Post by Pear on Jun 8, 2015 11:03:27 GMT -5
“The world ends when you’re dead. Until then, you got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man, and give some back.”
Even though Al’s oftentimes the glue holding Deadwood together, we don’t really see him outside the Gem much. With “E.B. Was Left Out”, however, comes a vastly different image than the one of the bedridden man we saw early on in the season; now, he’s walking around the camp, talking to people he’s never talked to before and very much seeming like the force uniting all these characters. He even discovers a physical link between the Gem and the pioneer, and the walkway is, to no surprise, raised above the floors of the buildings (I say “no surprise” given the show’s balcony imagery, as well as the similarity between this opening shot and, say, the final shot of season one). And where does Al walk? Down the stairs, where he delivers that wonderful piece of advice at the top of the review.
Later on–before yet another brilliantly written and delivered monologue to his package (no, not that one)–he eventually makes his way to Alma Garrett, someone he hasn’t really interacted with before. What results is a fantastic first scene between the two of them, one that’s set upon a difficult history but geared toward an alliance of sorts in the future. Same thing goes for scenes between Al and Trixie or Al and Bullock, and there’s even also an interesting scene at the end between Al and Charlie; the show’s certainly working to, as Trixie puts it, make Al “much more fuckin’ mobile”, and it’s doing wonders for the various storylines.
Of course, this episode isn’t just an Al episode. My favorite storyline here is the Charlie one, which begins with an entertaining “kick the sh*t out of Wolcott” scene and ends with a tense, yet poignant moment for Charlie when he decides to take Wild Bill’s letter. The internal conflict is nicely conveyed by Dayton Callie, and it’s once again impressive how this show is able to flesh out its large supporting crew in so little time. It’s a storyline about loyalty, masculinity, and justice, and it falls in nicely with the overarching Wolcott arc this season.
Ultimately, this is also an episode about the various difficulties you come across that you simply have to fight through. Wolcott’s three murders is the obvious one for many of these characters–Joanie, Charlie, Seth, etc.–and they’re going to have to endure the man for a while longer. Still, there’s a way to fight back against the sh*t that oftentimes accompanies life, and as Cy proposes to Joanie, “you and me [should] wrestle the future to the fucking ground”. At the town meeting, he also states that they “can face up to it like men or get steamrolled by the fucking alternative”. There are going to be numerous roadblocks in life, but the only thing you can do is push through and wait for your opportunity.
GRADE: B+
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-cocksucker count: 4 (I’m disappointed, show. If I do not see at least double this number for the next episode, I will unleash my fucking wrath upon you).
Total cocksucker count: 197
-So, I’ve been noticing quite a few dog references in recent episodes. We get another one here: “It shows growing maturity to what makes the world’s fucking tail wag.” Yes, many things have tails, but I swear I’ve been hearing dog quotes left and right. What does it mean? If I see another one, I’ll try to figure it out, but I have DEFINITELY heard the “tail wag” metaphor used before.
– “Hey, you ever hear, Tom, the Chinese whore has an ancient way of milking ya of your sorrow, your loneliness, and that awful feeling of bein’ forsaken?”
“Seems to me that’d leave you with nothing.”
– “The bald contempt of it. Why not come out five abreast, cavorting and taunting: ‘E.B. was left out. E.B. was left out.’ Cocksuckers. C***lickers. I’ll make ya filthy gestures.” I like the E.B. storyline in this one. He’s a funny character, but at the same time, you can definitely feel for him a bit given how low his standing is compared to everyone else. Plus, he knows it, and that explains Richardson.
– “But I am good at first impressions, and you are a fucking c**t!”
– “Who impressed me at that meeting was Bullock, that avoided puttin’ his pet interests—innocence, so forth, guilt, fuckin’ who did what to fuckin’ who—before the needs of the fucking camp. It shows fucking progress.”