Hell on Wheels - S4 E8
Spoiler
Ain’t this some ominous shit, in early morning Cheyenne.
Naomi seems bothered by something on her mind.
Bohannon had himself a ‘notion’ of getting some railroad-related work done. Probably to get his mind off of Elam’s death/passing.
Delaney kinda miffed at Bohannon regarding railroad work/business.
A (reluctant) team effort it is, then.
Bohannon is a man-of-action and voices his opinion about the Negroes regarding work matters, versus some white guy that’s somewhat opposed to affirmative action.
Psalms still kinda uneasy with Bohannon regarding the matters of Elam’s death/passing.
Eva tends to Charlotte, with the latter worried about her future plans in the world.
Campbell receives word about Marshall Heckard’s death and surmises that Durant is involved.
“Shit flows downstream…” - Campbell.
Not as hype sounding as “Words fall from (your) mouth, like shit from ass.” from an episode of Spartacus on Starz.
Bohannon returns to find an empty home.
He rides out to find a journeying Naomi, and child, and ends up riding along with them to their destination (the Mormon fort).
The couple returns to the fort, where Hatch greets them warmly.
It appears that The (Bishop) Swede isn’t present.
Campbell seeks Sid in the jail and converses with him.
The Governor employs Sid as the new Marshall, to uphold ‘law & order’ on Campbell’s behalf.
Eva manages help Charlotte get a job with Maggie Palmer.
At the fort, Naomi enjoys catching up with the other Mormon girls.
Hatch extends an offer to stay to Bohannon and family.
Bohannon learns that Swede has been taken away by Brigham Young to Utah.
Somewhere, Brigham Young an Swede are journeying.
Swede with that ‘look’ at the screen/viewer. He was looking at us.
Me and Shaft Agent probably marked out, while white shadow probably got angry for some reason, lol.
gif worthy moment, here.
Bohannon and Naomi discuss plans to possibly stay on at the Mormon fort, the wife is all for it considering her unpleasant experiences back in Cheyenne, where life is not what she had come to expect.
Mickey returns to Cheyenne and maintains a stealthy presence due to his ‘wanted’ status.
Sid (and posse) is out patrolling, when they go to confront the railroad workers.
A number of them are taken in due to some charges, including Psalms.
When Ruth is teaching Ezra some studies, Mickey enters and asks for refuge and hides. Later, Sid stops by and asks Ruth if she has encountered some of the wanted men, to which she says, "No."
Though Sid performs a search and comes up empty and leaves, Mickey was in hiding with help from Ezra.
Sid making some moves with Ruth, here.
Though Bohannon and Naomi have a moment to themselves at night, Bohannon parts from wife and child the next day and returns to Cheyenne.
Bohannon in business mode, yo.
Charlotte finds Eva at the casino and thanks her for her help.
Bohannon returns to Cheyenne and finds the railroad works area empty.
Later, Bohannon finds Durant and informed of the situation, before Sid appears and takes Durant away as part of Campbell’s clean-up efforts in town.
Brigham Young and Swede take in the scenery as they stop for a bit on their journey, with the former taking a moment to find out a bit more about the latter.
Though Swede tries to ‘spin’ the truth about taking on the Dutson persona, Young easily sees though facade and offers Swede a chance to retell the truth about that fateful encounter with the Dutsons.
Swede comes clean about his actions and appears remorseful, resulting in Young taking in The Swede at this side… as one Thor Gunderson.
Young to Swede, “Stop playing, fool.”
When Campbell entertains convo with Louise about current happenings and people (Durant, Mickey, Bohannon), their meeting is interrupted by Bohannon, on behalf of railroad business regarding the taken workers.
Though gentlemanly ‘terms’ are offered by ther Southerner to the Carpetbagger, Bohannon gears up for action.
Look at that 3rd person, over-the-shoulder POV of Bohannon on his way to getting ready for action. I half-expect a moment like that for when I play The Evil Within, where Bohannon’s actor, Anson Mount, plays/voices a character in the survival-horror game.
random thoughts:
- Chars not dwelling much on Elam’s death/passing, as things are continuing onward.
- I kinda like ‘unkempt’ Charlotte more than ‘composed’ Charlotte. the former kinda making me think about the blonde sister from The Last of the Mohicans.
- Swede looking at the screen/viewer was legendary, even if it wasn’t intentional. gif worthy for one Shaft Agent to rival the once-animated ‘Bert’ AV.
- Sid… He continues to exist. Had he uttered his trademark phrase of “Life’s a mystery” would’ve added to the scene where he was appointed as a new marshal.
- I kinda liked the interaction between Mickey and Ezra for the brief moment. Like, maybe it hearkened back to a earlier time from the McGinnes youth of the brothers Mickey and Sean, perhaps.
- Sid getting all ‘familiar’ with Ruth probably irked the ‘Bohannon x Ruth’ faction.
