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Deadwood (2004)
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Deadwood
Seth Bullock abandons his position as Marshall in the Montana Territory to begin a career as a hardware merchant in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, a burgeoning, lawless gold-rush town set in the heart of Native land. Joining Bullock in the endeavor is his friend Sol Star. Before setting off from Montana, Bullock brings final justice to a horse thief, holding off dangerous mob to give him a legal hanging from a makeshift gallows in front of the sheriff's office. Also drawn to Deadwood is Wild Bill Hickok, the famed gunfighter and lawman. He travels with his old friend Charlie Utter and the foul-mouthed Calamity Jane. Hickok's reasons for moving to the Black Hills aren't immediately clear, but it's obvious that his very presence in the town sends excitement through its residents. Upon arriving at Deadwood, Bullock and Star rent a lot on which to open their hardware tent. Their landlord is Al Swearengen, proprietor of the Gem Saloon. Swearengen runs the whisky, women and faro games in Deadwood, and his cold efficiency is demonstrated when he beats Trixie, one of his whores, after she kills a trick in self-defense. As Bullock and Star's hardware business gets off to a brisk start, Hickok's presence in Deadwood continues to capture the attention of those in the town. Newspaperman A.W. Merrick of the Deadwood Pioneer tries to get some information out of him, but the gunslinger ignores him. Also taking notice is Jack McCall, a man given to sitting in the dark corners of Tom Nuttall's No.10 Saloon. McCall claims not to be impressed by Hickok, and swears to "gut that son of a bitch at poker" whenever he gets a chance. Wild Bill does get into a poker game and winds up on a terrible losing streak. He has recently married, and is trying to earn up enough money to buy a stake with which to support his wife. Meanwhile Swearengen enlists E.B. Farnum (proprietor of the Grand Central Hotel), along with Tim Driscoll and Dan Dority in a conspiracy to dupe East Coast dude Brom Garrett into buying a pinched-out gold claim. Brom gushes about his purchase to his wife Alma, who is supportive, but dealing with the difficulties of her situation with steady doses of laudanum. The conspiracy deepens as Swearengen has Doherty kill Driscoll to ensure his silence. News of a massacre arrives in Deadwood: the entire Metz family, a man says, has been killed by Indians. When pressed, the man says he saw two dead children, but townspeople say the Metz family had three children. Hickok puts together a party, including Bullock, to look for the missing child. Fearing a major disruption of business, Swearengen offers up free alcohol and discounted sex to those that stay behind with him. The party finds the third Metz girl, but she's unconscious and hovering near death. They take her back to Deadwood, dropping her off with Doctor Cochran. Hickok and Bullock then confront the man who originally brought the news of the massacre, accusing him of staging the raid in order to line his own pockets. The man draws his gun, but is shot dead. As the violence outside comes to a conclusion, Swearengen goes to bed with a bruised Trixie - unsettled by what he's seen in the streets.
Deep Water
A new day begins in Deadwood, everybody is edgy after the violent events of the early morning. Going through the effects of the man that Bullock and Hickok killed, Reverend H.W. Smith determines that his name was Ned Mason. The little girl who survived the Metz massacre has become the focus of attention of several inhabitants of Deadwood, including Bullock and Swearengen. Calamity Jane takes a special interest in ensuring the safety of the still unconscious girl, while Doc Cochran does his best to hide her from Swearengen, realizing that if the attack were indeed committed by criminal "road agents"-and not Indians, as Ned Mason had claimed--anything she said about the incident would all but sign her death warrant. Back in the Grand Central, Hickok and Bullock cross paths again. Utter asks Bullock to set Hickok up with some prospecting equipment, but the gunslinger isn't happy that his friend has so loudly announced his intentions. Later, Utter tries to convince Hickok to take "appearance" money to gamble in one of the local joints, but Hickok rejects this, as he doesn't want to be a shill. Eventually, Utter does manage to broker a deal of this sort, to ensure that Wild Bill has a source of income. The city dude Garret tries to work his claim with the assistance of Dan Dority, but finds no gold anywhere on his land. Another prospector, Ellsworth, happens upon the pair, and winds up raising Garret's suspicions when he mentions that if the claim was good, they would have probably found some flakes of gold already. Johnny Burns tells Swearengen that he's learned that Ned Mason was behind the Metz attack and was likely working with his brother Tom and another man named Persimmon Phil. Meanwhile, Bullock and Star approach Swearengen to negotiate the purchase of their lot, but the landlord expresses his concern that the duo may have ulterior motives or unnamed partners in their endeavor. As the two leave without a deal, Tom and Phil arrive at The Gem, and are quickly ushered upstairs by Swearengen. There, Swearengen angrily confronts Phil. He's furious that the attack on the "Squareheads" was done without his approval and that loose ends were left to be dealt with. Although Swearengen didn't authorize this attack, it's clear that he's hired these agents in the past. Swearengen tells Phil about Ned's actions the previous night, then throws the bandit to the floor, demanding that he help straighten out the entire mess. Back at Cochran's office, the Doc entrusts Jane with the task of protecting the Metz child. Cochran then has to leave to attend to the women of the Gem, and while he's gone, Swearengen goes to see the girl. Jane tries to stand up to him, but his presence causes her to break down instead. He leaves without incident, but not before he pinches the child on the arm, causing her to open her eyes for the first time since the attack. Swearengen and the Doc then cross paths in the street, and Cochran's fears that Swearengen has ill intent towards the child are confirmed. When Brom Garret returns to the Grand Central after a fruitless day of prospecting, he feigns a hurt back and tries to sell the property to Farnum, who had feigned interest to drive up the price Garret had paid. Farnum claims that drunkenness caused him to bid on the claim in the first place. Later, Garret's wife Alma wonders if he'll be able to recruit Hickok in a plan to reclaim the $20,000 investment. Swearengen enlists Tom Mason to kill Hickok, inciting the road agent to do the deed under the guise of revenge for his fallen brother. Mason makes the attempt while wildly drunk, tipping off Wild Bill. As would be expected, Mason is gunned down before he even manages to draw iron. Having anticipated the attack, Hickok had asked Bullock, also at the saloon, to watch his back. This pairing once again draws the notice of Swearengen, who becomes even more convinced that the men are working together. The assumed collusion makes it even more difficult for Bullock and Star to buy their lot. Dority goes to kill the Metz girl at Swearengen's behest, but Doc Cochran stands him down. Dority agrees to leave the girl for the time being, but he takes the Doctor with him to explain to Swearengen. While they're out, Utter and Jane grab the child and head for the hills in an attempt to protect her. As the long night ends, Swearengen decides that there is another way to tie up the loose ends from the Metz massacre-by stabbing Persimmon Phil himself.
Reconnoitering the Rim
The sudden opening of the Bella Union, a new saloon that manages to sneak into town, challenges Swearengen's grasp on the vice of Deadwood. The establishment is run by Cy Tolliver, assisted by his right-hand man Eddie Sawyer and his Madame, Joanie Stubbs. The Bella Union is a stark contrast to The Gem, with cleaner women and a higher level of sophistication. Swearengen tries to quietly intimidate Tolliver and his crew, but they don't seem impressed. Wild Bill finally manages to win a hand of poker, taking a large pot from the lout McCall, and the game gets heated. Before the situation can escalate further, McCall is thrown out of the game, but not before spewing a stream of profanity. Meanwhile, the Metz girl begins to run a fever, so Utter moves into Hickok's room, surrendering his quarters to Jane and the child. The arrangement rankles Farnum, but he doesn't have the constitution to stand up to Wild Bill. Jane continues to watch over the little girl as she recovers, but Utter has to leave for Cheyenne for business reasons. Brom Garret tries to enlist Hickok in recovering the money that he was swindled out of on the gold claim. Wild Bill isn't interested in the proposal, so Garret decides to confront Swearengen himself. Swearengen starts paying attention when Garret threatens to bring the Pinkerton agency into the dispute. He then tells Garret that he should try prospecting one more time, upriver this time, and if that doesn't work out, he'll give Garret back his stake. As Garret leaves The Gem, Swearengen tells Dority to kill the city dude and to make it look like an accident. Livid at the arrival of the interlopers of the Bella Union, Swearengen briefly considers the possibility that Bullock and Star acted as advance agents for Tolliver. This theory falls apart when Swearengen sees Farnum heading into the competing saloon, leading him to conclude that that the hotelier is his "Judas Goat." Later, Swearengen confronts Farnum, who cracks under pressure. Swearengen lets the traitor live, but it's made clear that Farnum's continued survival depends on working as an informant. After much negotiation, Bullock and Star strike a deal for their store's lot--$1000, along with an agreement to no gambling, whoring or whiskey on the premises, and a right of first refusal for Swearengen. Construction on the hardware store begins immediately, with extra elbow grease provided by Utter and Hickok. Up on the claim, Dority follows his orders and pitches Brom off of a cliff, not realizing that the deed was witnessed by the neighboring prospector Ellsworth. Hiking down the hill to make sure the dude is dead, Dority makes a startling discovery-a thick vein of gold lines the cliff not far from the body. Realizing he's in over his head, Dority passes the information along to Swearengen.
