Okay, since that old Sergio Leone flick was a recent topic of discussion and this is rather tangential to the thread, I figured I’d create a new discussion to throw this open for speculation.
We know what happened to Colonel (Sergeant?)“Angel Eyes” Mortimer. He joined Arch Stanton in (yeah, literally in) Sad Hill cemetery.
And we know what happens to The Man with No Name: he shows up in High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider.
So, following G/B/U. . .
Tuco has $100,000 in Confederate gold coins (Hey, is that the same MacGuffin from Fist Full of Dollars?) lying there in front of him in three-and-a-half burlap bags (ya shoulda thought before opening the bag with the shovel that way) and it won’t take him too long to realize Blondie used a bow to finish tying Tuco’s wrists behind his back for the mock hanging.
We know Mortimer was bad. He had no qualms about killing or torturing just for the sake of money.
We know The Man with Many Nicknames is good. We’ve seen him rescue Marisol and her husband, even the odds between Mortimer and El Indio, and even spare Tuco’s life a couple times. He avoids killing unless there’s no other option.
But Tuco is just Ugly. He’s neither good nor bad. He’s somewhere between the two extremes above. He can even be seen as a victim of his harsh circumstance:
“Where I come from…where we came from one either became a priest or a bandit. And when we grew up, you chose your way, and I…I went mine – and let me tell you, brother, MY way was harder! You only became a priest because you couldn’t do what I do!”
All right. Fair enough. But now, Tuco, you’ve got a hundred grand at your feet and a whole new world where you can hide.
There’s two kinds of bandits, my friend: Those who turn a new leaf, and those who embrace evil.
Your thoughts?
—G?
He came to see the masters and he left with what he saw
What he stole from Kurosawa he bequeathed to Peckinpah
…–Jackson Browne
…Sergio Leone
…The Naked Ride Home