Directed by: Ben Richardson · Written by: Taylor Sheridan · Cinematography: Corrin Hodgson, Ben Richardson · Editing: Christopher Gay, Nathan Gunn · Costume Design: Janie Bryant · Production Design: Lisa Ward, Cary White · Music: Brian Tyler, Breton Vivian

Official synopsis: Jacob secures the release of Zane and his family by blackmailing the local judge. He visits Zane but finds that he has been severely beaten in jail and can barely walk. On their journey back to the ranch, they become trapped in a blizzard and take shelter under their wagon. After discovering that a hungry and likely rabid wolf has slaughtered the ranch’s chickens, it bites Elizabeth, and she is later forced to take a rabies vaccine against her will. Cara is awoken at night by the wolf breaking into the house and shoots it when it attacks her. Renaud and Kent continue their search for Teonna in Anadarko, Oklahoma, where the local marshal, Mamie Fossett, helps create illustrations of Teonna for wanted posters. The Comanche later retaliate at night, and Kent kills them, but finds that they are children. Spencer arrives in Galveston, Texas, where he meets the leader of a local crime syndicate, Salvatore Maceo. Despite Maceo’s warm hospitality toward Spencer for saving Luca, he attacks Maceo’s men after they prevent him from leaving. Maceo later allows Spencer to continue his journey, but must first help Luca smuggle illegal whiskey to Fort Worth.

If last week’s frigid 1923 season 2 opener left you wondering if the winter months could get any worse for the Dutton clan, look no further than the title of this week’s episode. “The Rapist Is Winter” begins with another cheery narration from Elsa Dutton (Isabel May), who waxes poetic about the devastation and destruction a blizzard can bring upon both man and beast. But it seems Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) didn’t get the weather report. He’s being chauffeured through the scenic Montana mountains in his fancy motorcar while discussing business with Banner (Jerome Flynn). Their conversation is cut short, however, when Whitfield spies some skiers in the distance. Banner quickly dismisses them as crazy Norwegians tempting death, but his boss immediately sees an opportunity to monetize the thrill-seeking sport. After the skiers school him on the appeal of propelling down the mountain, he tells Banner, “I can sell that for a fortune.” The latter later confesses to associate/mole Clyde that Whitfield’s ability to envision such an opportunity, and see the greed in peoples’ hearts, absolutely terrifies him. While the big bad’s scheming in the mountains, Jacob (Harrison Ford) is trying to save a friend back in town. Last season’s finale saw his wagon boss Zane (Brian Geraghty) nearly beaten to death because his marriage to an Asian woman violated the state’s miscegenation laws. Now Jacob and Sheriff McDowell (Robert Patrick) are meeting with the judge in hopes of bringing him home and having his wife and kids freed from custody.

After some haggling, the judge agrees to the family getting released to Jacob, on the condition they stay at his ranch and never return to town. But first the judge wants the name of the priest who officiated the couple’s union. Jacob responds by threatening to report the lawman’s prohibition-violating alcohol abuse. The judge cries blackmail but still accepts Jacob’s terms. The problem is far from fixed though; when Jacob arrives at the hospital to pick up Zane, he discovers the beaten man is in excruciating pain and can’t walk. Life isn’t looking much brighter back at the ranch, where Cara (Helen Mirren) is still holding down the fort until her husband returns. Elizabeth (Michelle Randolph), who was nearly eaten by a mountain lion in last week’s episode, is braving the bitter cold to grab some fresh eggs from the chicken coop. When she arrives with her basket, however, she finds the hens slaughtered and a still-hungry wolf snarling at her. She escapes, but not before suffering a bite on her leg. Given the beast’s boldness and blood-stained maw, Cara fears it has infected Elizabeth with rabies. Hoping to break the girl’s bad-luck streak, she summons a doctor. We next catch up with Teonna (Aminah Nieves), her father (Michael Spears as Runs His Horse), and Pete (Jeremy Gauna), with whom she has just consummated her burgeoning relationship. After her dad teases them about why they spent the night by the river, Pete tells him about the friendly cowboy they encountered. Teonna’s father is surprised to learn they’re not on Comanche land as he thought, but on a Texas ranch. With Pete and Teonna’s urging, her father leaves to find the cowboy and hopefully retain permission to stay on the rancher’s land.