Here Was a Man
McCall and Hickok are back at the poker table, and this time, it's Bill who cleans out the foul-mouthed McCall. Rising from the table, McCall begins a typical stream of insults, but Cy Tolliver stops him, and Bill tosses him a dollar for a meal. Leaving the saloon to get some air, Hickok visits Bullock, who is in the process of building out his hardware store, even at three in the morning. The two exchange quick pleasantries, and the mutual respect between the two is apparent. In the morning, the body of Brom Garret is returned to Deadwood after his "accident" at the hands of Dan Dority. Alma, his widow, immediately suspects foul play, and enlists Doc Cochran to perform an examination of the body. Her suspicions grow further when the Doctor won't completely rule out foul play, and Farnum, prompted by Swearengen, makes an offer on the claim that's supposed to be pinched out. Cy Tolliver recruits Doc Cochran to take care of his whores, paying him substantially more than Swearengen does for the same services. Soon after, a man named Mr. Cramed enters into the Bella Union throwing around cash, earning him extra attention and services from Tolliver. Moments later we see that Cramed and Tolliver are acquaintances and have run scams together in the past. Alma pleads to Wild Bill, begging him to help solve the case of Brom's murder and bring justice to those that may have done her husband wrong. Hickok heads to The Gem to question Swearengen, but as usual, Swearengen is able to deflect any inquiry directed towards him. Hickok takes an alternate approach by intentionally accepting a bribe from Swearengen. Wild Bill takes Swearengen's money and then enlists Bullock to do a review of the Garret gold claim. Bullock agrees to help, but says that he'll need to bring in somebody from Montana to do the work. Ellsworth comes into town and lets Dority know that he's more than willing to mind his own business regarding the "accident" befalling Brom, if that keeps him from getting murdered himself. Later, Trixie tells Dority to leave Ellsworth alone, and he grudgingly agrees. Meanwhile Swearengen tells Farnum that he believes that "Hickok's got to die if I have to kill him myself..." Shocked, Farnum convinces his boss that he's got too much on his plate for such an ambitious idea. Back at the hotel, Andy Cramed has fallen ill in his hotel room, and Joanie fetches Doctor Cochran to attend to him. Crame is in bad shape, delirious, and Cochran becomes very concerned. Exhausted and nearly incoherent, Jack McCall tells the story of his poker showdown with Hickok to his pals at Nuttall's; even these world-weary men are concerned by what they see. Later, returning to the saloon wild-eyed, the long-simmering anger has come to a boil. McCall strides up to the poker table and shoots Hickok in the back of the head. Word spreads quickly through town, as people take to the street, and McCall is immediately apprehended. Drawn almost by instinct, Bullock and Calamity Jane find their way to Nuttall's saloon, but an era has already ended: Wild Bill Hickok is dead.
The Trial of Jack McCall
The line to view the body of "Wild Bill" Hickok stretches throughout town, and equally long is the line of people volunteering for jury service for Jack McCall's upcoming trial. Swearengen realizes that the high-profile trial could bring unwanted attention from the U.S. government, since Deadwood technically doesn't have the sovereignty to hold such an event. Back at the Grand Central Hotel, Alma Garret is still caring for the Metz girl, but the widow's withdrawal from laudanum is beginning to take a toll on her and she looks for help with the child. Still, Alma is determined to investigate the value of her claim. Meeting with Bullock, she signs a proxy giving him authority over the property, as Hickok had recommended. Swearengen is infuriated to learn that the former marshal has become involved in the matter, and he and Farnum devise a plan: Trixie will offer to help with the Metz girl, using the opportunity to secretly slip Alma some of Al's dope. At the Bella Union, Andy Cramed is still terribly sick, so Tolliver makes the call to have him taken out into the woods and left for dead. One of Cy's minion's isn't thrilled with this plan, but realizes that he has no choice in the matter and does as he's told. As this is going on, Doc Cochran visits the Bella Union to check in on the patient and learns of Tolliver's callous treatment. The Doctor warns Tolliver of the need for medicine for the upcoming epidemic, and the saloonkeeper reluctantly sends someone to Fort Kearney in Nebraska. Before the trial begins, Bullock goes to see McCall, who is imprisoned in Mr. Wu's slaughterhouse. After some tense conversation, Bullock ends up with his hands around McCall's neck, but the accused is saved when his lawyer steps in. Bullock leaves, and McCall and his lawyer begin to plan out their defense strategy. Trixie arrives at Alma's room and takes an immediate liking to her and to the Metz girl as well. She also recognizes that Alma is going through withdrawal. Defying Al's wishes, she doesn't give Alma Swearengen's dope, but instead visits Doc Cochran for some medicine to ease the widow's shakes. At The Gem, the trial begins, and McCall's defense-concocted by his attorney-is that he was avenging the death of a brother. The proceeding has not gone far, however, before Swearengen pulls the judge aside for a little talk. Upon reconvening, his honor sends the case quickly to the jury. They quickly return a verdict of innocent. McCall is set free. The residents of Deadwood that aren't hovering near the trial attend Hickok's burial. Joanie, angry with Tolliver over Cramed, goes to the funeral to annoy him; Bullock and Star are both at the sad event, which is presided over by the Reverend Smith. Star takes notice of Smith's pale appearance and stranger-than-usual demeanor, but Bullock doesn't seem to care, as he's still seething over the death of Wild Bill. Bullock's demeanor doesn't improve when Merrick arrives, bringing the news that McCall has been found innocent. Calamity Jane is absent from the burial, choosing instead to watch the event from a distance. She doesn't observe too long, however, as she's managed to find Cramed in the woods and, in a drunken stupor, has chosen to take care of him. His condition continues to worsen, but in her state, Jane is almost oblivious to just how badly off the man is. The trial concluded, The Gem is once again filled with those seeking women and booze. Among those celebrating is Jack McCall, but Swearengen makes it immediately clear to Hickok's killer that his continued health depends on leaving Deadwood immediately. McCall takes the advice and gets on a horse. But not far away, Bullock's anger is still boiling. After a few words with Star, he makes his decision: he is going after the murderer of his friend.
Plague
On the trail of the murderer Jack McCall, Seth Bullock is ambushed. Though he manages to kill the Indian who attacked him, Bullock is beaten and bloodied and soon collapses. Back in Deadwood, a john falls ill at the Gem, showing the same symptoms that felled Andy Cramed. Worse news follows when Joey, Tolliver's messenger, arrives back at the Bella Union without having made Nebraska. He, too, is becoming ill and was not able to bring back the smallpox vaccine. Doc Cochran tells Swearengen about the outbreak, but the news is kept quiet for the time being. Smallpox is not the only thing on Swearengen's mind; he is still determined to steal Alma Garret's gold claim. He sends Farnum to spy on the widow to find out if Trixie has succeeded in re-addicting her to dope, but Farnum reports back to Al that she's not high. Al confronts Trixie and makes it clear that she is to dope the widow--or else. Knowing that Swearengen means business, Trixie tells Alma to fake intoxication whenever Farnum shows up. Alma understands, playing the part perfectly, and Al is immensely pleased when he gets the report. Calamity Jane returns to Deadwood, and heads to Cochran's office to get an update on the Metz girl. The doctor doesn't want to deal with Jane, but is surprised when she tells him that she knows about the smallpox. Jane explains that she's been caring for Cramed, and Cochran realizes she may be immune to the disease. Despite the growing number of smallpox cases, it's business as usual at the Bella Union, where Ellsworth is spending a lot of time at the craps table. Tension grows between Tolliver and Joanie Stubbs, and when she shows a soft spot for Ellsworth, the boss makes it clear that she needs to improve her work in the Union-or he'll give her a reason to be morose. Outside of Deadwood, Charlie Utter finds Bullock, still unconscious from the attack. Charlie cleans him up, and when Seth comes around, he tells Utter about Hickok's death. Utter is eager to make his way back into town, but Bullock presses him to carry the corpse of the Indian to a proper resting place in a show of respect. Realizing the growing smallpox threat, a small group of Deadwood's town leaders meet at the Gem. It is decided that they will put together money to pay for riders to get the smallpox vaccine. They also decide to set up a tent for those afflicted. In his newspaper, Merrick-with heavy editorial influence from Swearengen--tries to minimize the fears that will no doubt arise when the rest of the town learns of the outbreak. The tent is erected for the sick, staffed by Cochran, Reverend Smith and Calamity Jane.
