful way I could have imagined it.”

He recalled reading the script for the first time and being overcome. “I was just weeping… reading that script. Like, give me a second here. How am I going to do this?”

In the end, they both agreed: the story couldn’t have ended any better.

Watch the full interview with Julia Schlaepfer and Brandon Sklenar below, and be sure to read our 1923 finale review for more thoughts about the end.

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Source: TV Fanatic