AMC's Hell on Wheels

[squeekness]

Good. This last episode was a bit boring.

 

[James]

I think they had to set everyone up again because it had been so long (darn AMC and their season splitting!). I did really enjoy reuniting with Eva, Durant, Mickey and the gang though.

 

[James]

Durant's plan was... poorly thought out.

 

[squeekness]

Being the final season, it could lead to his demise.

 

[James]

Very true. I won't be surprised if he doesn't see the end of the railroad.

I felt bad for eye-patch guy this episode. Bohannon was being kind of a jerk.

 

[James]

The flash forward seemed like an odd choice. I'm not sure I saw the point of it, and it certainly took away any tension in the Durant scenes (and any more that might crop up in future). Also, I could be wrong, but it seemed strange that Anson Mount wasn't in the opening credits. He's not in the episode at all, so I guess that's why.

Even though the character is a big jerk, I thought the guy who plays Mickey did a great job this episode. It was nice to finally see Shae put down too, that was a long time coming.

I wonder what old-Durant was writing at the end there. I first assumed it was some scheme or another, but then they said 'the crash' had been 12 years prior to that scene and I figure if he was going to get back on his feet he'd have done it in much less time than that. Perhaps after everything he lost, whether or not he won the railroad race, it just didn't seem worth scheming anymore afterward.

 

[Marvolo]

That flash forward was random as hell.

And they went a little overboard with Collis Huntington's age makeup. Collis was 63 in 1885. Two years younger than Durant, but he looked like he was pushing 80.

 

[squeekness]

Maybe old Durant was writing his memoirs?

 

[terry78]

Love how that gunfight was shot.


Yeah, he's been holding that in for a minute.

 

[Rowsdower!]

That episode was badass! Agree on the way the gunfight was filmed; simply brilliant cinematography there. And Chang is one evil motherf***er but he was lethal taking out all those miners. Glad Cullen got him. Sad to see Mei leave, but... maybe that note she left Cullen will tell him where she is and he'll seek her out after the railroad is done.

Also, great bit of acting by Anson Mount when he admits to Mei that he owned slaves. You could really see how much it had been tearing him up.

 

[Marvolo]

That cane gives Bohannon such an awesome grizzled demeanor. Him just stalking past the window coldly killing those astards and then opening that door with his head down and striding forward has to be one of the most satisfying badass moments in the show. So damn cathartic.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, it does add something to his whole presence.

I hope the show ends on a happy note for Cullen. I'm not sure it will, but the man has endured so much pain that he's pretty much paid for any of the awful things he's done (owning slaves, killing people he believed to be guilty who ultimately weren't). It would be a shame if he ends up alone and miserable or with a bullet in his head.

 

[James]

That was definitely a stand out action sequence. It's not often TV can offer a memorable fight, but Hell on Wheels has now had at least two that spring to my mind. Justified had a great one too, the trailer-fight with Mikey in the final season. It was great seeing Cullen's gun play from Mei's perspective.

Rowsdower, I like the idea of Mei giving Cullen instructions on how to find her. It would be funny seeing him leave America, but it'd be nice to see Cullen reunited with Mei in the final scene. This show's awful unpredictable though, I expect a good ending no matter what happens.

I wonder what Anson Mount will go on to now. His IMDB page doesn't list anything in 2016 or beyond after Hell on Wheels. I hope it's something great.

 

[Rowsdower!]

That was definitely a stand out action sequence. It's not often TV can offer a memorable fight, but Hell on Wheels has now had at least two that spring to my mind. Justified had a great one too, the trailer-fight with Mikey in the final season. It was great seeing Cullen's gun play from Mei's perspective.

Rowsdower, I like the idea of Mei giving Cullen instructions on how to find her. It would be funny seeing him leave America, but it'd be nice to see Cullen reunited with Mei in the final scene. This show's awful unpredictable though, I expect a good ending no matter what happens.

I wonder what Anson Mount will go on to now. His IMDB page doesn't list anything in 2016 or beyond after Hell on Wheels. I hope it's something great.