Bullock Returns to the Camp
Riding into a stockade, Bullock and Charlie Utter spot the horse of the murderer Jack McCall. Soon the two are inside a crude bunk house, where McCall is passed out. "I guess sometime since he's been here, that fella face down on the table probably spoke of killing Wild Bill Hickok," Bullock says. "Well, we're Hickok's friends." Knocking McCall out with the barrel of his gun, Bullock ties him to a horse, and tells Charlie he thinks they should take him to Yankton for trial. Back in Deadwood, two teenagers, Flora and Miles, have arrived from Buffalo, showing a 12-year-old photograph of their missing father. Swearengen eyes Flora like a hungry wolf, but can't convince her to join his establishment so he settles for giving the boy a job sweeping up. Tolliver, meanwhile, is more successful with Flora and instructs Joanie to take the girl under her wing. With Swearengen watching out a window, Sol Star comes to pick up Alma, Trixie and the little Metz girl for Brom Garret's funeral. "That widow ain't high,"Al observes, accusing Farnum of fouling up his plan. Farnum replies with an accusation of his own, saying he's tired of being a pawn, and the two agree to cut Farnum in for a percentage if the widow will sell her claim. But at the bleak and sparsely attended funeral, Farnum sees Bullock returning and makes a rushed and inappropriate offer to Alma. The widow later reports this to Bullock, and, flushed, tells him of Swearengen's scheming and of her own addiction. Feeling stronger, she offers to let Bullock out of his promise to help, but he says he'll stay on. "You are changed," he tells her. "You seem to be, too," she replies. Swearengen gets physical with Trixie and confronts her with her betrayal, but Trixie is cool. The dope wouldn't help sell the claim, she says, and the child needs someone to take care of her. Swearengen backs off, but calls after her: "Don't kid yourself, Trixie." Talking with Joanie, Flora begins to reveal a steely side, telling the madam that she isn't a virgin, and calling her old boyfriend a "son-of-a-bitch." Elsewhere in the Bella Union, Andy Cramed, now fully recovered thanks to Jane, walks in and confronts Tolliver. Flustered, Tolliver offers to stake him. But Cramed remembers that it was Cy who left him to die. "We ain't getting nothing going, Cy," he says. "All I came back for was my things, and you thrown those out too." Exhausted, Doc Cochran, the Reverend Smith and Calamity Jane continue to tend to the sick. The matter is complicated somewhat by Smith's seizures, which the Doc attributes to a lesion, but the reverend feels may be divinely inspired. As Bullock recounts to Star the story of the Indian who fought him to avenge his friend, he becomes increasingly emotional; something has crystallized for the former lawman. Striding to the Gem, he asks for a private moment with Swearengen, and informs the saloon boss that he is holding him responsible for the outcome of the widow's claim. "She gets a square deal, or I come for you," Bullock says. "And what if I come for you," Swearengen says. "Are you ready for that?" Flora, the sweet little girl, has advanced to turning tricks, but returns to her prim self to pick up her brother from work at The Gem. Her fresh-faced brother Miles greets her, and without changing his expression, asks, under his breath. "Which place'd make a better score?" "Where I'm working," Flora replies. "But why not take 'em both?" In Alma Garret's room, Trixie announces that she is headed back to the Gem. Alma offers to finance a trip for Trixie to leave Deadwood with the Metz girl, but Trixie is angry at Alma- for her stubbornness and for her inability to understand Trixie's situation. After blowing up at the widow, she touches the little girl goodbye. "She's about to say her name," she says to Alma. "Think of selling. If you took the money, you could hear her say it."
Suffer the Little Children
In the Gem's back office, Swearengen rebukes Dority for losing his head over the girl Flora. "You might, Dan, want to learn how to indicate interest in a girl without murdering another person." Also on hand is E.B. Farnum, who is extremely agitated. He suggests murdering Alma Garret and Seth Bullock in their sleep for their unwillingness to sell the widow's claim, but Al and Dority look skeptical. Celebratory gunshots interrupt, as one of the gangs of men sent for smallpox vaccine has arrived back in town. "We'll be celebratin' a treaty, too, with the f*ckin' heathens," one of them reports to Swearengen, who is very pleased by the news. Sitting down with Farnum, Swearengen tells the hotelier that with a treaty, their fortunes are bright-the only thing that would ruin things is "unnecessary bloodshed." He also says that Bullock will be "the perfect fucking front man" for the future thriving Deadwood. Much as they want the widow's claim, it's a luxury now to forgo. A pale Flora arrives at the Bella Union, telling Joanie she's seen a man killed. After some fawning and flirting, she asks the madam if she can stay with her until it's time to get up. Joanie agrees, and ends up holding the girl through the night. With Andy Cramed keeping order, townspeople line up at Bullock's store to receive the smallpox shot. Bullock meets Alma Garret in line with the Metz girl, and the widow explains that she has decided "for reasons we needn't explore" to return with the child to New York City. She has also decided to take Farnum's last offer for her claim. Bullock, however, refuses to stand off, saying he made a promise to Bill to have the property assayed. Trixie, meanwhile, has been missing since her blow-up with Alma, and though Swearengen has dispatched people to look for her, it is Doc Cochran who finds her-unconscious on his office floor with an arm full of opium. "You botched the job pretty good," the Doc says to her, and she listens, barely aware, as he suggests going to New York with the widow Garret. In the morning, Flora dresses for work, and Cy seems suspicious of the girl's professed innocence, a notion borne out when the young girl snarls obscenities at some of the other working girls. Later, when her over-amorous John pesters her, she tells him to "Get away from me before I cut your f*cking heart out." Flora tells her brother that it's time to hit the Bella Union. "I can move the dyke," she says. "She held me all night like I was a f*cking kid." Miles disagrees, arguing that if they take it slow they can be 50 miles away before they're discovered, but Flora says her boss is onto her. "You're full of shit," he says. "You want to do it fast and dirty so we have to cut somebody's throat." Swearengen has arranged for Ellsworth to assay the Garret claim, and Bullock, Dority and the old prospector head out to the site. Ellsworth is nervous, but Dority tells him not to worry, and the band soon discovers the huge gold strike. Later Bullock knocks at the widow's door. "Don't sell, Mrs. Garret," he says, and shows her a bag filled with nuggets. . Alma and Bullock discuss her plans; she admits that she would like to stay, but that she has to take care of the girl. "Why can't you care for her here?" he asks. Later Bullock shares a drink with Swearengen. "If the treaty is signed, it would be wise for you and me to paddle in the same direction," the saloon boss says. Bullock asks him to guarantee Alma Garret's safety, and Swearengen agrees. Recovering in the Doc's office, Trixie receives a visit from Alma and the girl. The widow tells her that she has decided to stay, but that she would be grateful if Trixie would stay with them. As an alternative, she offers to finance her escape from Deadwood, and gives her a huge nugget as a start. Even the Metz girl adds to the plea, breaking her silence by saying, "Trixie." She then adds her own name: "Sophia." Trixie says she wants to think things through. Flora tells Joanie she is quitting; moments later she is stealing the madam's jewelry. Joanie is unflustered, but upset, telling the girl to put down the valuables and she'll let her go. "Why don't you let me go, with your things, and shut your fucking mouth," the girl suggests. "Because I remind you of whoever I remind you of." Joanie implores her to stop."You're going to die here," she says, but Flora pulls a knife on her and walks out. Out in the saloon, Cy Tolliver is not quite so understanding. "It don't feel right to me babe," he says, and slaps her viciously. Flora responds by stabbing him in the leg and making a break with her brother, but they are both quickly captured and savagely beaten in the street. Taking them inside, Tolliver finishes the job, taunting and relentlessly beating the two, and finally shooting Miles. Giving the gun to Joanie, he tells her to put the terribly beaten girl out of her misery. Joanie shoots her and nearly shoots herself, but Tolliver stops her. When things settle, Cy is apologetic to Joanie, explaining that he did what he had to do. Telling his madam that her happiness is important to him, he offers to set her up in a business of her own. But Joanie is unswayed by the offer. "Kill me too, Cy, or let me go," she says. "If you don't kill me or let me go, I'm going to kill you." As night comes in, and Alma Garret puts Sophia to bed, she spots Trixie in the street. Doc Cochran, on his rounds, notices her, too. The two watch Trixie as she works her way through the muddy settlement, slowing occasionally until, finally she arrives at her destination, walking through the threshold of the Gem Saloon.
