14 replies to this topic

[Tippi Blevins]

I think I liked this episode. More action, less sitting around talking. Plus, damn, I did not know Anson Mount had all that going on under his shirt.

[Citizenesse]

It has started to get a little better as I had hoped it would. Its still pretty spotty and ham handed but I really like Lily's character the best. Contrary to some prevailing disatisfaction, I think Anson Mount will get even better. I was also glad to see Wes Studi.

I was packing for a long distance move and just happened to turn around when Anson Mount took his shirt off and he definitely had my attention. Common looked good too but I was a bit robbed of my faculties with Mount.

I hope they continue to get better. I'm looking forward to Season 2. It may not have been great out of the gate but maybe they will find their footing now.

[rove3]

I'm liking the show. Yes, it's a slower paced show but I find that to be the case with most of AMC's scripted shows. Even TWD with its occasional gore (not enough IMO) has episodes where nothing much happens. The focus is instead on the characters, who they are, how they relate, and what decisions they make. So in that sense I'm liking what I'm seeing so far.

I really like Lily. She has some steel in her, that one.

I totally missed that Sean had passed the chili peppers to Elam's corner (unbeknownst to Elam) to be rubbed onto the gloves until I read about it. It seems that Cullen figured that out in the end but didn't do anything about it.

[thuganomics85]

I was also glad to see Wes Studi.

That was pretty great, even though I should have expected it since he's sort of the go-to-guy for Native American roles, so it should have only been a matter of time. Still, he's awesome, and did a great job.

I was curious to see how the fight would play out and I guess they did it the best way possible. Elam "wins", but Cullen saves face because he was screwed over by that Irish bro with the peppers. His reaction was interesting; he seemed to figure it out, but he wasn't upset over it. The fight overall was pretty good; both of them got their licks in and it felt realistic enough.

Lily is approaching awesome territory. Love her not just handing over the plans to Doc, but wanting what her husband was promised for it. Oh, Doc. You aren't going to be able to talk or soliloquy you way out of this one.

We now have another female character with the preacher's daughter. Curious to see what the deal is with them. It really seems like the preacher must have been in a horrible place before he found God and became a preacher.

I continue to love the Swede. I loved his "I did give you more time!" when he took the Irish bros tent down only after a few hours or so after promising them an extension because he didn't sound sarcastic; he really seemed to think (or was pretending) he was being reasonable about the entire thing, and it's just kind of darkly hilarious.

Overall, I think this is the first episode I actually enjoyed. Still has some issues, but I really hope they figure it out and start becoming the show I would like it to be.

[hardy har]

I love the Swede. The parts where he was joyfully taking the slide from the tent, literally giving the brothers a little more time, and telling Cullen and Elam that "unnecessary kicking" wasn't allowed during the fight had me in stitches.

Overall, I think this is the first episode I actually enjoyed. Still has some issues, but I really hope they figure it out and start becoming the show I would like it to be.

Me too. I like certain parts of the other episode, but I was much more engaged throughout this one. One of the few reviews I read for the show said it started to find its footing around ep 5 or 6 so here's hoping it continues. I think one of my biggest reliefs about this one is that we didn't have to suffer though any of Cullen's Revenge stupidness. I find him much more interesting when he's being a walking boss and I kind of loved his reaction to finding out about the peppers.

I also, apparently, find him more interesting when he's shirtless. I already knew Common was going to be eye candy in the shirtless department, but damn. Way hold your own, Anson Mount!

Lily continues to be awesome. I'm not gonna lie. I was preemptively rolling my eyes when she crouched down with the bucket next to Cullen. I was waiting for the (what I thought was) inevitable bit where the girl cleans up the battered protagonist only to have the scene end with them staring googly-eyed at each other. Bonus points to the writer for not doing that shit.

Anyway, I have no idea how the ratings are for HoW or if it'll get another season, but I hope the actress who play Lily is able to get more work when it ends. For my money, she easily the best actor on the show.

Edited by hardy har, Dec 5, 2011 @ 2:43 PM.

[taiko]

We now have another female character with the preacher's daughter. Curious to see what the deal is with them. It really seems like the preacher must have been in a horrible place before he found God and became a preacher.

We know he rode with John Brown in the Missouri, Kansas "pre-war". I am not feeling him as "the sergeant" I am not sure of the timeline but it doesn't seem enough time has passed since Sherman's March to the building of his ministry.

