Man, this show has taken off! I began right where it ended. If anything, I think it has a bit more character than last season. Any thoughts from y’all?
Just noticed, better camerawork and lighting also. This season is gonna be great!
Hmmm, I’ll retracty my position until the show is over. It’s almost to scripted. Bullock, isn’t quite right. None of them are.
retract I meant…dammit. 
Bullock is acting odd because he has a massive head wound and he’s a bit out of it.
Yes ma’am, I agree. There’s something else just, off.
With Bullock’s wife in town, this season should be a hoot though!
The rhythm was different, wasn’t it? Something jangly about it.
I’ll need to watch it a few more times, to get coherent. I think the direction in this episode reflects the increased tension level.
Everybody’s uptight – I think that’s what it is.
Is this some type of Straight Dope record, with one poster literally being responsible for the first 4 messages in a thread?
I agree that things were a little off, but it was a decent start. I’m still trying to figure out whether Swearinger was going to kill Bullock. It would appear to have gone against his purpose for starting the fight, but perhaps the character simply got angry enough that it didn’t matter any more.
It’s about 6 or 7 months later, isn’t it? The show started in August, 1876 and in this episode Cy says something about it being a nice spring day. Plus there’s Sophia’s new tutor and Seth and Alma have clearly been knocking plenty of boots.
Line of the night: It’s a toss-up between “Dan, go see to the cunt and whiskey” and Jane rousing herself long enough to scream “Cocksuckers!” at the stage as it passed.
I liked Cy’s line about the only good woman being one with maggots in her eyes.
He was totally out of control, wasn’t he?
I dunno. I think the best thing about this episode was the trailer for the upcoming Rome series. None of the characters were, well, in-character. The language was even more forced than usual. I guess I’ll see what happens next week.
I’ll cut 'em some slack. It’s been six months since we last saw them. Things have changed. That’s the whole point of the story – change.
Rome looks good, doesn’t it? Milch said he had a Rome story in mind when he went to HBO, and was told they were already working on one, so he did Deadwood instead.
And why, exactly, did Al decide to pick a fight with Bullock? What did that accomplish, other than giving the makeup man a little extra work?
Al picked a fight with Bullock because he knows Bullock is keeping him from getting the money from Mrs. Garrett’s claim. And general principles.
It has to be after March 4, 1877 since Cy referred to President Hayes. And likely in April of 1877 since the presidency wasn’t decided until very close to Inauguration Day that year and it’s shown that telegraph communications with Deadwood are just starting.
I think they were trying to establish the atmosphere of this season, and that would be Tension with a capital ‘T’. Bullock is going to be torn between his wife and Alma, Al is worrying about the government taking over, Dan has big problems with the new guy, Trixie is clearly in love with Sol, which is going to make Al even crazier.
At the end of the last season, everyone was getting along great. Al and Bullock were sharing a drink, the reverend had been laid to rest finally, Alma and Seth finally consummated their love, and everything was coming up roses. I suspect the writers looked at the start of the next season and said, “Screw all this love and happiness - let’s mess 'em all up and see what kind of dramatic possibilities ensue.”
It was really good to see Calamity Jane again. She didn’t get to say much, but what there was, was cherce.
I bet Robin Weigert doesn’t get recognized often in public. In real life, there’s not much of Jane there:
But at least Jane got to say “Cocksucker” when she awoke from her drunken stupor on the horse.
Seth and his wife are going to have one icy marriage. She never once called him by his first name. Even in private.
It was good but the dialogue was almost too scripted (if that makes sense). It was almost like they were making an effort to be Shakesperean.
Still, excellent episode. Bullock gave Al one hell of a beating. I don’t think Al thought Bullock would be that ferocious.
I enjoyed the episode and I am looking forward to the next one.
Was it just me, or did Al seem to be a llittle afraid of Bullock after their fight? Before, he was all cocky, mouthing off at Seth, and not appearing even remotely scared when Seth came looking for him. After, he kept asking, “How was he? Was he in good shape? When he said he was coming for his gun, what was his tone like?”
Perhaps this is the beginning of some real respect for Seth from Al.
[QUOTE=Lochdale]
It was good but the dialogue was almost too scripted (if that makes sense). It was almost like they were making an effort to be Shakesperean.
QUOTE]
There’s an excellent article in this week’s Entertainment Weekly on Deadwood and the writing, and Shakesperian is exactly the adjective they use. There were a few times I had to keep rewinding it and relistening just to figure out what the hell they were saying.