No Other Sons or Daughters
Waking up and getting dressed the morning following Trixie's return, Al Swearengen is agitated: the United States government is poised make an agreement with the Indians to annex the Black Hills-- and therefore Deadwood-- and Swearengen is to meet with a magistrate to discuss the matter. "It'll be different after the annexation, that's all," Al says, nervously. When the magistrate arrives, he lays out the thinking of the legislature. Should the treaty be accepted, the rule of the land will be "you're on it, and you improve it, you own it." Of course, nothing is that simple, and a steady supply of bribes will likely be required to grease the wheels of progress. Also, an ad hoc government will need to be established, to show that there is something to build on. The magistrate also mentions that an arrest warrant has appeared in Yankton accusing Swearengen of a murder in Chicago. Dealing with that will require $5,000. At the Grand Central, Bullock introduces Alma to Ellsworth, explaining that he is the man that found the gold on her claim. Ellsworth can work her claim to retain her title, Bullock says, if she trusts him. Alma and Ellsworth hit it off quickly. Farnum's employee, expresses his excitement to have rediscovered a letter that Hickok wrote to his wife just hours before his death. A letter he was supposed to mail out for Mr. Hickok. Farnum berates him for having the letter, and then summarily pockets it. With a bad eye and a bad arm, the Reverend's health continues to deteriorate, and he is beginning to imagine that his body is emitting an odor of decay. He also frets that he no longer feels the full love of Christ when he reads his scriptures. He quickly annoys Jane with his delusions and she wastes no time in cursing him out for being a fool and for hiding his condition from Doc Cochran. Joanie Stubbs decides to take Tolliver up on his offer and goes off in search of a location. While walking around Deadwood, she runs into Charlie Utter, himself busy with his new business, Utter's Freight and Postal Delivery Service. Back at The Gem, Swearengen has assembled the Deadwood's leaders. "We're forming structure enough to convince those territorial f*cks in Yankton that we're worthy enough to pay them their f*cking bribes," he says. The first order of business is appointments, and Farnum immediately request the position of Mayor. Since there are no immediate objections, the hotelier is given the title. The rest of the "elections" continue similarly until all posts are filled, with Utter serving as Fire Commissioner and Bullock on board as Health Commissioner-only, he says, because he didn't want to be made Sheriff.< After the appointments, life returns to normal in Deadwood. Business continues at The Gem, and Trixie is back on the job. Starr goes to the Gem to see Trixie, but she does her best to discourage him. "I don't want what I can't have," she says. Smith's health issues continue, and Cochran finally feels the need to step in. He examines the Reverend, but Smith seems to attribute his physical and mental problems to the will of God. Cochran doesn't take to this explanation, but he also realizes that there isn't much he can do without Smith's full cooperation. The execution of Flora and Miles is still weighing heavily on the mind of Eddie Sawyer. He sits in the Bella Union with a morose look on his face, greatly angering Tolliver. Later, Cy confronts and insults Eddie. Their job is to sell the illusion of a fresh start, he tells Joanie; now people close to him seem to be believing the illusion themselves. At the end of a long binge, Calamity Jane decides it's time to ride out of town. "The direction of this camp makes me f*cking sick," she says. "And it bores the shit out of me." She runs into Utter, but he's unable to convince her to stay and continue her work with Cochran. She says her goodbyes to her former running partner, and staggers off into the night. Bullock visits Alma in her room to check up on her, and see if she feels that Ellsworth is capable of working her claim. Uncomfortable in their mutual attraction, Bullock and Alma talk a bit, and the widow stiffens upon learning that Bullock has a wife and a son in Michigan, and that he has written them to come join him. As he leaves, Bullock explains that his wife is his brother's widow, and that the child isn't actually his. The pair lingers over their goodbyes, and Bullock leaves her clearly unnerved.
Mr. Wu
It's the breakfast hour in an ever-more-crowded Deadwood, but Seth Bullock is having trouble pulling himself away from his work as health commissioner. "What was in my mind to raise my hand," he asks aloud to Sol. On the way to the Grand Central for a meal, Bullock outlines a couple of his ideas for improving the town to E.B. Farnum, but the spurious mayor is loath to divert any tax money away from bribes to the magistrates. An angry Mr. Wu causes an uproar by using the front door of the Gem and calling for Swearengen; Al invites the man up to his office. Drawing pictures on a piece of paper, Wu furiously explains that two white "c*cksuckers" killed his courier and stole an opium shipment-much of which was destined for Swearengen. Al sends Wu on his way - out the back door-and calls for Dority to scare up the dope fiend Jimmy Irons. Bullock, Star and the newspaperman Merrick share breakfast in the Grand Central, which is packed to the rafters. Bullock gives Merrick a letter to the editor in an effort to build support for his health proposals. Later, as the three take a walk with Charlie Utter, Merrick proposes the formation of Deadwood's first club-perhaps dedicated to walking-but the idea falls flat with the others. Swearengen and Farnum are stuffing bribe envelopes when the two "bagmen" from the magistrate arrive. Al becomes furious when he reads a letter from the magistrate, and curses the messenger, Silas Adams. Later, the junkie Irons has been produced. Swearengen asks about the whereabouts of fellow dope fiend Leon, who deals Faro at the Bella Union. Jimmy says he hasn't seen him, but Swearengen immediately sees through him. "Jimmy, you've been wrong since you got in here," he says. The junkie quickly caves and admits that he and Leon jumped the courier, and promises to bring Al whatever is left. The Gem has a surprise guest in Reverend Smith, who is having a world of a time listening to the piano, despite his obviously worsening condition. Swearengen asks Smith to frequent another joint, as men of the cloth are bad for business. Now holed up in the Grand Central, Joanie entertains her old friend Eddie, telling him that she doesn't want Cy Tolliver to back her new whorehouse. Eddie tells her that he'll bankroll her. "I'm gonna rob Cy," he says. Joanie tries to talk him out of it, but he seems to have made up his mind. After interrogating the two hapless dope-heads, Al Swearengen heads to Chinatown to talk to Wu. He tells the man he can kill one of the "c*cksuckers" who killed his courier, but that two whites for one Chinese was out of the question. Walking out of Wu's butcher shop with Dority, Al mutters, "Even money this will end up a bloodbath." Swearengen meets with Cy to determine which dope fiend will go. Cy, having no financial interest in the dope trade, says he will take the moral high ground: "I don't deliver white men to chinks," he says. But Al is determined to satisfy Wu. "I'm a purveyor of spirits, dope included, and when chance affords, a thief, but I ain't no fucking hypocrite," he says. Reverend Smith is back in the Gem, wildly enjoying the piano, which seems to make many observers uncomfortable. Al chews him out, but it is clear the Reverend is losing touch with reality; Doc Cochran says he believes it's a tumor. Watching Deadwood from the porch of their store, Bullock and Star talk. Bullock is irritated at his own "meddlesome" nature. He's moved 300 miles just to get himself mixed up in town planning again. Now a wife and kid he barely knows are moving coming out as well. Maybe, he says, he's just borrowing his brother's life so he doesn't have to live one of his own. Back at the Gem, Swearengen explains his outburst to the bagman Adams, who acknowledges that the magistrate is less than straightforward. Al reveals that the letter demanded more money to settle an older murder warrant, and goes on to tell Adams about his difficulties with Wu and Tolliver. He invites the newcomer to the bathhouse where the two opium addicts are enjoying a bath in a state of intoxication. Swearengen tells the men they must draw straws to see who will apologize to Wu, and after Jimmy selects one, Al holds him under and drowns him. As he explains to Adams on the walk home, he elected to kill his own man to avoid giving Tolliver an excuse to go to war. Delivering Jimmy Irons to Wu's pigs, Swearengen seems to have dealt with the politically charged situation and Wu gruffly bows in thanks to 'Swurgin.' "Yeah, well," Al replies, "Swurgin hopes we didn't sign ourselves up for killing, too."
Jewel's Boot Is Made for Walking
As day breaks over camp, Trixie stands at the window reporting Deadwood's activities to Al, who is in bed describing the Chicago murder that led to the warrant for his arrest. Complaining about the treachery of the magistrate, he moans that he's "never going to be able to f*cking operate in peace." One of the residents observed by Trixie is Jewel, who struggles through town on her bad leg all the way to Doc Cochran's. She has a book that describes leg braces, and she is hoping that the Doc can fabricate one for her, so her leg dragging won't continue to irritate Swearengen. But Cochran tells her that the devices won't work for her. In Farnum's dining room, Joanie and Charlie Utter share breakfast, as do Alma Garret, Sophie and Ellsworth. The old prospector tells Alma that his work on her claim is just about done, and that it is time to sink some shafts. Alma affectionately entreats him to remain in her employ. Their discussion is interrupted when a surprise guest arrives: Alma's father, Otis Russell. Silas Adams, the magistrate's bagman-and Swearengen's latest protege-visits Al at the Gem. What message does Swearengen want to send to the magistrate? "Tell him no more envelopes, and go f*ck himself," Al says. Adams, who understands that Swearengen is not just posturing, tells him that people in Yankton believe he is the person to deal with in Deadwood. And, he adds, "It's just the magistrate that can earn on that warrant. No one else knows about it." The two agree on a deal to get rid of the magistrate, after haggling over the price-with Al offering $2,000, and Silas thinking $20,000. "Take the two," Al says. "You gotta believe you're opening the door to your future. And making hundreds of thousands back and forth between here and Yankton." Visiting Alma's room, her father jokes that he always knew she'd end up in a boarding house with a farmer's child and a bonanza of gold. After examining a nugget, he tells his daughter that there has been talk that she had something to do with her husband's death. "You have to admit, it's a suspicious sequence," he says. Charlie Utter, who says he's not making any friends in town in his new role as fire commissioner, threatens to fine Tom Nuttall if he doesn't make his saloon safer. Nuttall is nearly inconsolable. "Jesus Christ almighty, that's the kind of sh*t that ran me out of Wilkes Barre," he says. Con Stapleton, who is on hand, tells him that this is where the camp is headed, and offers a novel solution. Have Al Swearengen appoint him Sheriff, and he'll use his influence to help Nuttall. The junkie Leon returns to Cy Tolliver's employ, but in a new capacity. His new job, Tolliver says, is "expressing your f*cking opinion." Leon is to stir outrage over Swearengen handing Jimmy Irons over to Wu. Nuttall convinces Al to make Stapleton Sheriff. "Truth is," he implores, "I feel like the camp's getting away from me." Al reluctantly agrees, but warns him not to expect Stapleton's loyalty. "Press your luck no further," he says, allowing the new officer to be sworn in at the Gem. "Don't expect me to attend." At the hardware store, Trixie visits Sol. "Anyways, would you like a free f*ck?" she asks after a bit of small talk. Star is taken aback, but he locks up the store and they are soon going at it-at least until Bullock walks in and catches them in fligrante. Shuffling out, Bullock wanders to the Gem, where he learns of Stapleton's swearing in. He confronts Al about the appointment, and Swearengen supports Bullock for the job, but the former lawman emphatically rejects the idea. Reverend Smith is worse than ever, twitching and repeating scripture manically. Weaving with whiskey, Swearengen watches from his balcony as the Reverend delivers a sermon to an oxen. Al seems unable to stop watching Smith, and becomes emotional as the rant continues. He drinks more and more, confronting Trixie and then Sol about their tryst. "What can any one of us really f*cking hope for," he says, clearly upset over Trixie's betrayal. "Except a moment here and there with a person who doesn't want to rob, steal or murder us." Lashing out at Trixie he tells her to get back to work: "You sleep tonight amongst your own." Alma's father invites Bullock to dinner, and Farnum immediately recognizes Russell as a fellow swindler. Ignoring Alma, Otis discusses her future with Bullock, and Alma is quickly brought back to a world where women sit silently as men make decisions. "If we didn't hate them too much to be curious about the world," she muses to Sophie as she watches her father and Bullock smoking cigars on the street, "We'd wonder what they had to say." Eddie returns to the Bella Union and immediately begins palming chips at the gaming tables, "for the Joanie Stubbs construction fund." Leon has loudly begun his work as anti-Swearengen agitator. Bullock tells Star about Alma's unsavory father. "Cold enough world without gettin' done against by your own," he says. Back at the Gem, Al's day ends as it began, but Trixie has been replaced, and he is under a whiskey-induced full head of steam. Rambling about the Reverend, he launches into a profanity laced, semi-coherent history of his youth in a boy's orphanage in Chicago, all the while being serviced by his new companion. "Anyways," he slurs, pulling a slug from another bottle of whiskey. "I don't look backwards."
