…we have George Hearst, prospector/emperor, in dire need of power, money and more power. And in this corner, we have an unlikely tag-team, the honorable (if increasingly ill-tempered) sheriff Seth Bullock and his partner, the dastardly and devious owner of the Gem, Albert Swearengen. The first episode of the third and final season of “Deadwood” was like the first round of a heavyweight boxing match. A couple of giants – in this case three – feeling each other out, looking for strengths, and more importantly, weaknesses.
George Hearst wants control over the town and Al Swearengen isn’t about ready to give it up. Hearst met with Bullock about his re-election as sheriff and made inferences about Bullock’s relationship with the widow Garret, or more recently, Mrs. Ellsworth. Hearst wants to back Bullock’s candidacy, ensuring his re-election, but wants Bullock to convince Alma to leave Deadwood, allowing Hearst more profit. Hearst also wanted the sheriff to ignore the morning’s murder at the Gem, indicating that Hearst arranged the assassination of a potential labor organizer; Hearst wants no talk of unions in his businesses. Assuming that E.B. Farnum told Hearst about his former relationship with Alma, Bullock unleashed a flurry of punches to Farnum’s face that sent E.B. to the doctor and postponed the evening’s campaign speeches. Meanwhile, Al took offense that Hearst conducted the murder at the Gem and made it clear (in no uncertain terms) that he was not about to bend over for the megalomaniac.
But the most compelling storylines of the episode revolved around three of the female characters. Calamity Jane is back on the bottle and continues her quest to be the show’s biggest “lost soul.” I sense a growing affection between Jane and Joanie Stubbs, who has been acting as an unwilling caretaker to her old pimp, Cy Tolliver, after he was stabbed by a former employee that he left for dead. Joanie nearly took her own life due to her powerlessness to – once and for all – leave Tolliver to his own machinations. Then there’s Trixie, who is irritated at Al for arranging that her beau (and mayoral candidate), Sol Star, take over ownership of a house that shares a wall with a fleabag hotel, allowing the former whore to service Star without the camp’s knowledge. Like Joanie, it’s clear that Trixie is growing frustrated with her inability to exorcise her former boss from her new life.
Considering the history of the series, it was a fairly uneventful episode, but it was intended as a setup, not the payoff. The writing and acting are as good as ever, and Al Swearengen is already on fire, so I expect this will be yet another fine season from creator David Milch.
