"It's what I want for my son."

Original airdate July 2, 2006

Full Faith and Credit

Deal-making abounds on this day in Deadwood, with pauses here and there for a little self-reflection.

The morning begins with the grand opening of the Bank of Deadwood, with Alma Ellsworth as its director and sole financial backer. Trixie is on hand as the world's least diplomatic teller. And Ellsworth brings Alma an apple for her first day as a banker, prompting her to ask, "You don't confuse me with Mrs. Bullock?" Oops. In spite of that little bit of uncomfortableness, things seem to be surprisingly good between them. What has happened since last week, when they could barely stand the sight of each other? Ellsworth defends her honor to an unruly bank customer and unlike last week, this time she accepts his manner of protection. Let's just say she seems a bit more docile. Later, Leon (the dope fiend) opens an account at the bank under Trixie's watchful and disapproving gaze. Trixie, in her passive/aggressive way, tries to warn Bullock about Leon - "Lotsa shitbags hang around a bank, didja ever f*ckin' notice?" - but he doesn't catch on. Later on that night we discover that Trixie has cause for concern as Alma spies Leon in the thoroughfare, tipping his hat as a signal to her, and goes out to "take the air, just briefly." And score some dope from Leon, I think.

Also that morning, Blasanov delivers a telegram to Jane from the Nigger General, saying that he and Hostetler are returning to town with the horse that ran down William Bullock. Before Jane has a chance to send a telegram back telling them not to come, NG and Hostetler come riding into town with the horse. When they get to Hostetler's livery, they find Hooplehead Steve, who has been caring for the horses in Hostetler's absence. Steve flips out and runs to Bullock to tell him that they're back and they've brought the horse that killed his son. I brace myself for a Bullock beatdown but he surprises me and shows admirable restraint. He talks to Hostetler instead and reveals that he does not blame him for what was clearly an accident and offers to broker a deal with Steve. Hostetler offers to take Steve on as an employee, but this only enrages Steve more and he explodes in a nasty, hateful racist rant. But Bullock wants this to end in a peaceful agreement, for his son's sake, and he manages to broker a deal where Steve gets a loan from the bank and buys the livery from Hostetler, who will be leaving for Oregon.

The deal-making continues as Langrishe offers to buy the Chez Amie from Joanie. He wants to turn it into a theater. She is taken aback by the offer (actually, she tells him to f*ck himself) and goes to Charlie to talk it out. I love these two together. I find I want to quote entire conversations between them. Joanie tells Charlie that having the Chez Amie serve as the schoolhouse helped her to feel better about herself and selling it would mean losing the one good thing she's done in her life. He suggests that she make a deal with Langrishe wherein she will sell to him if he agrees to build a school for Mrs. Bullock and the children out of his own money. There's a hilarious scene where poor Charlie interrupts Seth in the thoroughfare as he's running back and forth between the hooplehead and Hostetler, to ask him if Mrs. Bullock wouldn't mind moving to a new schoolhouse.



Bullock says of course she wouldn't mind and Joanie makes the deal with Langrishe. Later that night at the Chez Amie, Joanie tells Jane that she's welcome to join her wherever she ends up living after the place is sold. They shake hands on it and share a lovely moment as they both wonder where the heck the stage is going to be.

Before I get to Al, a couple of smaller items to note: Claudia (from Langrishe's acting troupe) goes to the Bella Union and picks up Con Stapleton, of all people, in a gross scene that involves Con blaming his erection on a Chinese laundry. Don't ask. Anyway, they have a tryst in the Grand Hotel and Claudia is disgusted with herself afterward. Did she do it to make Langrishe jealous? Do I care?

And the other item: the woman in red from last week appears again. She's staying at the hotel and seems to be an artist of some kind.

For Al, the morning began with Captain Turner delivering a note from Hearst. Turner and Dan exchange words and Dan wants to kill him. Al tells him, "in due time." It's an invitation to join Hearst and Tolliver for a meeting in Hearst's rooms. To relieve his pre-meeting jitters, Al gets 'serviced' by Dolly and we get one of his patented BJ soliloquies. Unfortunately, he has been driven to distraction by his power struggle with Hearst, and blames his lack of response on Dolly change in technique, even while he wonders, "Does he think I'm f*ckin' afraid?"

Al meets with Tolliver and Hearst, all the while keeping his back to the wall. Hearst has decided that his interests would be better served if he were to operate "at a remove" from Deadwood, considering the likelihood that Bolluck and Sol will win their respective elections, and asks Tolliver and Al to act for him. He will not give specifics but wants them to agree on principle. Al will agree to nothing (while Tolliver agrees to anything) until he gets the details - "acts and numbers" meaning, what exactly will he have to do and how much will he be paid - and leaves, saying that those will be the last words he will speak to Hearst. Later on at the Gem, he asks Adams to represent his interest with Hearst. Dan's feelings are hurt, but Al explains: Whatever plan Al has up his sleeve requires that the person representing him appear capable of disloyalty, and everyone knows that Dan would never betray him.

The episode ends with a second attempt by Dolly and another soliloquoy by Al. The attack by Turner and Hearst has affected him far more deeply than he will admit. It has brought back memories of being held down by the proctor of the orphanage where his mother left him. The proctor held him down from behind as he tried to flee to his mother, who he imagined was calling to him from the riverboat after changing her mind about abandoning him. In that one scene, Ian McShane wiped the floor with every other actor on television.

Quotes

"Mornin'."
"Mornin'. Best time o' the day to go f*ck yourself!" ~ Dan to Hearst

"Another f*ckin' invite. F*ckin' Hearst must take me for an optimist." ~ Al

"Ever throw the bones, ma'am?"
"Mm-mm, but I caught some." ~ Con Stapleton and Claudia, grossing me out

"I told the man to f*ck himself."
"Tactics, or true position?" ~ Joanie and Charlie

"People do strange things."
"Years at a time. Pick any part of my life, for example." ~ Joanie and Charlie

"I wish once I could care for those little ones...Just once, instead of doin' what I did." ~ Joanie

"If you stay in camp long, sir, you may have the delightful surprise of meeting your identical twin." ~ EB

"Must think I'm a f*ckin' dog - forgives the blow first friendly scratch of the ear." ~ Al

"Shall I accompany as your second? My obvious unsuitability might confuse him." ~ Langrishe

"What is Steve the Drunk's surname?" ~ Alma

"This succeeds, Bullock, what you're trying to work out here, I will doff my hat to you and make no mistake."
"Just don't let her take off her boots." ~ Jane and Charlie

"If I sought an echo, Adams, I'd now be addressin' a f*ckin' mountain." ~ Al

"You ain't the boss of the f*ckin' bedclothes." ~Al

"Well bless you for a f*ckin' fibber." ~ Al (he really does get all the best lines)