"puddle of piss... I must have missed it when I seated myself" Jane
close second, "tell your god to ready for blood." Al S
quotes aside, I am glad to see Sy hanging on after being gutted by the priest. Not to say I wasn't happy in the finale last year to see the stabbing, he difinitely deserved it, but I do like his character and was happy to see him not dead.
I laughed like crazy when Jane was getting so pissed off that everyone was whispering. I find that some actors whisper too much for dramatic effect. I loved that her character made fun of it.
Notice Sy with the Bible ? Assuming he survives, I wonder how long it will take him to use his new found interest in the Bible to lure in the minister (Andy) so he can get his revenge ?
Another great exchange was Trixie explaining to Sol what the whole Adams house thing was about. hilarious. As was her previous conversation with Al... "loopy c___".
Yeah what a fantastic Episode. I'm cursing at the end everyweek that I just can't see the next show like the DVD Set. I Guess Cy gonna Let Artie stew a bit more. Geez has Hearst Become Brutal this year, gonna Rape Alma who'd guessed from the Hearst of Last year. Damn You HBO for Putting on a "Lucky Louie" and Yanking the Best Damn Show you have on Prematurely.
Great, great start to this Season, I love Al, he is such a bad mutha, he and Hurst are gonna have a epic battle. Hurst must be fearless if he thinks he can do that to Swedgin and get away with it.
The drawing of the x's coming to life was a great scene, as was Swearigen and Hurst on the balchony.
"Were you born, and not egg hatched like I thought you were?" lmao.
The Bella Union gang has fallen far.
BTW, what the hell is Hurst doing by knocking all the plaster off the walls?
I also felt the same way wishing it was already on DVD so I did not have to wait another week.
I am loving the Hearst, Swearengen power struggle and can't wait to see how it plays out.
Who would have known that Wolcott might actually have been the lesser of 2 evils in the Hearst camp...I am surprised they had Hearst turn out this way after the way he was so upset about Wolcott's actions...although, I guess Wolcott's actions brought in negative attention from Toliver (blackmail) and possible problems with Hearst's "securing of the color".
Can anyone remember if the Capt. has actually spoken a word since arriving on the scene? I loved when he looked back at the Gem and tossed that evil smile to Dan and the boys.
I loved the tension between Seth and Ellsworth. They said barely a word to each other, but there was so much to be made from their scenes together. What are Seth's feelings for Alma; How much more can Ellsworth take where he is just trying to do the right thing but seems to be relegated to nice guy finishes last status; Will Sophia be a child for Mrs. Bullock to call her own; the danger to Sophia/Alma with Hearst interested in their claim. Even with the consistently great dialogue in this series, the effective use of silence was great.
Which is exactly what Bullock doesnt need as he's finally begun to have feelings for Martha. William was a sacrifice really. Its took him going for Seth to really care about her.
The end with Hearst tricked me. Sending the diagram to make Al think it was to makeup for fiasco in Al's place.
Its building nicely and will get ugly.
My favorite scene from this episode was Jane teaching the kids though.
Hearst has Wolcott as a minion last year, but Wolcott's depravity would look bad for Hearst if it gets out in public.
Hearst is such a cutthroat bastard that it was likely the public nature of Wolcott's actions that was the problem. Since we now know that Hearst would kill a random cornish in Al's place just to see how far he could push Al. Then he would set up two (or four) of his own guys by mailing the diagram, just to look like he was interested in making it up to Al. Then ... he would give Al one chance to join him peacefully, and when Al threw it back it at him, off with his finger.
If that's the guy we're dealing with, I think it's brilliant how Al is reacting. Make it look like he's learned his lesson, that he's not telling Dan or Seth what happened and that he's crawling back in his hole, afraid of Hearst. This is great stuff.
That would be my interpretation of it too. I doubt the 1877 public would be too concerned about foreign laborers being killed (as ugly as that may sound) but some maniac killing women is going to be too high profile for Hearst's tastes.
This show is fantastic.. I loved when AL came out and told them not to say a word... And Seth walked right by Hurst and never looked up at him..... Good stuff... Reminds me of how great the Sopranos used to be...
Count me in with the "annoyed it is over so fast" crowd. Just as I am figuring out what is going on, it is over! Gah! They cram a lot of story and character stuff in one hour. It is wonderful to see how loyal Seth is to Al. What an amazing change in their relationship over the last couple of seasons. What I love about this show is the word "hero" and "villain" really have no meaning. Al is a ruthless bastard who would kill without a second thought but on the other hand sacrifices a lot for the good of the camp and at times shows some genuine concern for certain members of the camp. Seth sometimes wears the white hat of a hero but now shows his severe temper and that he can be just as ruthless as Al.
I am wondering if the camp will ever be as close-knit as it was at times over the last couple of seasons. Though they all had their differences, the powers that be in the camp would still gather at The Gem to sit around the table and figure out how to make things work. That is clearly gone now as we have Cy doing his own thing to get in with Hearst, Al and Seth out to protect the integrity of the camp from Hearst but also the whole of the US and just about everyone else just looking out for themselves.
Some highlights for me was Charlie's speech to prevent whatshername from killing herself, the unspoken slow burn between Seth and Mr. Elsworth, the speech by the other candidate for Sheriff who, of all of them, had the most practical things to say about the camp's needs! Cy's religious blathering was fun.
Was this a new director? I thought the way they shot this looked markedly different from many other episodes. There are some standard "angles" that have been used in many episodes (the view on Al's desk in his office, the similar views of the main street, the similar views of the Gem, etc.). By really exploring the space a little bit on the part of the director/cinematographer it makes the camp look almost new again and very fresh. It feels a big bigger, too. This is helped with lots of new locales (the Elsworth house, the cheap boarding house, the de- and re-construction of Heart's hotel, etc.). I haven't watched any making-of stuff but do they tear down these sets between seasons? Would that explain the new "look" or feel of things?
Phil, I agree about Al. He certainly has changed since the first season. I remember how vicious he was in the first few episodes of season 1. And wishing he would bite it soon. But, with the arrival of Cy. We see a different evil. Whereas Al is vicious. He is concerned about what the welfare of the camp. But, Cy couldn't give a crap. He could just pull up and leave.
I have to wonder if the writers/producers saw the popularity of Al. And maybe have made him less "evil"??