Sold Under Sin
As false dawn enters Deadwood, Al Swearengen is at his usual post at the Gem's balcony, staring out over the nearly silent town. Not far away, Reverend Smith lies in Doc Cochran's office, twisting and talking deliriously. The Doc is clearly upset by the grim spectacle. A small band of cavalry officers ride into town; Al seems to have expected them. "Tell Johnny brew some coffee, open some peaches," he calls out to Dority. The party includes the Yankton magistrate, Clagett, and General Crook, who is leading a force seeking reprisals against the Indians for Little Big Horn. As the officers make arrangements to give the troops a respite in town-but not one that will lead them to "balk at re-harness," warns the general-Al seeks a moment with the magistrate. He learns that the bagman Silas Adams has not conveyed his message to the official, so Al is forced to deliver it himself. On the issue of additional bribes to quash the murder warrant, he can go f*ck himself. Unsure if the double-crossing Adams has double-crossed him, Al makes it clear to Clagett that more is at stake than a few orders. But the magistrate is unfazed: "You can't murder an order, " he says. As the meeting breaks up, Al apparently disagrees. "The f*cking magistrate don't go back to Yankton alive," he says, to no one in particular. Cochran arrives at the Gem with Jewel's new boot brace and delivers a forceful lecture about reporting any problems. Afterward, he speaks with Swearengen about the reverend, asking him to arrange a girl to care for him, at the doc's expense. Al feigns indifference. "A human being in his last extremity is a bag of shit," he says, but he still accepts the arrangement. Alma's father Otis offers to handle the "man's work" of mining Alma's claim, but the pretense of paternal warmth is quickly dropped between the two. Russell is in substantial debt again--$47,000 worth-and Alma will bail him out again, or he will create problems in New York. The daughter is horrified, but agrees, with the stipulation that he remove himself-in writing-from the venture. Otis's reply mingles insult and threat, with a razor thin veneer of affection. "No darling, you'll help me, and you'll have no such thing." Shaking and weeping, she picks up Sophia and rushes from the boarding house, straight to Bullock's store. Bullock is incensed, more so than Sol has seen before. He demands to speak with Otis Russell, who suavely informs him that it would not look very good if Alma's father was injured by her agent in the wake of her husband's suspicious murder. Blithely condescending to Bullock, he asks him if he was bullied as a youth, since he now seems so interested in setting everyone's business straight. Threatening to lie about Alma's involvement Brom Garret's murder, he dares Bullock to take a swing at him, smugly assuming that Bullock will do no such thing in the middle of Tolliver's casino. But Russell has misjudged Bullock, who not only strikes the man, but savagely pounds his face until he is left gurgling and spitting teeth on the floor. Finally stopping, he is barely in control. "Leave this camp," he says. "And draw a map for anyone who wants to believe your lies...and tell 'em I'll be here waiting." Walking out, Bullock sees that Tolliver's efforts at creating hostility toward the Chinese are coming to fruition. Con Stapleton has shot a Chinese citizen who was in an altercation with Leon and the ersatz sheriff is threatening others. Bullock confronts Stapleton and pulls off his badge, throwing it in the mud. Still incensed, Bullock makes his way to the Gem, and tells Dority that if Otis Russell lives, he's going to end up investigating who did in Brom Garret. Dority asks Seth if he wants him to tell Al that Russell's luck has run out. "I don't swim in that shit," Bullock says. But the two understand each other: "You ought to pin that on your chest," Dority says of the silver star clutched in Bullock's hand. "You're hypocrite enough to wear it." Wu has gone to Al for help, but the situation is out of Swearengen's hands. "When did you start thinking every wrong had a remedy, Wu?" he yells as the man leaves. "Did you come to camp for justice? Or to make your way?" Finally settling down, Bullock realizes he has gone too far. "What kind of man have I become?" he asks Sol. "I don't know," he friend replies. "The day ain't fucking over." At the Gem, Swearengen has problems on every flank. Tolliver's moving on Chinatown and soliciting a garrison of soldiers to help with enforcement. Clagett is threatening to enforce the warrant; Russell could be bringing trouble to town. Dority offers to walk over and take 'em all down at once. Meanwhile at the Bella Union, General Crook has taken a dim view of Tolliver's plan to garrison troops in town to fight "lawlessness." The offer of $50,000 in gold doesn't change his mind. In fact, his soldiers have already begun deserting to the gold fields and casinos, and the general has decided to bivouac out of town. Bullock interrupts Crook's dinner to ask him to take Russell under his protection, explaining that he himself is among those who seek to harm him. Impressed by Bullock's story, the general suggests that the former marshal take on the responsibility of sheriff. "We all have bloody thoughts," he says. Bullock visits Alma and tells her of his conversation with Crook, and says that they will deal with her father later if he decides to act against her interests. With the attraction between them irresistible, Bullock stumbles. "I stand before you a married man....," he says. But the two are soon kissing passionately and undressing. Trixie takes care of the Reverend, but he is clearly on his last legs. Across town, Doc Cochran is kneeling in anguished prayer, asking for Smith to be taken from his pain, and recalling the hundreds of screams he witnessed on the battlefield. He doesn't know that at that moment, Al has been summoned to the reverend's room. Filled with emotion, he takes Smith in his arms, then holds a cloth over his face to smother him. "You can go now, brother," he says gently. Wiping his eyes, Al walks upstairs to face other business. The magistrate has arrived, and joining Silas Adams in the Gem's office, it is time to sort out who sides with whom. In short order, Adams cuts Clagett's throat and removes the warrant from the magistrate's pockets. As the troops muster and leave town, Bullock visits Swearengen. Explaining that Russell is under Crooks' protection, he says he'll be dealt with if he returns. "The way you and Hickok dealt with Ned Mason?" Swearengen surmises. "No," Bullock says. "I'll be the f*cking sheriff."