While the trio seeks a safe spot to camp, Father Renaud (Sebastian Roché) and Marshall Kent (Jamie McShane) continue their relentless pursuit of the fugitives. The priest, Kent, and his deputy find themselves in Anadarko, Okla., where female Marshall Mamie Fossett (Jennifer Carpenter) brings out Kent’s bigoted side. The two exchange barbs, but Fossett holds her own, strongly urging him not to cross the Comanche people, lest he wind up in a pine box. Fossett clearly dislikes the vile Kent – and empathizes with the Native Americans – but she reluctantly agrees to post some “wanted” posters of Teonna around town. Later that night, Father Renaud and the two lawmen are camping by the fire, exchanging their backwards views on interracial marriage. But they’re soon interrupted by an arrow piercing the heart of Kent’s deputy. He and Renaud abandon the dying man and take cover nearby. When a large group of Comanche arrive on horseback, they ambush them from the bushes, blindly firing at the indigenous people. Renaud, who was reluctant to even hold the weapon, is dismayed to discover one of the Comanche they killed is a child. When we return to Jacob and his crew, we find things haven’t improved much since they found Zane immobile in the hospital. They have managed to load him and his family into wagons, but the blizzard isn’t making their return to the ranch easy. Their only hope for surviving the night is to overturn the transports and use them as shelter. While they manage the makeshift camp, they fear the horses will freeze before morning. With the entire group huddled close beneath a wagon, they release the steeds to find their own shelter, and hope for the best.

Back at the ranch, a doctor and nurse arrive to treat Elizabeth’s potential rabies infection. But when she learns she’ll have to suffer a dozen painful injections, she freaks out. Elizabeth refuses the treatment, but is forcefully restrained while the doctor administers the first shot. Later that evening, Cara attempts to console the girl, who’s crying in her bedroom. It’s no use, however, as she’s beyond comforting. Between sobs, she professes her love for Jack (Darren Mann), but after being shot and bitten, she’s done with ranch life. Once the storm passes, Elizabeth intends to leave. As the episode hits its halfway point, we catch up with Spencer (Brandon Sklenar), who’s finally about to set foot on dry land. He arrives in Galveston with his new friend Luca, who seems to have family – or at least “family” – in town. They immediately head to a posh seaside resort, where Spencer is quickly introduced to pizza – which he initially attempts to eat with a fork – and Luca’s shady friends. They make him an offer he can’t refuse, but the hunter is anxious to return home to help his family. He promptly sends a telegram to Cara, then hits the road. Fast-forward to Spencer introducing his fists to a henchman’s face, and his prodigal son arc is put on hold yet again. He is brought to the family’s boss, who – still indebted to him for protecting Luca – doesn’t fit him with cement shoes. Instead, he cuts him a deal: Deliver some illegal booze to Fort Worth, then keep the vehicle to complete your journey home. He gives him a fat envelope to pay off any nosy police and a pistol to use on the cops that can’t be bribed.

While Spencer finally got his feet on solid, if somewhat shaky, ground, his lady love, Alex (Julia Schlaepfer), is still lost at sea. In an almost darkly comedic scene, we briefly catch up with the Duchess of Sussex as her ship is tossed around like a tin can. While she desperately grasps the edges of her bunk like a cat clawing the sides of a bathtub it’s about to be plunged into, her voiceover reads a tender letter to Spencer. She speaks of her undying love for him, her determination to get back to him, and her desire to make many more babies with him. As the hour draws to a close, we’re struck with a bit of déjà vu. Once again, moments before the closing credits, we find Cara shouldering a shotgun. Reacting to screams coming from the first floor, she cautiously leaves her bedroom with the loaded weapon. She arrives on the lower level to discover a side door that’s been blown ajar by the wind. But it seems the breach has let in more than bad weather. The same wolf that bit Elizabeth has returned for seconds, and found a fresh meal in the nurse that accompanied the visiting doctor. While the woman lies bleeding out on the floor, the beast turns its attention to Cara. The camera then shifts to an exterior shot, we hear the familiar blast of her shotgun, and Elsa Dutton chimes in with a reliably foreboding narration reminding us that winter in the mountains is worse than hell.