He has big bear magic. He's gonna be rattling around in there with the first shovel full of dirt in the next episode. <nods, still in denial>
SPOILERS-- DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE. * * * At first my reaction was why did they bring him back at all to do that? When it had the chance to settle in, I realized that this was by far a stronger ending for him...one that will continue to resonate in the show through its effect on the other characters, especially Bohannon. That coda was some strong stuff. I suspect that Common was leaving and they weren't sure if he'd be back at all this season, hence his ambiguous fate last season. That said, I have to wonder if he'll be back at least a little in flashbacks and/or as a limited "head character". So...episode 7 already...glad we have 13 this year.
Considering none of the main characters knew Elam before the start of the show, I don't see much potential for him to show up in flashbacks.
Common apparently wanted to focus more on his music career, and the Showrunners had already decided that no one should really leave Hell on Wheels alive (it's part of the grim nature of the show) that spending these two episode would've been a suitable way to give Elam a good ending. I gotta say, this show really has been A-Okay killing off the main cast (Lily Bell, the Reverend, Sean, now Elam) rather liberally. Looks like Game of Thrones has left it's mark after all.
When Bohannon was struggling with the coffin, I was hoping that Psalms would show up to help...they didn't even give us that. Hope his relationship with Bohannon hasn't been irrevocably damaged. The show has taken place over about three years...we've seen maybe 30 hours of that. There's always potential for them to slip in something that happened off-camera. Not saying that they're going to, but it's possible. EDIT: I also have to wonder if they're planning to do more with the white woman who was captured by the Indians. Yeah, the show has been there, done that...but it seems that they've gone further out of their way than this story required to demonstrate her being strong-willed and resourceful.
I think a more apt comparison would be Deadwood. What a sad ending! I was OK until I heard Cullen weeping. Who's next? Mickey? I can't wait to see what happens next week. How will the town react? Will Eva or Psalms ever forgive him?
I also better appreciate why they offed poor Two Squaws last week. Given where they planned to take things, getting across just how far gone and dangerous Elam had become was important set-up for this episode. In the repeat airing, I also noticed a bit of foreshadowing in this episode, when Durant tells Bohannon that some men have to be killed. There's an interesting contrast between those two as well. One gets the impression that Bohannon is genuinely sick to death of killing, but keeps being put in the position of needing to kill. Whereas Durant, who had ordered people killed in the past but was so shook up after he personally murdered his senator friend last season, very cold-bloodedly killed somebody this episode.
^Yes, I do like the contrast of the two men, moving in opposite directions--one embracing violence, the other turning away from it. I'm even more curious how the reappearance of the Swede will fit into all this.
Forgive the no doubt tiresome question, but this is the first episode I've seen and I would rather get a response from the cognoscenti here than refer to a dry wiki sumary. Does the show ever present a macro view of the physical construction of the railroad or is it primarily focused on the high drama of the interpersonal dynamics? I assume that the societal changes wrought during the process and the implications of its completion have been sharply focused on in miniature throughout the program's run. Repetitive point #2: I'm thinking that Colm Meaney must have a canvas with a very special kind of portraiture stowed away somewhere. I found it somewhat startling to see how little he appears to have aged over the years. Thanks for listening.....
It's a drama. Not a documentary. There's been no focus on "societal changes wrought during the process and the implications of its completion".
Well, I was conscious enough while watching last night to realize that this wasn't being shown on Discovery or the History Channel. I think what I meant by the high-falutin' phrase was something along the lines of a character, a laborer let's say, whose portrayal might embody an aspect of the immigrant experience in the West. My automatic writing does often require translation. Sorry.
Mick, who wasn't in the last 2 episodes, is an irish immigrant. "The Swede", who also hasn't been featured in the last couple of episodes is from Norway. That's their background though. It's not like they walk around pontificating on this strange new experience they find themselves in. They're too busy surviving. There has been some dealings with the aftermath of former slaves and southerners having to learn to work together. Bohannan after all was a slave owner and served in the Confederate Army.
Boy, did you pick a spoilery episode if you decide to go back and check out the rest of the series...!
Sidebar question... I live in Calgary where the show is shot but am not (yet) a fan of the series - it's in the to-watch pile! I'm also a part-time actor, and showed up one day for extras casting. they took my picture and signed me up, but told me flat out that while they needed Asian extras, I wouldn't likely be chosen as they were looking for Asian types with longer hair than I have (see the avatar on the left for about the right length I was at when I went to casting). This confused me a bit, since my limited knowledge of the Chinese people conscripted to work on the railways looked more like this: https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/021013/f1/nlc008648-v6.jpg Shorter hair, often shaved, and almost always wearing hats. At worst, they'd have the stereotypical kung-fu ponytail thing going, which *no one*wears today. So I'm wondering, for you guys who are watching the show, have you noticed amongst the Asian extras you see int he background, what have they looked like? I'm not disputing the historical accuracy the show is striving for, nor am I gonna raise a stink about it (hell, I'm just happy being an extra in anything, really), but being told that my hair was "too short" for the gig really piqued my curiosity. And since I don't watch the show (and can't find any pictures showing background townsfolk of the show in any real detail), may as well start with my fellow TBBSers who do! Mark
As far as I can recall, there haven't been any Asian characters on the show, in the background or otherwise. Not yet, anyway.
I'm not surprised if there haven't been and you haven't noticed. If an extra is doing their job properly it means that you're NOT noticing the construction of the sets or costume accuracy or what ethnicity the humble townsfolk are. For better or worse, if you were Asian on a TV show set in that time and place you're basically stuck between building the railway, washing clothes, or otherwise performing servile roles to the guys who arranged to conscript / kidnap you from China in the first place (or, you're Jackie Chan). I'm not expecting this show to deviate much from that stereotype, but you never know... Mark
"Hell on Wheels" is the name of the camp that follows as they build the railroad--we haven't any town or townsfolk to speak of until recently, now that they've arrived in Cheyenne. I imagine, with the struggling railroad, Durrant will probably bring in Asian laborers, so it's logical that Asian characters will show up. We just haven't seen any yet---as Wyoming wasn't well populated at that time anyway.
There were some in an episode last season, working for the guy who runs the opposite rail line coming out of the West coast. Because the show is focusing on the East-to-West Union Pacific railway, that was pretty much all we've seen of Asians so far, AFAICR. IIRC, they were wearing braided hairstyles, so that may be what the hair length was about. ETA: Also, the Asians in question were the man's personal servants traveling with him, not railroad workers, so they presumably groomed and dressed differently than rail workers would have.