A Lie Agreed Upon: Part 1
Seth Bullock's growing affection for the widow Alma Garret finds full expression. Even as a stagecoach bearing Bullock's stepson and wife-the widow of his brother-heads toward Deadwood, Bullock makes passionate love to Alma in her hotel room at the Grand Central. Their lovemaking is so exuberant that it threatens to bring down the ceiling on Sofia and her new tutor, Miss Isringhausen, as they sit beneath the bedroom in the hotel lobby, trying to concentrate on Sofia's lesson. The ever-watchful E.B. Farnum also notices the commotion upstairs and comments about the impending shipment of Garret's gold to Denver. Elsewhere in town, other eyes scan the distance for the approaching stagecoach. Joanie Stubbs, now intent on separating from the increasingly poisonous Cy Tolliver, anxiously awaits the arrival of three prostitutes and an old friend, Maddie, who will serve as the madam in her new brothel. At the Gem, Al Swearengen is in a particularly foul mood as he learns that Governor Pennington of the Dakota Territory has divided the hill country around Deadwood into three counties, each with its own Commissioner. Not only is Al upset by the inexorable encroachment of civilization on the perfect little corner of hell he controls, but by the fact that all three of the Commissioners hail from Yankton and without representation from the Hills, which means they're less susceptible to his bribes or threats. Dority, looking to cheer Al, points out that it "saves time travelin' to the one destination-- murder the three of 'em, 'see how they like being Commissioners after they're dead." When he steps on to the balcony outside his office, Al's mood is not lifted by his view: workers have begun putting up telegraph poles. "Messages from invisible sources," he says disgustedly. "What some people think of as progress...." And when Bullock, fresh from his tryst, steps out of the Grand Central wearing his Sheriff's badge, Swearengen's rage boils over. "Our sheriff, about his duties to the camp," he says loudly. "Lucky trouble didn't jump off earlier, eh Bullock? Might've found you mid-thrust at other business," he says, glancing towards the widow Garret's window. Outraged by the public insult, Bullock stares so hard at Swearengen even Al is unnerved. "What is it? Taken by a vision? You wouldn't want to be staring like that at me." But Bullock is on an official mission, having heard a gunshot, and strides away angrily to investigate. What he finds at the No. 10 saloon is a practical joke gone very wrong. Warned that he would be shot if he urinated in the saloon's cuspidor again, a man named Slippery Dan has switched coats with fellow sot Bummer Dan and dared him to relieve himself in the establishment. The challenge was taken, according to witnesses--and Bummer Dan was promptly shot by Harry Young the bartender. Dismissing the matter, Bullock heads back to the Gem to even the score with Swearengen. Trixie alerts Bullock's partner, Sol Star, and Charlie Utter attempts to dissuade Bullock, to no avail. In short order, Bullock and Swearengen are fighting like rabid dogs, falling from the Gem's balcony into the muddy street, where they flail at each other. Bullock, bloodied and broken-nosed, gets the best of an even bloodier Swearengen, whose ribs are fractured in the fall. Into this chaos arrives the stagecoach. Dority is aiming his rifle at Bullock, ready for the kill, when Adams bearhugs him from behind. "Ain't your kill," he tells Dority. Star, with his tiny Derringer drawn, advances on the scene, and is felled by a shot from Johnny Burns, who then takes down Charlie Utter, wounding him slightly. As the stage pulls up, Swearengen looks up from the carnage. "Welcome to f*cking Deadwood," he offers the stunned passengers by way of greeting. The arrival proves to be fortuitous. Swearengen, bested in the battle, has pulled a concealed knife and is advancing on Bullock, but stops when his eye is caught by Bullock's son William, whose look of terror and fear causes something in Al to disarm. He passes Bullock and limps back inside the Gem. Bullock, in sorry shape himself, is reunited with his wife and stepson. And Joanie, to the surprise and consternation of Tolliver, is reunited with her friend Maddie. Bullock and Swearnengen minister their wounds while Doc Cochran tends to Star and Utter, neither seriously wounded. Farnum reports back to Swearengen that Bullock intends to return and retrieve his gun and badge. "Did it sound like he be coming back for more?" Swearengen wants to know. He also has noticed the new whores on the stagecoach, and demands to know where they'll be working. Meanwhile, Alma Garret is undone by the afternoon's events. The transformation of her new lover to a bloody, broken mess and the extraordinary complication of his wife and child having arrived on the scene have left her a bit daunted. Under the guise of delivering a welcome gift to Bullock's wife Martha, Alma visits the hardware store for a closer perspective, leading to an awkward moment between the three adults. At the Bella Union, Tolliver's rage over Joanie's impending departure is masked by a sarcastic facade. Feigning gentility, he asks Maddie if he could speak with Joanie alone. "Suck some pr*cks if you like, and keep whatever they give you. My way of saying welcome." Maddie responds with her own sarcasm: "Any blind ones out there?" Tolliver is suspicious about who is bankrolling Joanie's venture, suspecting the recently departed dealer Eddie Sawyer. "I knew Eddie'd been stealing from me. And he flees, and you turn up owning that place," he says. After hectoring her further, he decides to let her go: "I feel like a boy. I feel like skipping, I'm that f*cking hopeful and excited for you." To celebrate Joanie's departure, he breaks out a bottle of champagne, but insists on pouring it in the mouths of Joanie, Maddie, the new ladies and the whores Joanie is taking with her from the Bella Union. He also insists that Joanie take the whore Doris with her, too. "Being funds stole from me by Eddie put the Chez Ami on its feet, I consider myself an investor, and I will have my interest looked to-sixty cents from dollar one-and a true count f*cking verified." Bullock escorts his wife and boy to the new house he's built for them, but excuses himself rather than go in with them just yet. Departing the house, he walks back to the Grand Central and into the waiting arms of Alma.
A Lie Agreed Upon: Part 2
Swearengen licks his wounds following the battle with Bullock and inquires of Doc Cochran as to Bullock's well-being. "Inform that fucking lunatic next you see him I'm fit as a fucking fiddle and ready to play on," he says. Cochran is more concerned with Swearengen's difficulty urinating, but is interrupted by the arrival of Farnum, reporting in that Bullock has returned to the widow Garret's hotel room. "I can't say if they 're in rut-I didn't linger for the song of the bedstead." In fact, Bullock and Alma are discussing their future, and she is shocked by his proposal: "We leave the camp, immediately, or remain and sever connection." To continue in this manner, Bullock says of his wife, would "renew her humiliation daily." At the hardware store, Trixie ministers to Star's wounds, and Utter and Merrick discuss Bullock's intention to recover his weapon and badge from the Gem, where he left them before the battle with Swearengen. Bullock arrives and asks his partner Star if, should Bullock disappear, Star will take care of Martha and her son with his share of the hardware store. Star, emboldened by painkillers, insists that Bullock acknowledge directly what he is only hinting at. "I'm sick of knowing and your not saying," Star says. Whereupon Bullock finally admits: "I love her." "Good. You fucking said it," Star says. "So now I can tell you you're wrong. You loved her these months and stayed. Ain't love make you run, but shame. And now let me ask you this-you think shame would end when you cleared the fucking camp?" Bullock admits that either way-staying or going-"It's shameful." Departing the store, Bullock is joined by Charlie Utter, who feigns illness in an attempt to delay Bullock's return to the Gem to retrieve his gun. The two end up sitting outside the building housing Utter's freight business while Bullock reminisces about his late brother until he's overcome with grief. Across town, Maddie, Joanie Stubbs and the whores begin the job of transforming raw space into the Chez Ami, the high-class brothel they envision. Farnum skulks outside to learn what he can of their progress, while inside, four laborers do the heavy work. When one of them asks to be paid in pussy for his efforts, Joanie Stubbs tells him: "You let it be known in camp. 'Close to pussy as two bucks'll get a man in here is a deep whiff walking past." Doc Cochran-performing an autopsy on the recently departed Bummer Dan-is interrupted by the return of Calamity Jane, so inebriated that she's has fallen from her mount and lies in the mud, one foot still tethered to her horse. "This happens to be a rig and contraption of my own devising against repeated accidental falls that has temporarily malfunctioned," she tells Cochran by way of explanation. Jane has come back to Deadwood to die, she says, and Cochran convinces her to let him examine her before she expires. When she resists, he tells her, "Even if you're past help, enhancing my understanding may allow others the benefit of your mortal illness." After examining her, the Doc suggests temperance on Jane's part: "Your liver runs from your chin to your genitals. I suggest you quit drinking." To which Jane responds: "I will when you do you ugly son-of-a-bitch." The Doc also informs Jane that Charlie Utter has saved a room for her should "you care to sojourn among us." Alma Garret agonizes in her hotel room over what course of action to take, trying out the options on Sofia's tutor, Miss Isringhausen, but coming to rest on the inevitable conclusion: "We do love each other. Our being together wouldn't seem so outlandish a proposition . . . except for every other single thing." Adams' man Hawkeye returns, explaining his disappearance with lame excuses. He so irritates Dority that the two begin to fight, Dority quickly dominating the proceedings, with Swearengen-despite pleas from Adams-refusing to intrude. When the drunk Slippery Dan wanders in and admires the beating Dority is handing out ("Chris, that's a country ass-kicking.") Adams unleashes his fury on Dan, impaling him on a set of antlers beside the bar. "He just twelve-pointed Slippery Dan," says Tom Nuttall in amazement. When Swearengen finally ends the fight by firing a rifle into the Gem's ceiling and warning Dority that the "next one's to your head Dan," Dority is undone. Convinced that Swearengen prefers Adams over him, Dority beats a hasty retreat from the room, weeping as he goes: "That's great, and fucking great, and fucking beautiful." Later, even as Mr. Wu's hogs are finishing up on Bummer Dan, Hawkeye arrives with Slippery Dan's corpse over his shoulders. After giving the Chinaman five dollars, he tosses the corpse into the pigpen. Swearengen, meanwhile, offers an apology of sorts to the bereft Dority. "Whatever lurks ahead of grievous abominations and disorder, you and me walk into it together, like always." At Utter's freight company, Bullock finally decides the time has come for him to retrieve his weapon and badge, whereupon Utter and Calamity Jane scramble to accompany him. As the trio arrives at the Gem, Swearengen is in the midst of a painful prostate massage at the hands of Dolly the whore, who soon moves on to more a more pleasurable Swearengen pursuit, namely fellatio. Bullock confronts Dority at the bar, who has rifles trained on both Jane and Utter. And as Jane is quick to mention, Burns has a bead on Bullock from the kitchen: "Be aware Bullock, some fungus-faced fuck has a rifle on you from this shit-box's version of a kitchen." Bullock exits and shouts up to Swearengen's office to be down in five minutes with Bullock's gun and badge or Bullock is coming up. He continues to shout out the minutes as Dolly attempts to bring Al to completion, and the distraction proves to be too much for Swearengen. "You talk about one person fucking up another person's entire fucking day," he shouts in frustration. Finally he gives up and when he emerges from the Gem, he actually apologizes to Bullock. "I regret the delay. I was sequestered. Have been, one thing and another, since last we met." And then, handing the gun and badge to Bullock, Swearengen utters conciliatory words: "I offer you these in hope you'll wear 'em for a good long fucking time, and in this fucking camp." Nearly dawn, and Bullock at last returns home, where Martha awaits. "I see that you installed a bundling board in the bed upstairs," she says to him. "I hope you don't mind that I removed it." "No," Bullock replies, as they head upstairs to bed.
