It’s the source of her determination and grit.
The wait is finally over—1923 is back! Our favorite on-screen relationship, however, remains an ocean apart.
As you may recall, in the Season 1 finale, Spencer (Brandon Sklenar) and Alex (Julia Schlaepfer) were torn apart following Spencer’s epic ship deck fight scene, in which Alex’s ex-fiance, Prince Arthur, pulled a gun on him, and Spencer inadvertently tossed him over the side to his demise in defense.
Now, Season 2 is underway, and if the first episode is telling, it’s going to take a hot minute before Spencer and Alex find their way back to one another. That’s not to say the Taylor Sheridan show will be any less compelling, though. We sat down with Julia to discuss her character, Spencer and Alex’s romance, and what’s to come in the remaining seven episodes. In a word, she says it will be “heart-wrenching”—but that’s hardly the whole story.
“I feel like there’s a new level of Alex that comes to the surface [this season],” Julia tells Country Living. “The side that comes to the forefront in her survival mode and in her grit on her journey is something I was really excited for—even from season one, I would fight our director and be like, ‘She’s not a damsel in distress; she can do it on her own.’ And so you watch her do so much of it on her own, and I think you just see this really selfless determination come out of her that I love about her, and I love about the character.”
Julia also enjoys how well-rounded Alex is as a whole.
“It was so exciting for me to play the different levels in the dichotomy of her royal side and her want for freedom, and this season her grit and her strength; she’s funny and she lives so spontaneously; she’s so in the moment and that was really inspiring to me as Julia.”
Just as viewers have felt influenced by Alex’s bold demeanor, playing Alex inspired Julia to approach her everyday life with more ease.
“Since I started playing this role, I’ve been living slightly differently—the way that [Alex] just lives so fiercely and ferociously and bravely is so cool to me, and I think that we’ve lost that a little bit in 2025, [so] I’ve been more present and following the things that make me happy; I moved to Montana because I loved Montana after filming there.
It’s in playing Alex that Julia has gleaned some of her very best life advice. “Just jump—you know, chase after the car, get on a flight; if you love someone, if you care about someone, if you find happiness somewhere and it’s not where you are, just chase it; chase it as hard and as fast as you can because life is short and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. I think that’s how [Alex] would feel,” she shares.
As much as Julia has enjoyed Alex’s new fearless and determined character arc, she can relate to wanting the happily-ever-after moment. Still, she’s thrilled that 1923 Season 2 sets the stage for Alex to rise to the occasion. “While viewers hate that they are separated, I really was excited for Alex to have to fend for herself and to find that strength that I know is in there to make her way back to Spencer,” she explains.
The reason Alex is so determined to make her way back to Spencer, in Julia’s opinion, is because, at the core of their relationship, they bring out the very best in each other despite being wildly different.
“He was a lion hunter; he’s dirty and he doesn’t really care about how he’s perceived, and he has a lot of integrity; and I think she comes from a world that’s all about what you look like, society, how you present yourself to the world—not, you know, being too crazy, not being too over the top and dramatic,” Julia explains. “She just wants to be free, and I think for her, he is the epitome of freedom and choosing your own path and not relying on anybody else but yourself. So I think that was really, really exciting for her and makes their connection really special.”
Here’s hoping we get a glint of their epic love (in the same scene) before the Season 2 finale. Until then, we’ll eagerly be tuning in for all the latest Dutton drama. New episodes of 1923 air every Sunday on Paramount+.