- Swede continues to have purpose/existence under Brigham Young’s watchful eye. What’s gonna happen to him now?
- Psalms has a last name (Jackson). Somewhat unexpected, I guess.
- Swede continues to ‘evade’ judgment. His reactions to Young’s statements were amusing to watch, however.
- gif moments of the episode: Sid ‘dancing’ in the streets. Bohannon walking in on Durant, who has his hands up in the air and acknowledges the current situation in town. Swede turning to ‘look’ at the screen/viewer.
Hell on Wheels - S4 E7
Spoiler
Bohannon is greeted by Psalms in the morning, the latter appears to be concerned for the well-being of the family unit of the former.
Later, Bohannon finds a beat-up Durant and tends to him, with Durant saying that Campbell’s marshal had attacked him.
A business arrangement is discussed; Bohannon comes away with a ‘carte blanche’ paper that is signed by Durant.
While Ezra is out hunting frogs, he encounters Elam as Bear-Killer, who tells the boy about frog leg preparation stuffs.
Probably GTFO of there too, as well.
Bohannon deals with Maggie about plans to get through the mountain for the railroad; the Durant-signed paper is a form of collateral that Palmer accepts. Maggie also worries about Bohannon and his family.
Durant confronts Campbell about last night’s incident and Campbell denies any involvement in the matter.
Durant hopes to see justice meted out.
Delaney’s has some problems with his wife, Abby, regarding Metcalfe’s death (her father) and Durant’s possible involvement. Delaney tells her to return home, east.
When Bohannon has a discussion with Naomi about some stuffs, Ezra tells him about Elam’s reappearance.
Bohannon rides out to encounter his friend, who appears to be out of sorts.
Campbell’s man, Heckard, is sent out by train to return east. Durant stalks him.
Bohannon finds Eva and tells her about his ‘condition’.
Durant is confronted by Delaney’s wife, Abby, about Metcalfe’s death, and it appears that Durant is forthcoming about the truth of the matter.
Bohannon brings Eva to ‘Bear-Killer’ (Elam).
Tension is a bit high between the reunited (former) couple, until Bohannon intervenes.
Durant details the fateful events regarding Metcalfe’s final days from his POV to Abby.
This guy, Durant…
The train suddenly stops…
Back in town, Bear-Killer is trying to auction off Charlotte and the Indian wives to some onlookers.
Campbells plans to intervene to stop Elam, and though Bohannon tries to appeal to the Governor, he is given some time to try and save his friend.
Pimpin ain’t easy in these parts.
Campbell’s man is booted from the stopped train car and is subsequently beaten down by Durant, who is exacting ‘justice’ by his own means.
Durant showing that he is quite capable of taking matters into his own hands.
The spectacle continues as Bohannon makes an attempt to reach out and save ‘Bear-Killer’ (Elam).
Psalms is brought in by Bohannon in an effort to reach out to Elam, but Elam’s delusion is strong.
Psalms lookin sad with Elam appearing hella gone.
Time is up and Bohannon makes one final attempt to reach out to Elam, but Elam strikes out at his (former) friend, despite Bohannon waving off the gunmen.
Big magic… What?
The situation proves tense as Bohannon makes a move to save the women, which is also Campbell’s plan.
The standoff becomes violent as the men confront/combat each other, with Bohannon going on the defensive.
Though Elam holds advantage at a critical point, it is Bohannon who reverses the moment and counters; going on to take/end Elam’s life. The sad ‘spectacle’ is concluded.
Bohannon with the knife QTE response into ‘last rites’ putdown.
Later in the aftermath, Bohannon visits the Negro camp where they prepare Elam’s coffin and Psalms is mad at what had happened at Bohannon’s hand. Despite his anger, Psalms allows Bohannon to carry Elam’s coffin to it’s final resting place.
As Bohannon prepares to bury Elam, he mourns the loss of his former friend.
Fitting comment here by Eva regarding Elam; “He’s not in that box.”
random thoughts:
- Wow, just like that… Elam’s arc is ended/over. Like, the whole Elam arc of this season was unexpected IMO, and for it to come to an end was a surprise as well. Clear, this episode wasn’t.
- Elam (as Bear-Killer) kinda sporting a ‘Frontier’ Deebo persona regarding women/bitches. The knife action is a nice finishing touch.
- Durant not afraid to get his hands dirty. Look at Durant meting out ‘justice’ to Heckard. Capable, indeed.
- I think everyone that was supposed to be there for the pivotal confrontation between Bohannon and Elam was present for the most part, save for some other chars that likely have some other stuff going on at the time.
- Where was Bendix? Probably off in the wilderness somewhere, trying to recover his losses. He probably would’ve had some words regarding Elam’s condition that would’ve probably rivaled Durant’s comments to Campbell regarding mental capacities/capabilities.