New Money
Francis Wolcott, agent for the mining magnate George Hearst, arrives in Deadwood and is immediately fawned over by Farnum, who-not knowing who he's up against-sees in Wolcott's fancy leather bags and his stated intention to "locate and secure an assortment of claims" an easy mark. Observing them across the dining room during breakfast at the Grand Central are Joanie Stubbs and Maddie, who it turns out, knows Wolcott. After watching the interaction between Farnum and Wolcott, Maddie offers a prediction: "The man the Mayor expects to digest is going to toy and play with Mister Farnum from camouflage for as long as he finds it amusing and then make him a meal of his own." Across town at the Bullock resident, Martha and Seth sit down to breakfast, both with regrets over things said the previous day. "Representations I made, as to letters I'd written. I didn't," offers Bullock. "I'll be grateful," responds Martha, "if you'd not rely on my assurance I got them." And then she adds, "I'll hold my deepest gratitude Mister Bullock for what will let us live, as we are now." At the Gem, Swearengen is in a bad way, lying on the floor suffering from septic shock and kidney stones, barely able to speak. Because his reign is one of fear, his minions are reluctant to intrude when he fails to appear in the morning and ignores their knocks on his door. Bullock visits the Grand Central to call on the widow Garret. Richardson goes to fetch her but returns with Sofia and Miss Isringhausen instead, who informs Bullock that Alma is visiting her claim. She returns Bullock's timepiece, and though he is taken aback by the meaning of the gesture, he presses ahead with the message he'd intended for Alma, hoping to convince her to give up her child and depart with him: "As few children as are in the camp, certainly , if she decided it was appropriate, other parties would be delighted, and grateful." Maddie tells Joanie who Wolcott works for, and says that were it not for Wolcott's offer to pay for one of Maddie's girls to come to Deadwood that she herself might not have come. Wolcott, it seems, is "a specialist," someone, that is, who likes his sex a bit kinky. In Wolcott's case, he's a sadist: "Mister W enjoys being cranky with his women, but sometimes when disappointed, his crankiness runs away with him," Maddie says. Farnum, as yet unaware of Wolcott's eminent employer, wastes no time trying to run a con on him. For $10,000, he offers to sell Wolcott the letter written by Wild Bill Hickok that he's been holding, telling Wolcott that just before Hickok died, he revealed to Farnum that he'd discovered a quartz deposit which, in Bill's words, promised "wealth beyond counting." "How much wealth is that?" Farnum asks. "I don't know Mister Wolcott. I don't know how high Bill could count." Later, Wolcott returns with a cash-filled envelope and buys the letter, to the amazement of Farnum, who has no idea he's being set up. Later still, Wolcott returns again, feigning distress over having read the letter and found no mention of a quartz deposit. Farnum is disinclined to return Wolcott's money, but sits up straight when he learns that Wolcott purchased the letter as an agent for George Hearst. Farnum is apoplectic, and readily agrees to serve as Wolcott's agent in a scheme. "This service would enlist you and one or two others circulating certain rumors about the future of the camp," Wolcott says. "In particular, about the validity of the present titles to the claims." "Consider me enlisted," Farnum replies. At the Gem, Doc Cochran, with Jewel's help, persuades Dority that Swearengen may be in dire straits, and that his door must be broken down. Once inside, Cochran indeed finds Swearengen in a puddle of sweat on the floor, incoherent from septic shock. Cochran, fearing kidney stones may be causing Swearengen's bladder to back up, inserts a device through the penis and into the bladder, and relieves some of the pressure. Swearengen's agonizing cries echo through the streets of Deadwood, giving pause even to his enemies. Wolcott calls on Cy Tolliver at the Bella Union, who treats him rudely until discovering that Wolcott works for George Hearst. Wolcott, an odd duck who doesn't like to be touched, waves away Leon and Con Stapleton when Tolliver starts to introduce them. Wolcott wants the same thing from Tolliver that he wanted from Farnum: the rumor spread that Deadwood's gold claims may not be valid. The widow Garret surprises Ellsworth when she tells him she wants to buy the Grand Central Hotel. "I can think of better locations Ma'am, with friendlier views." "None," she replies, that would offer the further pleasure of putting Mister Farnum in the thoroughfare." Ellsworth tells her that "most of us got enough luck to be too broke to act on them-type ideas. The type the low-born would say we get when we're pissed off, though with my own aristocratic lineage, I use the term 'sore-disappointed.' " To which Alma replies: "I am pissed off." Stapleton and Leon take Tolliver's bait following his bizarre, rambling speech to the Bella Union's staff about people who might want to apply for severance and leave his employ. When they inquire as to the meaning of the outburst, Tolliver tells them of the "rumor" that Deadwood's gold claims may be invalid. Trixie shows up unbidden at the hardware store and asks Star if he'll teach her how to keep books. "I'll pay you, or you can take it out in c*nt," she tells him. "I won't teach you if you keep that up," Star replies, a judgment that angers Trixie. "F*ck every f*cking one of you. I wish I was a f*cking tree," she says, exiting angrily. Maddie welcomes Wolcott to the Chez Ami, where he's gone in search of the whore Carrie, whose passage to Deadwood he'd arranged. He is irritated to learn that she's has "been detained." When Joanie offers to f*ck him "for free," he tells her "you ain't my type," but nonetheless repairs to a private room with her. Forewarned by Maddie of his violent nature, Joanie is armed for the encounter-a Derringer hidden in her waistband. Unable to arouse Wolcott with conventional means, Joanie struggles to locate the nature of his desire, but he remains a mystery to her. Shortly, he dismisses her, but not before surprising her further by saying he admires that she came armed to their encounter. The widow Garret, irritated by what she perceives as Miss Isringhausen's judgmental attitude towards her and the way she conducts her affairs, fires the young woman. "I'll say good night then" Miss Isringhausen says. "As is your custom," Alma points out, "without having spared one affectionate look for my child." "My training, Ma'am," Miss Isringhausen responds, "is that, being engaged to see to the child's education, my soliciting her affections would intrude on the mother's province." Calamity Jane, in an encounter with Trixie, learns that Swearengen has a soft side she had not expected. According to Trixie, the reason Swearengen keeps Jewel around is not as a cheap trick for those unable to pay full freight. It's to protect her. "There's entries on both sides of the ledger is the f*cking point," Trixie says. Farnum, doing Wolcott's bidding, spreads further unrest by sharing Wolcott's "rumor" with Richardson, that Deadwood's gold claims are being overturned. Transparent as ever, Farnum then gives Richardson the night off and warns him to "confide in no one."