Very true, this show certainly takes the cake for being unpredictable. I remember watching the premiere and it was crystal clear from the get-go that they were setting up Lily Bell to be Cullen's eventual love interest; they telegraphed that pretty hard. But then, once they finally got together... they KILLED her in the next episode. That had to be one of the most shocking moments I've ever seen in any TV show; it was the Red Wedding in the Hell on Wheels world, if you will. And then later what happened with Elam was pretty heart-wrenching too. And then, to a lesser extent, you have things like the preacher going crazy and Cullen switching sides and working for the other side of the railroad. And yet somehow it all still works. I'm really going to miss this show when it's over.

This show also makes me think that they should have done The Dark Tower as a TV series instead of a movie. The story is so vast that you can't really do it justice in a film or even a trilogy (and from what I've been reading, they're not really even trying to). But I feel like they could really make it work if they had a longform format. I even think it could work on a TV budget because large parts of the story take place in a Western setting, which is easy to do on the cheap. Sigh.

 

[James]

One episode left to go!

That ending scene was very telling, I thought. Speaks volumes about Bohannon's need for a driving force, whether it's revenge of the a railroad, any railroad. Perhaps even his need for conflict? My interpretation anyhow.

Also, I don't think even Durrant believed what he was saying at the end there.

 

[Marvolo]

I thought Bohannon was having a heart attack until he started crying.

 

[James]

I thought Bohannon was having a heart attack until he started crying.

Me too!

 

[squeekness]

I wasn't sure what I was looking at.

 

[Golgo-13]

I haven't watched this since the ep where the Swede was killed; need to get back into it.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Yeah, I initially thought it was a heart attack too, especially because he looked like he was ready to die during one of the scenes where they were pounding railroad ties.

Anyway, I have to say that, IMO, this show tops every Western film I've seen in the past 20 years or so. They don't make a lot of Westerns anymore (or at least, not a lot of them make it to theaters), and a lot of the more recent ones have been pretty underwhelming. Hell on Wheels is miles ahead of all of them. Sad to see it end, but a show like this obviously can't go on forever. I just wish Common hadn't wanted out. I can only assume that the original conclusion of the show would have seen Cullen and Elam finishing the railroad together and then going their separate ways.

 

[James]

Speaking of which, what are some good Western films from the last couple decades?

Off the top of my head, I really enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit. True Grit more so, but they're very different movies. Django Unchained as well, although I heard some arguments that's it not a Western because it takes place in the south but whateverit'sawestern.

 

[Marvolo]

"Open Range" is good.

"Bone Tomahawk" with Kurt Russell is good but it has one really gory scene involing a [blackout] a man being sawed in two from crotch to head. [/blackout] so that might put you off. I can handle gore but the screaming and sound and general horror of the scene bout made me sick.

 

[Rowsdower!]

Speaking of which, what are some good Western films from the last couple decades?

Off the top of my head, I really enjoyed 3:10 to Yuma and True Grit. True Grit more so, but they're very different movies. Django Unchained as well, although I heard some arguments that's it not a Western because it takes place in the south but whateverit'sawestern.

I liked 3:10 and Django. I thought True Grit was overrated and really only got the praise it did because it was a Coen Brothers movie. Hailee Steinfeld delivered a standout performance but I didn't care for any of the other characters and it annoyed me how little actually happened in the movie. The Hateful Eight was about half a good movie and half a bore; I know Quentin likes to take his time telling a story but the first hour or so of that movie had me nearly dozing off. Speaking of boring Westerns, I know a lot of people love The Proposition but that's one movie I could never sit through again, even if you paid me.

 

[James]

Bone Tomahawk sounds interesting, I'll have to check it out! I do like Kurt Russell.

I forgot about The Hateful Eight. I didn't really like it. I wanted to, but it was just sort of dull and felt like someone else trying to do a Tarantino film.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I've heard good things about Bone Tomahawk. I need to watch it.

The Magnificent Seven looks like a ton of fun.