Ah, it’s always good to read the threads. I didn’t catch the subtext with Leon. It’s obvious in retrospect, but I’d forgotten he was a dope fiend. I still see the guy from Square One TV whenever he comes on screen, which makes for some odd mental disconnects.
I like what they’re doing with Al this season. He’s lost control and doesn’t know what to do - it’s a whole different side of him. I loved his borderline panic when he was trying to figure out if he should go back and see Hearst again. Al is either going to have to come up with some hell of an impressive comeback to put Hearst in his place, or he’s going to end up slinking away. Any other show, I’d know for sure which one they were headed toward - this one, I’m not quite as certain…
You noticed that the actress playing the actress is Cynthia Ettinger, who played Rita Sue in Carnivale?
Now that you mention it, that does seem pretty likely.
I just watched it again, too, and I think you’re right. He says something about looking back as well as forward, a reference to both their pasts. But did Alma have any way of knowing about Leon’s past? And are we to assume that Alma inferred Leon’s intent just from the scene we witnessed in the bank? Or that they had a secret conversation between then and that evening when she goes out to meet him?
What I don’t understand is why Alma would be tempted to take up opium again. She’s just opened her bank, things seem to be okay with her and Ellsworth. Is it the pressure of the conflict with Hearst? The pain of losing her child?
Another thing I didn’t catch the first time is that when Trixie hands Bullock the loan papers out on the thoroughfare, she asks him if he noticed that a lot of shitbirds hang around the bank, a reference to Leon. Bullock doesn’t catch on, and as she’s walking away she says (about Bullock), “Asshole!” First time I saw that, I thought, “What’s her problem?”
BTW, it seems unlikely to me that both Hostetler and Steve would make such a big deal about who signs the damn loan papers first. It just feels like a false note added to drag out the drama.
Finally, is it me, or has Mr. Ellsworth lost quite a bit of weight since we first met him? And have his whiskers gotten darker, too?
My guess is that she was given a number of doses of it during her miscarriage/abortion, for pain and continued using it for psychological relief. In looking back, she seemed unusually chipper immediately following that event – much too cheerful for a woman who’s just lost a child she claimed to have wanted.
Yeah, but not until someone at TWOP referred to her as Mama Cooch.
Jim Beaver (Ellsworth) cleaned up real good, didn’t he? Hard to say if he’s lost weight. Losing those whiskers, washing regularly, and dressing as befits his status – I think that’s all it is.
I’ve only watched this episode once. I’m anxious to hear that conversation where Ellsworth talks about “conjugal” and feeling like a kid again. Are they doing it, do you think?
I watched the episode again, with closed captioning on this time. The first time I watch, I like to try to get the gist of it, the second the actual dialogue.
With CC on, I caught the Hawkeye reference as the one not to be named, but there was no specific reason given that he’s on Al’s shit list, except something he’s done may put Adams in danger. We’ll have to wait for info on that, I suppose. The only thing I remember about Hawkeye is that he seemed to like Indian women – there was some reference to him being waylaid by one when he was supposed to meet up with Adams. Might that have something to do with the danger he’d put Adams in?
Al is being unmanned by Hearst, hence the difficulties with Doris. Also, there was a fleeting reference to “when he finds out what we’re up to” that there’ll be hell to pay. I think the refined woman at the Grand that knows Wordsworth and likes to draw may be involved in something. Langrishe showing up with the women may also have something to do with all this. I don’t know – this is one of those shows where you really can’t guess what will happen. There are wheels within wheels operating here.
The Doc probably has TB. “He’s a lunger” came out twice. I love Doc Cochran.
And the twin to Conn – what the HELL was that? I recall in last season Bullock and Utter going through legal documents – something about Conn Whatever his name is – and both having no clue about it and putting it in the “Fuck This Pile” as Charlie so charmingly put it.
I honestly think Al was bluffing at that point. He has no clue what to do with Hearst. He has no plan and that’s frightening him.
But hey there’s enough mysterious new arrivals that it may all play out.
…huh? Farnum was making a joke about Conn getting a room in the hotel while he’s been in the camp for a long time now and apparently has a place to live (probably at the Bella).
The name of the case that Charlie and Bullock were looking at last season from the ‘outstanding case file’ was the “Stackpole” case… but hey Conn’s last name is Stapleton so I could see the confusion.
This subplot reminds me of the recent brouhaha about Deadwood’s cancellation. Just like HBO, Langrishe doesn’t want to pay his actors to sit around doing nothing.
If he uses Joanie’s place, the actors will be working and earning for him much quicker than if he waited until a new place was built. Maybe it’ll even out.
