14 replies to this topic

[taiko]

Watch your back Doc. The Swede may not have done much but he opened the episode as only he can.

[Tippi Blevins]

I enjoyed Cullen being relegated to the background, for the most part.

Sad that Toole didn't get punched in the nuts while being fired.

[Janjan]

Ah that enigmatic Swede -- backing up Cullen (again) and back-stabbing Doc. What's he up to? If Doc goes down, he loses his job, and all opportunity to snitch black powder.

Mostly, I love his accent. I wonder if that is the actor's natural accent in English, or is he exaggerating it.

Ma Bell's change of heart. What brought that on?

And isn't Joseph's change of heart overdue? Or is he in love with daughter by now.

Isn't the tattooed whore a white woman? Tell that to mean old whatsisface the Anti-Indian Rabble Rouser.

And tell the "stone age" Indian racer-son that he really shouldn't have steel shoes on his horse. More carelessness on the part of the production crew.

[taiko]

I read an interview where the Swede said it was either his father's or grandfather's accent.

[nodorothyparker]

I've liked the last two episodes a lot more. I'm guessing a lot of that is because it's felt more like an ensemble show and less about one man's REVENGE. Cullen's vengeance storyline was really hamstringing the plot and eating up a lot of screentime. I'm really liking the fleshing out they're doing of Lily and Joseph and the reverend.

The addition of Wes Studi is made of win. The man appears to be the same age he was 20 years ago in The Last of the Mohicans. I laughed out loud when he derisively asked the senator how the U.S. government could own anything it hadn't paid or traded for and the reverend sheepishly admitted he had a point.

I immediately noticed the shoes on the Indian son's (still can't get the names of everyone) horse too. A jarring error, and I had to fanwank that maybe it was a captured horse. The moment between the two women over Robert Bell's hat was a nice one. You could see Lily struggling to not show how taken aback she was when Joseph mentioned that the Indian woman had the hat as a spoil of the battle where her husband was killed by one of his own arrows.

O'Toole is the worst kind of coward/bully but I think his portrayal is fairly realistic for the time. The Irish in general were viewed as only one step above black people and they tended to hate freedmen when they had to compete with and work alongside them. The tattooed whore (does she even have a name we've heard?) is a white woman and thus shouldn't want anything to do with a black man. They can explain away her time with the Indians as she didn't have any choice about it, but for her to even acknowledge a black man flies in the face of popular belief of that time period that black men were always after their women and their women would never willingly stoop to such a thing.

[vadafaith]

The tattooed whore (does she even have a name we've heard?)

Eva.

I for one missed Cullen this episode. Too much Durant. The portrayal is jarring to me (YMMV).

It's clear they're trying to stay true to history. The Cheyenne raided the railroad crews, sabotaged the built tracks, in general made their displeasure evident during the construction of the railroad. Contemporary politicians and newspapers stated outright that the First Peoples would have to be wiped out (at least their way of life) for manifest destiny to be accomplished.

But because the writers assume the audience won't know this, we get clunky exposition.

I'm so on the fence about this show. I want to love it. And I do, except ...

* It's uneven. Some good storytelling interspersed with anvil-like exposition. Good acting, and then one of the bit players will deliver a leaden line and the center will not hold; or a character will do something that appears inexplicable and only fanwank can make it work in the story.
* I think the "Hell" part is being undersold. Some of that has to do with basic-cable content constraints. Some of it has to do with the 44-minute episode length. Another 10 minutes might make the place come alive, be another character in the show.
* The character arcs and the show's overall story arc seem to be hazy. The episodes' timeline is wonky.

It's such a great subject matter.

There's probably not a chance that the show will be renewed, so I'm soaking up what episodes there are. If AMC won't pay writers for The Walking Dead (a critical darling and audience favorite), they're not going to hire the talent that Hell on Wheels needs to sort out its issues.

As an aside, I love the sound of Anson Mount's voice and I hope he gets more work.

[Scaramanga]

Mostly, I love his accent. I wonder if that is the actor's natural accent in English, or is he exaggerating it.

When my sister and I watch the show together, we have way too much fun adding "Bork bork bork!" to the end of his longer lines.

They can explain away her time with the Indians as she didn't have any choice about it, but for her to even acknowledge a black man flies in the face of popular belief of that time period that black men were always after their women and their women would never willingly stoop to such a thing.

I've been wondering why nobody has thought to bring in some Whores of Color. That's a whole untapped market going on there, with nobody making any money off it. That seems downright un-American!

[Dowel Jones]

And tell the "stone age" Indian racer-son that he really shouldn't have steel shoes on his horse. More carelessness on the part of the production crew

I too wrote that off as a captured/stolen horse, but they shouuld have thought of that in the filming. My guess is that it may have had something to do with animal welfare rules, but they should have fixed it in post (to borrow the phrase).

I laughed out loud when he derisively asked the senator how the U.S. government could own anything it hadn't paid or traded for and the reverend sheepishly admitted he had a point.

