Deadwood "Boy-the-Earth-Talks-To" Review (2x12)
Jun 23, 2015 13:41:52 GMT -5
Yuri Petrovitch and Lady Bones like this
Post by Pear on Jun 23, 2015 13:41:52 GMT -5
“They dance on, Chief, however much at home, as at yours and mine, comfort and love await.”
Season two of Deadwood closes with a lovely expression of unity, with a group of people drinking and laughing as they dance on into the night. And in similar fashion to season one’s finale, the episode’s final image is one of Al Swearengen standing above the camp, this time smiling as he observes the people below him. Even though events like William’s death and the arrival of George Hearst still hang over the camp and will certainly influence its future, this is still an expression of pure joy that cuts through the darkness. It’s not a finale without death and violence, but it’s a finale that once again highlights the unions we make with other people as order springs from chaos.
The show purposely cuts between the Alma-Ellsworth wedding and the Deadwood-Dakota deal signing to further underscore that idea, and the point the sequence makes is clear: as Deadwood moves toward civilization, these unions are inevitable. Business must be done, compromises must be made, and people must accept the forward movement. Some of these unions will be genuine, many will be lies agreed upon, and all are methods by which human beings attempt to create a stable environment for the future. Even Wu, who’s spent the entire series angrily using the words “Swedgin”, “cocksucker”, and “San Francisco”, adds another word to his vocabulary: “America”. This is his union with America, and it results from a union between him and Al that takes down Lee.
And so, Wu’s going to be the one who supplies George Hearst, someone who rolls into town in this episode and immediately makes an impact (however, it’s done without the fanfare of General Crook’s arrival in season one’s finale). From the outset, we see that he’s clearly a businessman who expects to get whatever the hell he wants, who represents the new era of rapid production and cheap labor that’s moving swiftly into the camp. Yet, as is commonplace for the show, he’s still a nuanced character who doesn’t fall into the one-note “heartless businessman” characterization. I have no idea where the show will go with Hearst in its final season, but I am definitely looking forward to seeing McRaney and McShane continue to play off of each other.
Now that Wolcott has hanged himself, we won’t see anymore of the McRaney-Dillahunt dynamic, but what we get in this episode is still extremely effective. Throughout the season, Wolcott’s existence has been all about carrying out Hearst’s bidding, but this episode brings about an untethering of the two from each other. Described by Jim Beaver as a father disowning his son, it’s a moment that both allows us to dig into a new character and puts into motion the other’s death. “What if the earth talks to us to get us to arrange its amusements?” Wolcott asks. And as his body drops from the balcony, the man who never truly connected with the people in Deadwood continues to be left alone. Outside, Charlie walks over to Jane with a smile on his face, Al heads out onto the balcony, Blazanov and Merrick announce the upcoming elections, Tom plays spoons, Seth and Alma share a look, Ellsworth hugs Sofia, and the music reaches its height. In closing, I’ll bring you the words of David Milch himself:
“This paradoxical doubleness, of seeming to be both separate from each other and yet to be able to experience–radiating through each other with no distortion–the universal spirit, is the state of grace.”
GRADE: A-
SEASON GRADE: B+
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-Cocksucker count: 8
Total cocksucker count: 230
–“Sir, I am having a digestive crisis. And I must focus on suppressing its expression.”
–“I mustn’t sell, lest I then wander the thoroughfare gibbering like a simian…brandishing my privates in my fist.”
-Alma’s voiceover as she’s walking through the thoroughfare is really nicely written. I especially like this: “I am so afraid that my life is living me, and soon will be over, and not a moment of it will have been my own. And of how my body now tells me that is fine and right.” Seeing as the show is about humanity–life, death, and everything in between–this is a really great way to describe a feeling that I’m sure everyone will feel (or has felt) at some point.
– “God is not mocked, you son of a bitch!” The religious elements in this episode are pretty fascinating, whether it be through the Wolcott-Hearst earth conversation or Cy pretending to talk to the Lord earlier on or the fact that Andy is the one who guts Cy.
-Once again, the Jane and Joanie relationship is so damn fun to watch. Jane in fancy clothes is pretty hilarious.
–“The press bein’ sold-out c**ts, it hardly matters that a story’s true, but one like this that is, sportin’ a man like you, and fucked-up geologist and whore dug up from shallow graves with their throats slit from ear to ear, and the same to their poor privates—what’s that, Lord? Would you, Lord? You dirty-minded cocksucker.”
-Interesting that Hearst is the “boy” the Earth talks to and not the “man”.
-One more season to go, and then I’ll have to pick a new show. Season 3 reviews probably won't start until I'm finished with Battlestar Galactica, though (which shouldn't take long).