Well, you think you’ve seen everything on this show and then…Franklyn Ajaye.
It’s good to see Al on the mend after the “struggle with his prick.” His exchanges with Johnny were hilarious tonight. Somehow, stroke or not, I expect old “Swidgen” is going to take this whole claims crisis thing by the throat and straighten out the camp.
So Alma’s got a bun in the oven. I’m not a big fan of pregnancy storylines (they’re usually tediously predictable) but if any show can breathe some life and unpredictabilty into such a development, it’s this one. I loved Doc’s circumambulatory speech to Alma and the way he got his message across clearly without saying anything directly. If I haven’t said it before, Brad Dourif rocks on this show. His character is so consistently ethical and decent while also being exhausted, jaded and equally as profane as anyone in town. I think I was so blown away by Ian McShane’s work last season and took Dourif so for granted as a reliable character actor that I neglected to notice what complex character he was creating. He deserves an Emmy for the work he’s done this season.
The tar scene was ugly and brutal but I guess the show felt it probably needed to say something about the racial dynamics of the time.
I can’t wait for next week. I want to see what happens when that hoople head insults Bullock.
I loved how Al asked Dan if he had fucked him while he was unconscious – because of the way Dan was looking at Al. That’s pretty close to what I was thinking (though not quite so crude) when I saw Dan’s expression.
As for the tar scene, HBO must have something about tarring lately. Carnivale had a similar scene, though even worse, not long ago. Until seeing that, I had never thought much about what tarring and feathering someone was like. I always pictured it as more of a prank than anything else, not realizing that it involves hot tar like is used in roofing.
Anyone else think the schoolteacher is going to wind up feeding Mr. Wu’s pigs? I think Silas knows exactly what she’s up to. He’s a smart guy.
And it looks like the show is building towards some pretty exciting episodes, with Bullock and Swearingen facing off against Cy, Yankton, and George Hurst. This could be very entertaining.
Loved Franklin Ajaye. I recognized him right away, and was surprised that he can act that well. I think he’ll make an interesting addition to the storyline, especially if he becomes a companion of Jane’s.
Looks like Ellsworth is going to get to be the “daddy” of Alma’s baby. Lucky him. Better him than Richardson.
I wonder if Al is just going to let Trixie leave his employment that easily. I guess she’s made her peace with Bullock or else she has learned to tolerate him.
I was beginning to wonder if there were any black people in Deadwood.
Did the Nigger General know that hothead, or was it a black person seeing a bunch of angry white people and figuring that he ought to get the hell out of there?
How do we refer to the Nigger General? What if he becomes a semi-regular? Yeah it’s the name of his character, but doesn’t exactly make me feel comfortable. Do we call him NG? Any suggestions?
I loved it when Tolliver told Seth after the second warning shot, that he thought he had their attention.
I suspect Seth has now pretty much got Dan and Silas as unofficial deputies. His interests and Al’s are now perfectly aligned, and Al has promised to ‘cover his back’.
It’ll be an interesting situation, to say the least.
I took a look at the episode summary and unfortunately it doesn’t have much insight as to how the NG (real name is Samuel Fields, so says the episode guide) knew he was in trouble. Other than being a convienent target for a mob of angry white guys, why him exactly (and not Hostetler) is perhaps a question to be covered in a later episode.
I’m just trying to make sure we dont piss someone off. All it takes is one casual reader wandering in or someone doing a keyword search on ‘nigger’, and they think it’s some sort of smartass nickname WE came up with.
“No, really that’s the character’s name!”
I just got a sense that NG has a history in the camp that we have not been privy too. He might have had a reputation of being ‘uppity’ around the camp.
In Deadwood, I would recommend against anyone flashing a roll of money. Goes double for anyone who is black or Chinese.
The General was a real character, but damned if even googling his whole name brought anything up – just a snippet from Franklin Ajaye, that he’d be playing the character. Anybody know anything about him?
My favorite scene was Trixie and Alma catching up. Alma seems pleased about the pregnancy, even though whatever’s wrong with her female parts portends difficulty. (“Portend” is not a word I would have used before watching this show.)
When Cy learned about Mr. W’s proclivities, at first I thought he was worried for Joanie’s safety. Looks more like he sees a financial opportunity. Jerk.
I know, I turned to my husband and said, “HBO, your home for tarring and feathering.”
What the hell is up with Miss I.? At first I thought we were getting a little irony, that Silas, one of the sharpest characters, was getting taken in. But she’s quickly become more open about her motivations and intentions (not to mention just plain more open), prompting his remark about playing poker. I wonder why she bothered with the innocent act at all?
I loved loved loved the doc. I adore his atrocious bedside manner. The more genuinely concerned and caring he gets, the more his manner seems he’s about to strangle the person he’s talking to.
I thought it was interesting that abortion didn’t seem to be a big deal. I thought about it and figured since society at large didn’t deign to discuss such issues as unwanted/illegitimate pregnancies in the first place, it probably didn’t have a chance at becoming a big issue like it is today.
Isn’t it sweet how Wolcott is working through his shame issues and learning to embrace healthy sexuality? Brought a tear to my eye.
I must say that I failed to realize just how serious tarring and feathering could be until I saw it on Carnivale a couple of weeks ago. Had no idea that the tar was that hot! Always kinda pictured it as a warm, thick paint before. Not now. :eek:
Nigger General was lucky cause Ben wasn’t around to save his butt in 1876, and Ben’s grandpa Hilton was a charter KKK member back in 1876 so I doubt if he would have helped! :wally
There used to be a theory about Sopranos episodes that the quality of the episode was inversely proportional to the TTB, or Time to Bathrobe–the amount of time in between the opening credits and the first time we see Tony in his bathrobe.
We should test a similar theory for Deadwood, using the number of times they use the word “cocksucker”.
I enjoyed the episode, though I share the confusion as to why everyone went after the Nigger General.
After watching it a second time I paid more attention to what led to the attempted tarring. It seems the original plan was for a few people to grab the General in order to distract Bullock. The leader of the mob was sketching out a scheme for the balance of the mob to go grab the commishoner while Seth was occupied stopping the attack on the General. One of the men then asked, “What if Bullock comes out shooting?” The leader looked flustered and then said “Well, what if we just grab the nigger?”
So my impression was that the assault on the General was simply the mob taking out their frustrations on an easy target.
