Very likely my favorite episode of the show thus far. Bill Simmons has what he calls "Ewing Theory," specifically that sometimes when a star player gets injured or is otherwise unavailable, the team rallies and has a surprising success on their own. That's true for this episode of Deadwood, both in-universe and out of it. It's hard to imagine an episode without the crackling presence of Ian McShane (or at least one without him really saying anything) being this good, but it gives us time to explore the other characters on the show, and Milch and Mann wring as much as they can around it. To that end, Al being out of commission lets you see how he's the gravitational force at the center of Deadwood, and without his presence, nobody's quite sure how to revolve in sync anymore.
The last episode spent much of the time showing Trixie worrying about Al's condition, and that follows here. She cries in Sol's arms, and is short with Jewel, and you see how she's trying not to betray her feelings but is genuinely concerned. You also see Dan, who is a brutal ox of a man, cry and confide and worry about the state of his master. The way he "interprets" Al's response to the doctor and tells him to perform the surgery, only to go back out onto that balcony (like Al once did) with red eyes is an incredible moment. By the same token, Doc Cochran, who's the second most consistent performer on the show behind McShane, is rattled and can't keep his hands steady at the prospect of having to perform surgery on Al. The way all three of them (plus Johnny), work Al through passing his stone, and then once it's over, gather around and hug him, is a surprisingly sweet and intimate moment that shows that however much these people may resent the straw that stirs the drink in Deadwood, they are, for better or worse, lost without him and thankful to have him there. (And Dan's murder of the guy who wants to talk to Al immediately after signifies how Dan didn't become some softy. He's still a harsh man, he's just more complicated than being that and that alone.)
The other major storyline of the episode is the continued adventures of Mr. Wescott, who's continuing his war on two fronts, both to prime the camp for the arrival of civilization (and with it Mr. Hearst's interests) that threatens to scare off or displace the current residents (something we get a taste of with Mr. Wu's frantic gestures to Dan), and his weird fascination with one of the prostitutes and his attendant harsh and odd manner with them. To the former, it's interesting to see Cy bested and overwhelmed by someone, and to see Elsworth, who's clearly had a less than great experience with Hearst's operations, recognize and stand up to Mr. W. The new comissioner who comes to town seems more interested in feathering his own nest (despite his aside glances about the crudeness of the camp) and seems happy to play into Mr. Hearst's interests.
On the latter front, the trouble in paradise between Joanie and her partner doesn't interest me that much, nor do Mr. W's perversions or predilections with the prostitute who just showed up to town, but maybe it'll make more sense when we know what the new madame's game is.
There's other nice touches as well. Thankfully it's a minimal Bullock episode, but I actually liked his scenes. Both he and his wife are trying their hardest be domestic together, but they clearly haven't settled into a comfort level, and both of them are hiding behind formalities at this stage. Both Olyphant and Gunn play their awkward attempts at intimacy but hard-to-overcome distance quite well.
Molly Parker still doesn't really do it for me as Alma, but her scene with E.B., where she calls him out on spreading false rumors about the claims being thrown out (or at least, rumors that he doesn't himself believe) by offering to buy his hotel, was great. Farnum had some great third-tier Shakespearean character monologues throughout this thing and he's grown on me as an entertaining sideshow. But the speech that preceded it, namely Elsworth's to Alma about not believing these rumors, using the metaphor of folks saying the creek's going to overflow but he thinks the levees will hold, was superbly well-written and performed. Seems like something that ought to stand out from the pack on the show.
We also get a scene with Sofia's tutor taking solace with Adams in a wholly new but kind of cute scene, that feels like it's going to set up Adams or whomever scheming to take out Alma, or otherwise throw monkey wrenches into people's plans.
But all-in-all, for an episode where the show's best character was mostly MIA, this was a great look at the way Deadwood operates without him, both in how the people whose lives he touches, even those who seem to suffer under his yoke, are left scrambling and hoping for his return and recovery when he's not there. As Farnum puts it, he knows that he's weak and yearns for a stronger soul to guide him. Without Al, stronger souls come to town and start changing the game, and that's scary for everyone who knows the rules as they stand, even if they're not entirely fair.
A little slower, but still a solid episode. I like everyone picking sides, and having to choose between one fate or another. Dan Dorrity feels betrayed by Al, thinking he favors Adams, but is reassured when Al tells him that the two of them are the same kind of men, and that's why he had to train a gun on him. There's some humanity there, and a bit more to Dan's character, which is nice. Al has to decide how to handle Bullock (whose return engagement seems imminent.) And Seth and Alma have to decide whether to run away together.
The thing I appreciated most about the episode is both Star and Trixie calling Seth out on his bullshit. Star telling Seth that there'd be shame no matter where has was and he'd just be running away was astute, and Trixie's "meddling, interfering cocksucker" line had Mrs. Bloom and I in stitches. I also appreciated how Al managed to figure out that the best way he could punish Seth was by basically deferring to him and guilting him into sticking around. Seth wanted to escape from having to be a family man, either by running away with Alma or getting gunned down in a fight, and Al craftily denied him either option. Say what you will about Al, but his cruelty is well-calculated.
We also got a full return of Jane. Her scenes with the doctor continue to amuse and delight. (His line about the human breast having no mystery or interest for him anymore and his kind of salty Mr. Rogers tone with her were each great.) Jane is such a unique character that even when she falls into default profane insults, she's pretty amusing. Having both her and Charlie Utter get a little bigger parts here did well. And even Bullock, who again is not necessarily my favorite acting performance on the show, shows some real vulnerability when remembering how he missed seeing his brother before he was shot, and it adds another dimension to his character.
Plus Alma realizing that maybe Bullock didn't mean that Sofia should come along, and her mild offense at it, is a nice touch. This was really more of a rumination episode, after all the excitement of the last episode. But it had some funny and tense scenes along the way, and the ending, where Al shows once again that he knows how to play the angles better than anyone else in Deadwood works like gangbusters.
I did not enjoy one single frame the cokehead doctor boyfriend was in. Oooooof.
