Deadwood "Tell Him Something Pretty" Review (3x12)
Aug 21, 2016 0:26:15 GMT -5
Albert Fish Taco, Invisible Goat, and 3 more like this
Post by Pear on Aug 21, 2016 0:26:15 GMT -5
“Wants me to tell him something pretty.”
Civilization isn’t pretty. Capitalism isn’t pretty. Life isn’t pretty. Those are some of the messages we get when we leave the series on the quintessential Deadwood image: Al scrubbing out yet another Gem floor bloodstain. Al’s cleaning up the blood of Jen this time, a barely noticed whore who is essentially sacrificed for Trixie here. It’s sickening to think that one might attempt to justify murder in this manner, but it’s a clear illustration of the twisted morality that has ensued due to Hearst’s influence. Murder really isn’t good for the camp, nor is it one of the ingredients in the recipe for civilization; it’s simply an option available here and the option chosen by Al. The forming of a civilization does not exclude the influence–and sometimes the necessity–of violence.
What we learn from this development is multifaceted: 1) unity in Deadwood does not prevent stooping to murder, 2) Al is still very capable of murder, and 3) Al has still grown significantly over the series. On that last point, contrast, for instance, the Al-Trixie relationship at the beginning and end of the series. It’s also interesting to contrast the violence delivered by Cy and the violence delivered by Al in this finale. Cy, a man who has lived life serving Cy Tolliver and Cy Tolliver only, stabs Leon in what seems like an expression of frustration at his own irrelevance. Al, a man who knows what’s good for the camp even as he’s serving his own desires, lies to others and tries to soften the blow caused by his murder. Again, it doesn’t make what he does okay, but it’s more understandable and is done with some regard for the well-being of others. This is still a community.
The series sure does end on a bleak note, though, doesn’t it? Sure, everyone sees Hearst for the man he is, but he ends up getting a lot of what he wants. Unfortunately, this is usually what ends up happening in situations like these, and the man is able to ride off in style as he alters the dynamics of the town. Civilization has its positives and negatives, and this is the latter rearing its rich, influential, and ugly head.
Perhaps bleak is most fitting, though. I think this line sums it up the best: “Pain or damage don’t end the world. Or despair, or fucking beatings. The world ends when you’re dead. Until then, you’ve got more punishment in store. Stand it like a man… and give some back.” This show is about “[giving] some back” in the face of darkness. Even as these people march toward civilization, as they deal with the pain and damage caused by Hearst, their way of ‘giving it back’ still helps them rise above him in their own way. On the surface, maybe they look like just a wall. Maybe to Hearst, they just seem like a bunch of objects waiting to be crushed. “But inside, many creatures go about their lives. They got a whole operation going. They got soldier ants and worker ants and whore ants to fuck the soldiers and the workers, right inside that wall, baby ants. Everyone’s got a task to hew to.” And if you look even closer, you see that these ants care about each other in their own sweet, strange, and sometimes fucked up ways. If you listen harder, you hear some incredibly interesting conversations and colorful dialogue, and you start to realize that this is a brilliantly crafted tapestry of humanity. And of course, if you listen for a little bit, you’ll probably get to hear someone being called a cocksucker.
GRADE: B+
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-Cocksucker count: 1. Goddammit.
-Total cocksucker count: 286. Well, our beautiful cocksucker count has reached its end, and this gives us an average of 7.9 cocksuckers per episode. That’s a respectable amount, but the show could’ve done even better. Shame on you, David Milch.
– “I can’t, Al. I can’t engage him in further conversation. When I hear his voice, I see the inside of his skull! Phantoms grin out at me, oozing gruesome goo.” E.B. on the balcony at the end of the episode is a pretty awesome image.
– “You mistake for fear, Mr. Bullock, what is, in fact, a preoccupation. I’m having a conversation you cannot hear.”
-Charlie telling everyone off in the middle of the camp is awesome.
– “I imagine she still speaks to me still, the earth, what’s inside her, how to get it out.” “Comprehending such a language can cost a man his own kind’s sympathies.” “Arguing perhaps for a more solitary life.” Bringing the boy-the-earth-talks-to thread full circle.
– “This fucking place is gonna be a fucking misery. Every fucking one of them, every fucking time I walk by, “Ooh, how could you? How could you?” With their big fucking cow eyes. The entire fucking gaggle of ‘em is gonna have to bleed and quit before we can even hope for peace. What’s the fucking alternative? I ain’t fuckin’ killing her that sat nights with me sick and taking slaps to her mug that were some less than fucking fair. I should have fucking learned to use a gun, but I’m too fucking entrenched in my ways. And you ain’t exactly the one to be leveling criticisms on the score of being slow to adapt. You fucking people are the original slow fucking learners!” Al’s final monologue.
-I still have the mental image of Kristen Bell’s character getting the shit beaten out of her and it’s horrifying. And now that we’re turning back the clock, some “greatest hits” quotes:
–"Those who disagree with me, suck cock by choice.”
–"As a base of operations, you cannot beat a fucking saloon.”
–“God rest the souls of that poor family… and pussy’s half price for the next 15 minutes!”
–"Be brief.” “Be fucked.”
–"Day saw advances, Trixie. None miraculous.”
–“Could you have been born, Richardson? And not egg-hatched as I’ve always assumed?”
–"Here’s my counteroffer to your counteroffer: go fuck yourself.”
–“In life, you have to do a lot of things you don’t want to do. That is what life is: one vile task after another. But don’t get aggravated, because then the enemy has you by the short-hairs… it’ll be different, but it’s nothing to be afraid of. Everything changes. Don’t be afraid.”
-So long, Deadwood. Thanks for reading. I enjoyed writing about it, but I'm also sort of glad I'm done because this is a very dense show. Single episode reviews can be quite time consuming, but I felt this show needed them. What to do next? Twin Peaks, maybe? I definitely want to watch it before the new season, so that's what looks most likely right now. Rome and Buffy also look intriguing, though the latter is very long.
