1x04 Here Was a Man

A sad episode.

I always thought bill was cruel, killing anyone who he did not like, etc. But he was so romantic and loyal to his wife, he wrote a letter to his wife. And while writing it, jane came and he was so friendly, he did not reject her and spoke a while despite he had to finish the letter. And he knew probably jane liked him but he was loyal. He only played poker, did not go for sex.

I was prejudiced about him. He could kill his killer anytime. The killer made lots of trouble to him while in gambling table but bill only once time told him bad things. Bill Did not kill or mean it. But then he killed bill. From behind. Suddenly.

Bİll also protected alma. Fortunately, he made alma get counciliation from bullock and al cant scum alma now. Thanks to bill. I was worried when bill went to speak to al but bill was nice guy.

WHen he shot bill, everyone went after the killer. Noone tried to help bill. Maybe he could survive, i am not sure.

They went after killer, to give justice or to kill a man? I cant decide. It is a different town.

Now bullock is alone with alma and his friend sol. Maybe charlie and jane will stay but bullock is not so strong to fight them all. He needs company again.

7.3/10. A character study on Wild Bill, showing just how hollowed out he is by all of his fame and withered fortunes over the years makes this the best episode of Deadwood yet. I have to admit, it's hard for me to see Keith Carradine as anyone but Lundy from Dexter, which hinders my immersion a bit, but this episode in particular, Carradine brought the combined genteel qualities and world-weariness of Hickok to life in impressive fashion. It's a nice swan song for the character, between his respectful heart-to-heart with Bullock, to his means of helping Alma to the kind of dead-eyed decency he sleepwalks through til the end. There's something [Spoilers for The Wire] Omar-esque about how he goes out, with this living legend being taken out not by the machinations of some grand chessmaster or another sporting rival but by some punk with a gun and a grudge.

That said, I still find the proceedings a little slow and hard to get into, even if this was one of the better turns the show's had so far. Alma isn't particularly compelling to me, and the whole conflict over her deceased husband's claim feels somewhat stretched out and overexplained. Similarly, the diseased guy wandering into the high class saloon across the street will surely be going somewhere (maybe a way for Swearingen to scare away business from his new competitor?) but seemed like kind of an odd inclusion for the time being.

Still, the Hickok stuff carries the day well enough, and I tend to go in for these episodes that are basically character studies. Sorry that Carradine won't be plying his trade for longer on the show.

EDIT: On rewatch I pretty much loved this episode. I think that knowing the direction things are going, I can appreciate it more as a "suicide by cop" story for Wild Bill, where he's putting all of his affairs in order before the end and "going to hell the way he wants to." It's a little heartbreaking. Some of the "passing the torch" business between him and Bullock doesn't do much for me, but I do like how he gets final moments with everyone of note (including a humdinger of a standoff with Swearengen), and Alma's predicament looms larger for me on the second go around. Bill's "listen to the thunder" speech lands with real force, and the air of tragedy and resignation about the whole deal really resonates. I can see what I was thinking in my review from a few years ago, but I've pretty solidly changed my tune on this one, and might even rate it in the 9 range on rewatch.