Pretty much encapsulated the entire history of US government - Native American relations right there.

I noticed that train is still right there in HoW, smoking up a storm. I guess they're waiting for another challenge match.

I did like Bohannen's comment to O'Toole: "I've got six bullets. I'm gonna shoot you twice."

[watchteoftv]

Watching that Brave racing the steam engine was beyond depressing -just brings home how those poor people never had a chance. I was boiling with anger listening to Doc trying to sell living on reservations to the chief, as if that was the best thing evah. I loved Joseph sniping back at Alice(?) that his father was going back with the "inferiors", from her stupid remark earlier. There's something very sexy about the Swede, that long, lean form in that black suit he wears - and yes, he's a mystery, which makes him even more intriguing. And thanks, I guess I missed hearing that Eva was a white woman - was she captured as a child? I thought the guy Bohannon fired was going to end up going after her, perhaps kill her, when he saw how she and Ferguson were looking at each other earlier in the day - so when he and his boys couldn't make any trouble off camp, they decided to make some there.

The addition of Wes Studi is made of win. The man appears to be the same age he was 20 years ago in The Last of the Mohicans.

Yes. TLotM is one of my all-time favorite films, and I swear he doesn't look a day older. Plus, I love his voice - I hope he stays around for the rest of the series.

I did like Bohannen's comment to O'Toole: "I've got six bullets. I'm gonna shoot you twice."

That was great; loved the way AM said that line. I don't know where this story is going, in it's meandering way, but

I love the sound of Anson Mount's voice

is my deal, too - I think it might be a big part of why I tune in every week.

[Janjan]

I too wrote that [steel shoes on horse] off as a captured/stolen horse, but they should have thought of that in the filming. My guess is that it may have had something to do with animal welfare rules, but they should have fixed it in post (to borrow the phrase).

I suspect it was just carelessness, or thinking no one would notice. But it's hard to miss when you film a galloping horse from behind. Same with "Hidalgo," when the hero releases his horse to rejoin the wild herd. Seeing the horse run off, flashing his steel shoes at the camera, ruined the whole movie for me. "How's the poor horse gonna get them off?!?"

Any thoughts on what the Swede is up to?

[absolutdc2001]

Interview with Chris Heyerdahl (aka The Swede) where he talks about his heritage/accent for the show:
http://www.chicagotr...0,5792967.story

Edited by absolutdc2001, Dec 13, 2011 @ 9:04 AM.

[toberlerone]

There should be a drinking game how many time Bohannon spits. Did you see in last episode he spit in front of Lily at least twice? I love the expression on her face, like, "seriously?" How rude! I think it's obvious that he's "crushing" on her. I don't think she reciprocates the feelings - yet. He's the total opposite of her husband, Robert. I guess I am a total girl and I am liking how this relationship develops.

[that one guy]

The show as a whole was pretty good this week, but I was again distracted by the poorly executed horsd v. train race. In addition to getting the train wrong they are now getting the horses wrong too! The costume people have done a great job, and spent a lot of effort getting Doc Durant's signature hats right, although not alas his awesome facial hair. But the props people have fallen down on the job here. It's like the production team has never seen a working steam engine. Which maybe they haven't, but there's a thing called research. Here's an idea -Union Pacific is still a going concern, and gearing up to celebrate their 150th anniversary. Why not call them? They still have a couple active steam engines and could have lent a little expertise.

But between the train's odd behavior and the steel shoes on the horse, and the fact that the train caught up to the horse and then slowed down to run neck and nect for dramatic effect, the whole thing made me groan. Which was too bad, because up to that point I was enjoying the episode.

[thuganomics85]

Just caught up and I actually enjoyed this episode. Second time in a row. Who knew? Maybe this show just needed a dose of Wes Studi to be good.

As I suspected, Ellam and the whore were caught, and things might get really, really ugly for him. I hope the guy manages to escape the noose that was busted out in the next episode clips.

Curious to see how the railroad vs. the Native Americans play out, even though I'm pretty sure I know how this is going to end. And I'm concerned for Joseph; I have a sneaky suspicion he might be a casualty in some way, when all the shit hits the fan.

Oh, Doc. He was actually at a loss for words at the end. Nice seeing the smugness get knocked out of him.

And, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Swede? Is fucking awesome. Loved him backing up Cullen at the bar. Never predicted that would happen. The actor is just doing such a great job with this character.

I'm warming up to the Cullen/Lily scenes, but in the back of my mind, I always here the whole "We'll, we're the two most attractive people on this show. Clearly we're destined to hook-up!" bit out of my mind.

[Tricksterson]

Preacher's Daughter (and what's her name?) sure knows how to win friends and influence people, doesn't she?

And you can count me in as a member of the Swede Appreciation Society. I love characters that you can't predict whose side they're going to be on from one minute to the next.

Edited by Tricksterson, Dec 24, 2011 @ 9:16 AM.