Author: John Paulsen (Page 68 of 79)

George Hearst is one tricky bastard. He sends Al a note, giving him the positions of two/four killers in his saloon, which allows Al to defend the Gem. I’m not sure why Al trusted Hearst enough to visit him at his digs, but when he does, Hearst shows his true colors (Alma’s stake in the camp) and wants Al’s help. Al doesn’t cooperate, which was actually a bit surprising given his penchant for survival, and Hearst takes a finger as punishment. After the meeting, Al stumbles out into the camp, causing Bullock’s ears to perk up. Bullock wants to take the bastard down, but Al rebukes the idea by saying, “I’m having mine served cold.” This represents some serious foreshadowing, which will likely take several episodes to come to fruition.

Meanwhile, Alma’s pregnancy has gone South, causing her to get her affairs in order. She surprises Ellsworth by giving custody of Sofia to Bullock, if anything were to happen to her. It’s clear that, for all Ellsworth has done, she still prefers Bullock, especially if someone is going to have to defend Sofia’s claim in the camp. Seth and Martha seem to be getting on a bit better, though their scenes together are still extremely uncomfortable and I wonder if the two will ever be happy as husband and wife. When you think about it – how weird would it be to marry your brother’s widow?

Jane is on the wagon again and her speech to the “little ones” was endearing. There was a nice moment between her and Martha as Jane left the school house. Speaking of nice moments, Joanie – who is still having a tough time dealing with Cy – opened up to Charlie. This is a romance that hasn’t quite gotten off the ground, but with his speech convincing Joanie that she shouldn’t be too hard on herself, I suspect he scored a few points.

So what’s up next? You can bet that Al is going to be spending most of his time figuring out a way to put Hearst in the ground. His uneasy alliance with Bullock has been an interesting twist in the series. Alma’s abortion appears to have gone well, but her entrusting Bullock with Sofia has to cause problems in her relationship with Ellsworth. I look forward to seeing some more of Trixie and Star – Sol bought a house and it looks like the duo will be able to spend many a night together without the camp knowing. Finally, based on the crowd’s reaction to the candidate’s speeches, Star and Bullock will with the mayoral and sheriff races, respectively.

…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.