I wasn't a big fan of this one, mostly because of the many puzzling plot developments.
Let's start with the biggest one. Mr. Wolcott is a psychopath apparently? Like, Hannibal-style? I'm not going to sit here and say it's unmotivated, because he's seemed like something of an odd bean from the start, but what the hell happened there? Cy figuring him out made him give into his homicidal insanity? What the hell was Maddie's plan? To let him kill one of the prostitutes and then blackmail him, I guess? It all just feels tonally discordant with the rest of the show which, while never bloodless, always felt like its deaths were part and parcel with the kinds of gunfights and skirmishes that feel organic to the old west setting, rather than somebody who feels like a late-season Dexter villain. The fact that Joanie avoids the guy seems convenient, and likely to lead to some situation where Cy has a chance to get rid of Wolcott but likes being able to control Hearst's man, and it gets Joanie killed and Cy feels all guilty or whatever. But more on point, Wolcott's presence has been kind of weird from the beginning, and taking the development this way just feels out of step with the rest of the show.
The same goes for the guy who ejaculated on Bullock's horse and then got caught by the two black men in town. It wasn't really clear what anybody's goals or motivation were there. I guess the guy was trying to get back at Bullock, though how leaving semen on this horse accomplishes that, I'm not really sure. And why Hostetler was going to kill him, or write a will leaving things to Fields, or what the hell was going on there at all, I don't know either. We barely know any of these characters (sans Fields's great scene with Jane), and their intentions and the root of their impulses isn't clear either, so the whole thing is kind of just there. (I guess it's revenge for the tarring? Maybe?) I suppose it shows us that Fields is a merciful guy, and we know more about his character, but plot-wise it just seems strange.
Then, there's the reveal that Miss Isringhausen is basically a double agent for people from back east trying to ruin Alma. Again, that someone would want to makes total sense,but that they'd send a secret agent to discredit her, and she'd basically be Jane Bond with her put-on and reveals seems outlandish for a show that has always had a certain exaggeration to it, but still felt down-to-earth. Adams's shock and dismay at it was a little interesting, but otherwise that's another odd plot reveal that I didn't really care for.
The only truly good big thing in the episode are the interactions between AL and Wu. It's always interesting to see Al putting the pieces together of snips and threads like Farnum admitting him being bought by Wolcott, and a new "celestial" who can't be bought off for $20,000 as revealing outside interests attempting to make a play in Deadwood. Al and Wu are always a great pairing, and as the doctor memorably says, it's always nice to see Al back on his feet and irascible again.
Otherwise, the other good stuff is at the margins, like Bullock learning that Alma's likely pregnant with his child and subsequently answering everything at breakfast with his family with a response of "good," -- his mind clearly elsewhere. And the whole bank ploy with Star has some intrigue as well. But for the most part, this was an episode of puzzling plot developments featuring lots of characters we don't really know or care about yet.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-07-23T19:05:22Z
I wasn't a big fan of this one, mostly because of the many puzzling plot developments.
Let's start with the biggest one. Mr. Wolcott is a psychopath apparently? Like, Hannibal-style? I'm not going to sit here and say it's unmotivated, because he's seemed like something of an odd bean from the start, but what the hell happened there? Cy figuring him out made him give into his homicidal insanity? What the hell was Maddie's plan? To let him kill one of the prostitutes and then blackmail him, I guess? It all just feels tonally discordant with the rest of the show which, while never bloodless, always felt like its deaths were part and parcel with the kinds of gunfights and skirmishes that feel organic to the old west setting, rather than somebody who feels like a late-season Dexter villain. The fact that Joanie avoids the guy seems convenient, and likely to lead to some situation where Cy has a chance to get rid of Wolcott but likes being able to control Hearst's man, and it gets Joanie killed and Cy feels all guilty or whatever. But more on point, Wolcott's presence has been kind of weird from the beginning, and taking the development this way just feels out of step with the rest of the show.
The same goes for the guy who ejaculated on Bullock's horse and then got caught by the two black men in town. It wasn't really clear what anybody's goals or motivation were there. I guess the guy was trying to get back at Bullock, though how leaving semen on this horse accomplishes that, I'm not really sure. And why Hostetler was going to kill him, or write a will leaving things to Fields, or what the hell was going on there at all, I don't know either. We barely know any of these characters (sans Fields's great scene with Jane), and their intentions and the root of their impulses isn't clear either, so the whole thing is kind of just there. (I guess it's revenge for the tarring? Maybe?) I suppose it shows us that Fields is a merciful guy, and we know more about his character, but plot-wise it just seems strange.
Then, there's the reveal that Miss Isringhausen is basically a double agent for people from back east trying to ruin Alma. Again, that someone would want to makes total sense,but that they'd send a secret agent to discredit her, and she'd basically be Jane Bond with her put-on and reveals seems outlandish for a show that has always had a certain exaggeration to it, but still felt down-to-earth. Adams's shock and dismay at it was a little interesting, but otherwise that's another odd plot reveal that I didn't really care for.
The only truly good big thing in the episode are the interactions between AL and Wu. It's always interesting to see Al putting the pieces together of snips and threads like Farnum admitting him being bought by Wolcott, and a new "celestial" who can't be bought off for $20,000 as revealing outside interests attempting to make a play in Deadwood. Al and Wu are always a great pairing, and as the doctor memorably says, it's always nice to see Al back on his feet and irascible again.
Otherwise, the other good stuff is at the margins, like Bullock learning that Alma's likely pregnant with his child and subsequently answering everything at breakfast with his family with a response of "good," -- his mind clearly elsewhere. And the whole bank ploy with Star has some intrigue as well. But for the most part, this was an episode of puzzling plot developments featuring lots of characters we don't really know or care about yet.