Deadwood "True Colors" Review (3x03)
Jul 7, 2016 20:52:18 GMT -5
Albert Fish Taco, jerkassimo, and 2 more like this
Post by Pear on Jul 7, 2016 20:52:18 GMT -5
“You seem incapable of crediting me as a full and normal person,” Alma accuses Doc Cochran after he urges her to take her meds and to not rush back into things. “I credit you as exactly that, Madam, which is to say as having limits like the rest of us,” Doc responds, and it’s an idea that provides an interesting framework for the rest of the episode. After all, “True Colors” revolves around George Hearst, a guy who seemingly has no limits and has the ability to crush you like a bug. He comes across as less a human with an animalistic side and more a wild animal with a human facade, and McRaney makes sure that this character is terrifyingly believable to watch. The actor’s best moment in the episode is a confession to Cy: “But I should say, too, that in these rooms just this afternoon, such displeasure brought me near to murdering the Sheriff and raping Mrs. Ellsworth.”
We see not only how someone like Hearst operates in the town, but also how someone like him impacts the characters we know and love. We saw what happened with Al at the end of the last episode, and we see here how he exacerbates the Alma-Ellsworth situation; Ellsworth in particular is a changed man in the presence of Hearst, and his demeanor here stands in stark contrast to what we were introduced to at the beginning of the series. Hearst is already changing this community, able to do so because he doesn’t give a shit about the camp. “God, I hate these camps,” he tells Aunt Lou at the end of the episode. “All this deferring and adjusting to other’s wrong-headed stupidities.” That’s pretty much a necessity when it comes to trying to organize a community of any sorts, but Hearst raises a middle finger to that.
This plays out alongside a new development in the show: the arrival of a stagecoach occupied by Mr. Wu, Aunt Lou, and Jack Langrishe, an old friend of Al’s. Played wonderfully by Brian Cox, Langrishe is quite interesting to watch because of his interactions with Al. Contrast the end of this episode with the end of the last one, and you get two different sides of Al and two vastly different relationships. The pissed off, vengeful Swearengen of the recent past has been replaced with the guy who shares his thoughts–and his balcony–with a friend. “Few enough I find tolerable,” Jack tells him. “Lucky our paths have crossed again.”
GRADE: B+
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-Cocksucker count: 4. Okay, what the fuck? You have motherfucking Wu back, and you only manage 4 cocksuckers (NONE OF THEM BY HIM)? That’s the same count as the last episode’s, and the last episode DIDN’T HAVE WU. What a disappointment.
Total cocksucker count: 245
– “I’d not be insulted in my own rooms, Mr. Ellsworth.” “Where shall we go for me to do it?” Al and Hearst are distinct in their own ways, but the first quote mirrors Al’s from the premiere about bloodletting on his premises. Once again, the concept of ownership is salient here, and Hearst has another telling quote earlier in the conversation: “I seem to feel a greater priority about making space for myself than adorning the space I’ve made.”
-The Blazanov-Merrick high voice/low voice scene is comedy gold.
– “Ever wonder if you expressed yourself more directly, Merrick, you might fucking weigh less? ”
– “Don’t you try fucking coming to my side either, or your Jew head will be wearing that fucking dresser as a tiara.” I’m enjoying Trixie’s dialogue this season quite a bit.