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Deadwood


The Monkey

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Well, thanks to all you cocksuckers and hoople-heads, I have embarked upon a rewatch of Deadwood.



It's been a long time so watching these first episodes again has been like visiting with an old friend. An old, vulgar friend.


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I picked up on my season 1 rewatch too. Episodes 6, 7, and 8 while I was sick with a stomach bug New Years Day (if I'm going to spend freaking New Years Day vomiting I at least want to have had fun the night before, but noooooo, I spent that cleaning up 3-year-old projectile vomit).



I forgot that Kristen Bell was in those couple episodes so I finally got my wife to sit down and watch them with me. I've tried and tried to get her to watch Deadwood throughout the years and refuses, though she knows she's in the wrong (she also refused to watch Rome, The Big Lebowski, and John Adams for some unintelligible reasons, until I got her to watch them and of course she freaking loved them). I got her to watch those two episodes based on Kristen Bell alone because she's a huge fan of hers and, well, by the time Bell got her bell rung, she wasn't very happy with me.


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Well, for starters you have conflicting interests in the very front of that sentence- for the longest time Tolliver thought his best play was to remain in the shelter of Hearst's shadow to out-weigh Al. Only at the very end did Cy conceive of killing Hearst, and even THEN Cy knew he was incapable of that act- Cy knew he was not dynamic or brave enough to kill Hearst- as he says in his final scene - after he has killed Leon -as he is aiming is puny Derringer at Hearst that if he acts quick enough, he can get to the pearly gates quick enough to hear Leon's confessions to St. Peter (or something to that effect). Cy knows that killing Heart would mean his death and Cy Tolliver is a mean, evil bully and thus ultimately a coward.

Al was worse.

Al and Bullock are of equal minds on the subject- killing Hearst would mean, ultimately, the destruction of Deadwood and the end of their lives. Both Al and Seth CRAVED freedom- and not just the freedom to act certain ways and to do certain things but the freedom that comes from the lack of authority of ANY kind. Al and Seth only set up a government so Yankton won't. Yes, Al and Seth COULD have killed Hearst- they had the MEANS to do it, but the price would have been far more than the two men could bare. Deadwood would have been invaded, first by Pinkertons, then by Hearst men and finally by the Federal Government. The town would have been destroyed both figuratively and possibly literally. Also, both Al and Seth could have been killed by Hearst's army and that's no long-term strategy.

So, Al and Seth found a price they would pay. It was not Trixie, but it was Jen and that was that. EVEN THEN Al was willing to die if Hearst was not satisfied- Al says "The deception failing, I'll make a pass at him with my blade." And then :"In the aftermath, play the lie as mine, knowing I speak of you in heaven." Which plays well against the way Cy thinks.

To me, the entire show was about Freedom and the desire to remain removed from the will and power of others. The town is better off without Hearst, but with HEarst dead it ensures Deadwood's death. Al and Seth have to deal with the enemy more subtly.

I really don't think it would be that difficult to kill Hearst, of course not openly in "Wild West style", but if he was shot by covertly like Elsworth or even killed by someone like Trixi, I don't think there would be full scale invasion by outsiders like you said... He would be just another rich man who was killed in lawless town. Also Bullock and All were not dealing the enemy more subtly, they were not dealing with him at all. That was a problem with 3rd season - a lot of talk about what to o with Hearst and then - rolling over and doing nothing.

One thing I've always wondered is why they brought Garrett Dillahunt back to play Wolcott after playing Jack McCall aka the murderer of Wild Bill.

Well, some people complain about it, but does it really matter? I didn't even realize they were played by the same actor so he pulled it very well.

Id love to have seen more from the actors troupe because I think Brian Cox is an absolute beast of an actor.

Really? Those guys were the worst part of show IMO, I always fastforward every scene they are in, all of them were incredibly boring.

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Yeah the theater storyline was worthless. Brian Cox is great but I didn't care one bit about any of the characters and they just seemed to be a rather pointless addition to an already busy season. Maybe they were destined for something important in season 4, but as it is, the theater story is easily the most-skippable portion of the show.



It'll be interesting to see if my opinion stays the same once I get to that part of the show.


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....

Well, some people complain about it, but does it really matter? I didn't even realize they were played by the same actor so he pulled it very well.

Really? Those guys were the worst part of show IMO, I always fastforward every scene they are in, all of them were incredibly boring.

Blasphemy!

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I never got that vibe. I'm pretty sure she just lashed out at him because of her growing suspicion about his intentions and then he right up confirms them while threatening her.



She was used by her father though, just not in that way.


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I never got that vibe. I'm pretty sure she just lashed out at him because of her growing suspicion about his intentions and then he right up confirms them while threatening her.

She was used by her father though, just not in that way.

I don't know, man. Joannie Stubbs had a chat with Alma in a later scene. They talk about how Alma doesn't feel bad for her father after the maniac sheriff breaks his face, and Jonnie assures her that's normal, and relates her experiences with her own incestuous father. I'm probably wrong, but I got the feeling that Joannie could sense that Alma had had similar experiences.

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