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SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details from the finale of 1923 on Paramount Plus.
Taylor Sheridan wrapped his Yellowstone prequel with a Texas-sized episode that resolved the plight of the Dutton ranch — at least for now — as well as the fate of Timothy Dalton’s sadist character Donald Whitfield (sorry you had to go through that creepy bedroom crap, Bond!).
The outcome may not have pleased fans of the epic Spencer-Alex romance, but at least we got to see one character ride into the proverbial sunset — Teonna Rainwater, the young woman who managed to escape a horrific Catholic boarding school in North Dakota.
Here, the superb Aminah Nieves talks about her final days in Texas, what it was like to shoot those heartbreaking death scenes, and how Father Renaud — er, Sebastian Roché — was actually pretty cool when the cameras weren’t rolling.
DEADLINE What’s so strange about this season is that there ended up being two separate shows within the show. There is, of course, your perilous journey and then there is what’s happening at the Dutton ranch. It’s like you two were world’s apart.
AMINAH NIEVES If you pay close attention, you will notice that me and Brandon Sklenar ride the same horse. We were closer than one would think.
DEADLINE That epic scene in the finale when you are being pursued by sheriff. You look like Kevin Costner from Dancing with Wolves when he’s hunting the buffalo!
NIEVES I had a pistol and a rifle in both hands. It was one take! I felt like a kid. I wanted to go again, but we didn’t have enough light. It was so fun.
DEADLINE Did Taylor Sheridan give you a heads up that Teonna was going to go through hell this season?
NIEVES No, he didn’t say anything. I got the first two episodes and was like, oh my God, she finally is finding love. I sent it to Cole [Brings Plenty] and then he was so excited. Then we both were kind of like, ‘oh shit, you’re like my brother now and we have to act intimate. I guess this is what actors do, how disgusting.’ So we had a moment together of like, oh, this is exciting. [Plenty was found dead in April of 2024 at the age of 27]. I know he’s laughing. I know he is in the sky laughing hard right now. But yeah, I was so happy when I read the first episode to see that we were going to expand this other side of Teonna.
DEADLINE You were outside pretty much the whole season. Was it, ahem, a little warm?
NIEVES In the summer? It was 110 degrees. But you know what? Honestly, I think it made everything better because our characters are battling the elements too. It put all of us in that head space. So I am so grateful that we did most of it outside, because the land is like another actor. It’s a co-star.
DEADLINE Sebastian Roché says the two of you got along really well, so that helped get through those heavy scenes. Man, was he easy to hate onscreen.
NIEVES Everyone hates him. And then they meet him and they’re like, wait, no. I don’t hate him, I love Sebastian. He’s my fun uncle. I call him my funcle, Being able to have such a strong relationship with Sebastian made it even better In season one. We got on so great. And then in season two, our relationship kept continuing to blossom and I think it really showed in episode six. I literally just stayed at his house a couple months ago with him and his wife. He’s a really great mentor and he will guide you. He is so open to life itself. I think that’s why he’s such a great actor. He’s so intuitive, and so locked in on everyone around him, everything around him.
DEADLINE Talk about the night Teonna shot the priest. Where did that primal scream come from?
NIEVES I think it was just an uproot of everything that has happened up until that point, not even within my lifetime, but from many lifetimes ago. It was visceral. It was everything blended together. I can’t explain it. I could just sit there and feel it and I did. And even talking about it now, I get a little emotional. You kind of black out as an actor a little bit, especially with things that are so tied to who you are as a person. So yeah, I think that was very much rooted in what had just happened with someone so close to me, the realities of it, as well as for my family who lost some of their own culture because of all of this assimilation.
As a matriarchal woman, it’s my duty to try to remember as much as I can and to try to carry on all of these teachings and wisdom, not only for the youth who I currently have in my life, but to the future generations to come. That scream also comes from fear of what’s to come, but it also comes from a place of strength. Knowing that as long as I continue to do my best as a matriarchal woman and continue to show up for myself and the people around me, no one can hurt us, no one will ever be able to break us ever. We’ll continue to keep growing and growing until this planet decides that it’s time to annihilate itself.
DEADLINE You must have known that viewers wanted that payoff so badly. They wanted to see the priest die.
NIEVES Oh, absolutely. Everyone was so excited and so happy. My family was sending me screenshots.There’s a Father Renaud Instagram! And lemme tell you, that account owner was not happy. It’s actually pretty funny. So my family was sending me screenshots and I was like, this is hilarious. The people were very happy. Father Renaud’s Instagram account? Not so much.
DEADLINE When you saw that final script, what were your thoughts? Were you a little surprised by the outcome? That Teonna escaped prosecution?
NIEVES Absolutely. 100%. But the thinker in me was like, well, she can’t die. She has to carry on life. But she leaves with nothing. She has so much still within her, but essentially she has no one. She’s on her own. She’s 16.
DEADLINE So it’s all over, right? We’re done with 1923? Because people are going to want to see where Teonna is headed.
NIEVES Let’s call Taylor right now.