[Dowel Jones]

I think there's even money that the preacher is the seargent, but I'm not sure whether he had an actual conversion to his present state. The horrors of what he had done may have been enough, or he may be a master of deception all this time. Sherman's March was in 1864; this section of the railroad is, I think, somewhere between 1865 and late 1866.

I felt for the two antagonists the day after. All right, gents, you've had your day; back to work. No excuses. Elam, however, may have won a pyrric (sp.?) victory. I doubt that the power structure in the camp is going to accept his presence there, as he is now a threat to everyone. And Bohannen has lost a lot of credibility also. Maybe he got the girl though.

The one nitpick I had was right in the beginning. Although not a civil engineer, even I know enough not to build your roadbed through the bottom of a creek channel. Do the words flash flood mean anything to these folks?

[Saul]

Throwing the 'cut crew' down in the creek bed was silly and staged. I can just imagine the idiot director and producers looking around for a mudhole to film in, how dramatic. These are the same dolts that park thier cars crooked and take up a space and a half - "look at me everyone, I don't have any common sense"

Lily and the swede are fun to watch. Unfortunately for me, Doc will always be typecast as the pudgy guy operating the transporter in star trek.

[smithgirl]

The one nitpick I had was right in the beginning. Although not a civil engineer, even I know enough not to build your roadbed through the bottom of a creek channel. Do the words flash flood mean anything to these folks?

Yeah - look around, rail beds are always elevated.

[taiko]

You all are forgetting the goal, first lay 40 miles of track. After federal funding is secured you can then go back and build bridges for the flooded out sections of destroyed track.

[RooKanga]

ALWAYS good to see Wes Studi.
Need some opininions.... SunDance guy - do we think that was Joseph's brother (or was his calling the chief 'Father' figurative?)


And I thank them for the less graphic version of the Sun Dance.


Took 'em long enough to get the chili-peppers into play - I was beginning to think I'd imagined that first hint at them.

Liking the show - loving the Swede....the Irish 'Boyos'

Thanks for the explanation, taiko - makes sense now. Build, go back, repair (and charge more, too.)

Edited by RooKanga, Dec 7, 2011 @ 6:13 PM.

[nerdymya]

I am really starting to like this show. I fell asleep halfway through the pilot episode during its premiere and didn't bother with watching with rest of the episodes until this past week. I marathon-ed all five episodes with my OnDemand and I think I was hooked by episode 4!

The Swede and Cullen have an interesting dynamic that I hope continues to evolve. I imagine the Swede won't give up until he can get Cullen in a noose. So I'm interested to see how this will play out since Cullen's nonexistent work ethic will give the Swede something to keep an eye on. I still find it suspicious that he gave Cullen a bribe to look the other way during the gunpowder delivery. It makes me wonder if he's setting Cullen up for something bigger later.

On a side note, Anson Mount has always been attractive to me, but I wasn't sure about the extreme scruffiness on HoW. I think he washed his face in episode 2 or 3, which has made him easy on the eyes again even with the scruffy bread. I hope he keeps his face washed from here on out!


Edited because poor spelling is never acceptable!

Edited by nerdymya, Dec 9, 2011 @ 2:09 AM.

[scout56]

The reason I want it to succeed is because t.v. needs more 'old west' type shows. I love Gunsmoke , Wagon Train and all western movies, and I LOVE a great looking leading man (shallow, I know) with a beutiful leading lady with a bit of hinting of the two getting together. And I am getting even more of a thrill with handsome Common and the whore storyline. All the railway stuff and how it began is very interesting if they keep it real.

[Tippi Blevins]

Recap!

Waiting for Sean to get his comeuppance.

[Tricksterson]

Why do people thin Rev. Cole would be the Sergeant? Doesn't make any sense to me that he would be. For one thing, even with the bad photoshop job you can see the Sarge is a much younger man.

And yes, that was Joseph's brother doing the Sun Dance. They're obviously setting up a mirror dichotomy between the two. I won't say "good/bad" because while Joseph is definitely good, I don't see his brother as outright evil. Yeah, he and his men slaughtered the surveying crew but then again they were invading his people's land.

Edited by Tricksterson, Dec 22, 2011 @ 5:26 PM.