Nah, no way. Hearst doesn’t go galavanting across the globe just because some guy he’s never met claims to have hit a big gold strike. He didn’t come to Deadwood until he’d sent a trusted lieutenant to scout the place out and get himself significant business interests. If Hearst leaves, as he’s been implying he might, he’ll go keep his eye on his other claims, not go find a new one.
Ah. I wondered too, but I think you nailed it. Al was all set to send Dan away until Seth came in and related Charlie’s “Let’s go first and let’s hurry” thoughts.
There’s little enough justice in Deadwood. 
So, what’s the significance of the NG and Steve both having the surname of Fields? It’s hard to believe that Milch would write that as just a coincidence.
It was all worth it just for the look on Steve’s face when he found out that little fact. Either it will cause Steve to finally have a coronary or it will lead to his redemption.
It’s Swearengen. Or Al.
Loved this ep. I too think that Hearst is Odell’s father. So many good lines in this one, but Jane cracked me up with “yeah, I pass out at night and wake up in the morning worrying about what my fellow white people think.”
I’m really bummed that HBO is cancelling it.
Not joking at all. There were lots of slave-owners who thought that blacks were subhuman but were perfectly willing to use them to slake their lust.
is Swidgen, c*cksukka!
(We love the Celestial, Mr. Wu)
So do I, but taking cutesey names from an epi and using them in discussion threads is a hallmark of another board- whose maturity level is… well, let’s not go there. That’s why I condemn the practice here. This is the SDMB, one of the greatest MB on the web, and certainly one of th emost informative. Thus, we do things the SDMB way, not copy other places.
…who made you Sheriff fucking Bullock?
We all know Swidgen means Swearengen. When boards start using insular nicknames that are based on obscure references and acronyms THEN its a problem.
Having watched the episode again…
I stick to Hearst being Odell’s father or at least being related to Hearst by blood.
Odell seems especially bitter towards Hearst when talking to Lou. But I think his plan isn’t an outright scam, I think he just plans on trying to take Hearst for more money than he should.
Although I still enjoy the character, Trixie’s rants are starting to get a little too sing-songy. The actresses accent has seemed to change a bit as well.
Al’s turn around was confusing to me as well. He’s sending Dan to Cheyenne to hire guns and then when Bullock brings up striking first Al warns that if they do “in 100 years the forest is all they’ll find here.” and then decides to call a town meeting.
Since we are halfway through the season could we see Hearst taken out of the picture in the next episode or two and then the rest of the season would be the falling apart of the alliances that were formed to get rid of him.
Oops. I should have quoted. I was responding to ShutYouDown’s post about Hearst going to Liberia and making Odell his man in the camp.
See I think Hearst knows what’s coming. And Hearst believes in insulating himself from the firestorms. He’s lost his company man (Wolcott) and his muscle (Turner) in a relatively short time in the same camp. I could see him propping Odell up to take the fire for him. Or atleast take Turner’s role for the time being.
But is there any conceivable way that he could leave a black man in a position to give orders to white men? In 1877? Even on the frontier? I don’t see it.
No way; he doesn’t seem to have a progressive view on African American rights, to say the least. If anything, Hearst would get involved with Odell in order to check out the gold in Liberia, leaving Deadwood behind. I do not think he’d leave Odell in Deadwood; in fact, I don’t think he plans for there to even BE a Deadwood when he’s done with it. He wants Alma’s mine, and to destroy the town in vengeance for his losses. That’s it.
Historical spoiler.
Maybe Milch will push up the timeline for the great fire by 2 years.
I’m not saying it would or will happen… but if Hearst sees things getting bloody I see no reason why he would care if he put Odell up as his man since his man is most likely going to get killed. Why waste an actual company man?
As to Honey’s spoiler, didn’t a character in the preview for next week say something right along those very lines? I think that’s exactly what Milch has in mind.
I spent late Spring indoctrinating my new b/f into the world of Deadwood, and we just finished Season 1 last night, after which we re-watched Sunday’s Season 3 ep. This juxtaposition is pretty cool, I must say. Damn, that final ep of Season 1 was a spectacular piece of television! B/f, while not having quite the deep undying adoration for the series that I have yet, is completely hooked now. We’ll both miss it greatly.
–Beck
It’s seems clear to me that O’Dell is a hustler. He’s a con-man who’s been in trouble before, and mom tried to send him to Liberia to get him back to his ‘roots’ and straighten him out, or at least to get him away from his enemies. When he showed up in town, she knew right away that he was up to no good, which means he has a history.
And I don’t know that he’s ever been to Liberia. A good hustler does his homework. All he had to do was befriend some people who had and get them to tell tales over drinks which he could then repeat as his own. Nonetheless, Mom knows that he’s no match for Hearst, and that if he scams him he’ll wind up dead.
No, I don’t think so. He canceled Dan’s trip right after telling Bullock that they wouldn’t attack Hearst first because it would be the end of the camp. Then he ordered up peaches and called a meeting of the town officials. My thinking is that he suddenly realized that he couldn’t resolve this particular problem with muscle, and that they were going to have to come at Hearst in a different way. Perhaps politically. The sit-down-with-peaches is the start of plan B.
Perhaps he realized when Bullock told him that Charlie Udder was actually proposing to kill Hearst, and Bullock was actually considering it, that things were spiralling out of control and they were going to lose the camp unless he pulled everyone back together and got them working as a group. In an earlier episode, Swearingen said that Heart’s mode of operation was to get people on his side, and those that he couldn’t he worked to set against each other and split apart so they’d be weaker. Time to pull them back together again, I’m thinking.
As for Blazinov’s depression, I assume the telegram he sent was Hearst calling for muscle, and Blazinov knows that there’s about to be violence.
I believe he’s been to Liberia, because of what Aunt Lou said about their letters, how she timed them, counting days until she got one back.
Nice insight on Al’s decision to call a camp meeting.
Good point about the letters. He probably was in Liberia then. Maybe on another con, or because he had gold fever or something.