Well it certainly seems that Al is pulling a Don Corleon with Adams playing the part of Luca Brazi.
Make his enemy think a confident is being disloyal so that he can get more information.
I hope it doesn’t end the same way for Adams. Hearst is pretty canny and isn’t likely to fall for something like that.
It’s interesting to note Al did this after the meeting. He doesn’t think Hearst is leaving and perhaps he got a whiff of how cozy Tolliver and Hearst seem to be.
Al also stated he thinks he lost more than a finger… mix that with his question of whether he was a homosexual last week and I think we can see that Hearst really neutered Al (see his problem with the BJ. ) He feels impotant. His constant questioning of himself and doubt are really affecting him… even his appearence at the end of this was a little more fey. (His hair was down and not back as it usually is).
Nice symbolism.
My guess is if he does defeat Hearst he’ll be sowing some mighty oats shortly after if not during his vengence.
Personally I think he needs to commicerate with the Cheif again. At least he got good ideas from that.
I was just able to catch up on this episode (and had avoided this thread like the plague until then). You guys are great and reading through you’ve already answered most of my questions.
I agree with others. Al’s problem in responding to the BJ’s is a reaction to his problems with Hurst.
Really seems as if the long term characters are all about to rip apart at the seams. I’m afraid Doc is not long for this world, Al has been neutered by Hurst, Alma is back on opium, Trixie is still dealing with phuckers - just now in the bank, Poor Wu’s pigs are probably starving due to Al & Dan’s lack of activity (only 2 so far this season that I can think of), Not sure what direction Joanie & Jane are going to end up in (unless it’s in each other’s arms), EB has all but been written out, where’s Jewel been?
Don’t get me wrong, I love this show but it certainly seems like this season was written to be the last.
I don’t know how many seasons HBO ordered, or when they were ordered, or if Deadwood faced possible cancellation at the end of seasons one and two. So I’ve watched each season’s finale thinking this might be it for the show, and maybe the writers took cancellation into account too.
Because so far, the two finales have had no major cliffhangers* and major story lines were wrapped up nicely. The endings would have been open, but open is good.
*Cy’s encounter with Andy Cramed doesn’t count as a cliffhanger, because who cared?
Location, location, location… It’s a boom town. Joannie built a whorehouse before it really took off, and it’s in a prime location right off the thoroughfare. The schoolhouse can be anywhere.
And yes, I’ll bet it’s much cheaper to buy the whorehouse, renovate, AND build a school than to build a theater from scratch. I’ve seen those old schoolhouses - they weren’t much more than a large shed. Maybe the size of a modern 2-car garage. One room, some benches and desks, and that’s about it. No power, no sewage - a crew could probably knock one of those up in a day or two. A brothel on the other hand has a bar, water reservoir, huge open spaces, electricity or plenty of lamps, and many bedrooms. Plus bathrooms, kitchen, yada yada. It probably cost more to build a structure like that than to build a dozen school houses.
Here’s a picture of the original Gem Theater to give you an idea of the scale of those buildings.
Here’s what an old One Room Schoolhouse looked like. The one in the picture cost $200 to build. At the peak of its earnings, the Gem theater was pulling in $5000-$10,000 per night.
It wasn’t Ellsworth’s dog, it was Tim Driscoll’s – he just took a liking to Ellsworth after Tim was killed, them having neighboring claims and all. But yeah, I’ve been wondering too. Cute little mangy mutt.
What happened to the crippled woman who used to sweep up the Gem? Doc made a leg brace for her at the end of last season, but I haven’t noticed her this season.
Al Swearengen; George Hearst. That’s how their names were spelled. Historically, Al lived to 1899 and Hearst (father of William Randolph Hearst) to 1891; unfortunately, this means they can’t have a fight to the death, although maybe their chief henchmen are going to have it out as surrogates.
They’ve made Hearst into such a loathsome sociopath that I’d love to see him killed, possibly by Seth Bullock beating him to death, but it just can’t happen.
I thought the danger was that Dan Dority would kill him. Dan is very, very touchy about his position in Al’s favor and has never been Adams’ biggest fan.
Dolly. Yeah, definitely, he feel impotent, as losing that finger would be a pretty apparent metaphor. The final monologue about being held down also points to the fear of powerlessness that afflicts Al. I was impressed that he was able to hear through that to Dolly’s comment, and realize that he was guilty of the same behavior.
If Al Swearengen isn’t the greatest character on TV, I don’t know who fucking is.
I am pretty sure I will cry when he goes.
Con was obviously going up to have sex with Mama Cooch, and I think EB was giving him shit about using a false name, thus the snide reference to his “identical twin.”