Requiem for a Gleet
Martha and Seth Bullock wake up together and Seth, intent on starting his day, is lured back to bed by his wife, to have a "conversation." At the Gem, Dolly and Trixie minister to a desperately ill Al Swearengen, who sweats and shivers and moans as the two whores mop his brow with cool water. Wolcott is confronted by Ellsworth, angry that Wolcott's been snooping around Alma Garret's gold claim without permission. His anger is further motivated by the fact that Wolcott, in mining the Comstock claim years earlier, had caused the death of 46 miners. At the Grand Central, Alma Garret formalizes her firing of Miss Isringhousen, but offers a generous severance package. Alma tells her: "Cotton Mather would have found hard and joyless the standards you so resolutely apply to me, and Sofia, and of course to yourself." The local thug known as Crop Ear comes calling on Swearengen for assistance in a criminal endeavor he plans. Dority tells him Al is away and to come back the next day, but that evening, Crop Ear is back, drunk this time, and irritating in the extreme to Dority. So irritating, in fact, that Dority slits his throat and then tells Burns: "Crop Ear's dying up there. Take him to the Chinaman and throw him away." Wolcott's favorite whore Carrie arrives in town, and when Wolcott asks he if can help her with her bags, she says, "No, you can't. Or look at me or talk to me 'til I've took a bath." Arriving on the same stage is Hugo Jarry, the Lawrence County Commissioner, who immediately seeks out Cy Tolliver at the Bella Union, where Tolliver is negotiating to buy a gold claim from a prospector. At the Chez Ami, Joanie Stubbs and Maddie argue over Joanie's encounter with Wolcott. Maddie is angry because she feared Joanie might kill Wolcott, whom, she describes as "a cruel and evil man," adding that "Before I go, I intend a long and comfortable retirement, and that cocksuck's going to pay the freight." At that very moment, Carrie arrives at the Chez Ami and says to all within earshot: "This whole place smells like shit." Silas Adams goes to the Gem to tell Al that Jarry is in town and up to no good. Asking Dority if he can speak with Al, the usual friction between the two kicks in, prompting Adams to ask: "Is there any fucking chance you and me don't end in blood?" After more harsh words, Dority lets Adams know that Swearengen is seriously ill. Alma Garret meets with Ellsworth and asks him about the rumors that Deadwood's gold claims may be in jeopardy. "Panic's easier on the back than the short-handled shovel," Ellsworth replies, explaining that rumors seem to accompany gold. He also tells her his suspicions about Francis Wolcott: "Nor the sort'd shrink from a lie, or more than one, to advance his purpose, or be ignorant how to circulate his falsehoods without others knowing their source." Upstairs at the Gem, Doc Cochran attends to an ever more desperate Swearengen. Unaware if Al can even hear him, Cochran says: "We come to a crises Al, and I have to say my piece." The options are not appealing: surgery to cut into the bladder and remove the stones, entering either above the penis or below it. Two of ten men survive the surgery, Cochran acknowledges, but "at what point, absent intervention, will your condition so deteriorate as to put you beyond recovery? I believe," Cochran adds, "that point approaches." At the Bella Union, Commissioner Jarry tells Tolliver and Wolcott of new rules that will apply to gold claims in the territory. Claims pre-dating the treaty with the Sioux will be deemed legitimate, and those filed afterward will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Overturned claims will be awarded at set prices, via lottery. Tolliver, hearing this, responds: "Better tell your friends and relatives to pick their lucky suits out for that drawing." To which Jarry-revealing at last his true loyalty-responds: "Only after Mister Wolcott's have picked out theirs." Jarry suggests that once people learn of his presence in Deadwood, those afraid of losing their claims altogether may sell out and leave anyway. "Would that argue for allowing word of my presence to circulate a bit before I present myself officially?" Tolliver's response: "A man might use that time to put some stink on his Johnson." Trixie visits Star at the hardware store to say she can't concentrate enough to sit for her accounting lesson. Weeping over Al's deteriorating condition, she tells Star: "He's too sick, maybe he'll fucking die but I can't stay, though it'd be smarter to stay and to learn to calculate fucking interest on that accommodation paper or discount notes or whatever the fuck." Seeing Bullock arrive, whom she dislikes intensely, she abruptly departs. Star tells Bullock that he has news from Denver about their proposal to start a bank. They must provide 15 percent of their proposed capitalization-$300,000 if they capitalize at $2 million-in order for Denver to underwrite their proposal. Star says Denver officials suggested they'd credit widow Garret's account as collateral, an idea Bullock flatly rejects. When Star says Swearengen would put up the money, Bullock winces, indicating he wants "reputable people." Star's response: "If money had to be clean before it was recirculated we'd still be living in fucking caves." Cochran, preparing for surgery, is outraged by Burns' suggestion that he have a whiskey to help steady his hand. "Whiskey does not steady the hand," the Doc replies. "It just dulls worry over the hand's unsteadiness." At the last minute before beginning surgery, Cochran decides to again insert an instrument into Al's bladder to dislodge the stones. Afterwards-with Dority and Burns on either side of Al-they get Swearengen to his feet and shout at him to pee. To everyone's amazement, he does, and blood, urine and kidney stones pour out of him. No one is more relieved that the Doc, who says: "God bless you Al, and thank you for saving me," A distraught Mr. Wu comes to see Al but is sent packing by Dority, who has difficulty understanding what he wants. A distraught Miss Isringhausen calls on Adams and convinces him that she's afraid for her life, that the widow Garret is going to kill her. "I know it seems impossible," she says, laying the groundwork for a plot, "but I can testify to you Mister Adams, I would not be the first she's killed." Miss Garret, in an encounter with the despised Farnum, tells him she wants to buy his hotel. And Wolcott tells Tolliver that a new Chinaman in town-Mister Lee-will now provide opium to Tolliver to sell in the camp, and that Tolliver and Mister Lee will split the proceeds from gambling and prostitution at a new place called Celestials' Alley. Wolcott visits the Chez Ami and has a sexual encounter of sorts with Carrie. She sits atop the fully clothed Wolcott and he orgasms almost immediately. "I'm too quick," he says to Carrie, who responds, "You can't be too quick for me." And then she says to him: "You might try sometime with your prick outside of your pants."
Complications
Al Swearengen returns to the land of the living, opening his eyes at last to find, hovering over him, an anxious Dority, Doc Cochran and Burns. "You fuck me while I was out," he asks Dority. " 'Cept for talking a little cockeyed," Burns observes of Al's slurred diction, "Al is back to his accustomed self." Swearengen at the moment is more interested in how he looks, and whether Bullock looks worse. Dority warns him that much has gone down while he's been incapacitated: "You got to bring all your fucking wiles to bear Al, 'cause developments need interpretating on every fucking front." Swearengen discovers his right arm is partially paralyzed although when Cochran asks if he can use it at all, Al manages—through sheer exertion of will-to raise his arm from the bed. Cochran's reassurance—"That's a good sign, Al" only irritates Swearengen. "Do not talk to me that way," Al warns. Based on the blood pooled in his eye, his uncertain speech and his partial paralysis, Cochran concludes that Al has had a small stroke. Unwilling to show weakness, Swearengen order the Doc to "keep bullshittiing" the rest of Deadwood and threatens him that "If this gets out, I'll slit your fucking throat, and I wield the blade good with my left." Cochran assures him the secret is safe. Al insists, "If I need it, you fucking kill me." At the Bella Union, Doris brings Tolliver his share of the weekly proceeds from the Chez Ami. Tolliver is both impressed and depressed by the amount. "You wouldn't s'pose they'd be salting the fucking find over there, now would you Doris?" Doris pleads ignorance, but Tolliver does learn from her that Wolcott has abused her. "There's a man with a problem, ain't it Doris." And to himself, hatching a plot: "Jesus Christ. Can I be that fucking lucky." County commissioner Jarry, newly arrived, pays a call on Merrick, insisting that he run, on the front page, what appears to be a legal notice. Written in impenetrable legalese, it purports to call into question the legitimacy of Deadwood gold claims, although a careful reading by Merrick leads to the conclusion that the statement means not much of anything. At the Grand Central, Farnum rehearses his lines turning down the widow Garret's offer to buy his hotel. Suddenly Garret arrives in the lobby and inquires if Richardson can accompany her on a few errands. At the hardware store she finds Trixie, being tutored in bookkeeping, and sharp enough to quickly discern the nature of Alma's visit: "Are you knocked up?" When Alma admits she is pregnant, Trixie inquires as to why she hasn't taken "your tale of woe to the Doc?" Alma explains that a childhood ailment may have made rendered her incapable of having children, and that she hasn't sought out Cochran as she fears he may have judged her harshly when she was a drug addict. Trixie, an old hand at abortions via a botanical concoction, is hardly reassuring: "I can tell you this much Mrs. Garret-if you take the tea, lay plenty of dope in beforehand, 'cause I've killed seven and every bleeding out I laced on good and tight and for a good long fucking while after." Angrier than ever, Trixie storms over to Doc Cochran's office, telling him that Alma, in need of help, is reluctant to call on him because he was judgmental during her opiate withdrawal. "I'll call on her," Cochran says. "On some other fucking pretext," Trixie insists. As Trixie departs, Cochran shouts after her: "You have as miserable a disposition as your employer." Later, however, under the guise of checking up on young Sofia, Cochran visits the Alma Garret, but finds she is not yet ready to reveal the nature of her predicament. Miss Isringhausen seduces Silas Adams at the Grand Central. When Adams is apologetic afterwards, he is assured: "You took no more advantage of me, Silas, than the Samaritan did the traveler from Jerusalem." She also tells Adams that the widow Garret claims she hired Al Swearengen to murder her husband, and asks if Adams will introduce her to Swearengen. "Why do I feel lucky," says an incredulous Adams, "we didn't meet across a poker table?" An African-American named Samuel Fields but known as Nigger General, returns to Deadwood and pays for a mount he'd rented weeks earlier from a livery stable owned by another African American, Hostetler. Encountering Calamity Jane, who as usual is hitting the bottle, Fields asks if she'll sell it to him. "You ain't buying it but you can have a fucking drink." At the Bella Union, with Jarry observing, Wolcott peruses the bills of sale for gold claims Tolliver has bought from miners spooked into selling cheap by the rumors Tolliver has spread. The claims, of course, are intended for Wolcott's employer, George Hearst. Jarry notes that Merrick resisted running in his newspaper an "official" statement from Yankton that Jarry pushed on him. "That the Yankton statement might cause unease among the local claimholders as to the security of their titles, Mister Merrick found personally distressing," Jarry notes. And so it is, they learn moments later, when Tolliver's man Leon interrupts to say that "people are fucking riled." They want "to know where he is and who the fuck he thinks he is," he says, indicating Jarry. The locals indeed are restive. "New county commissioner give Merrick a fucking 'statement' mitigating us into an ass-fucking," says one. Burns, observing the growing tumult from Swearengen's balcony, informs Al that trouble is brewing, and also that the county commissioner is in town. When Swearengen learns that the commissioner is at the Bella Union, he surmises-correctly-that Tolliver and the commissioner are in cahoots, and orders Dority to fetch Bullock at once. When shortly Bullock arrives at the Gem, Swearengen tells him he doesn't want Jarry harmed, and asks Bullock if he's aware that Jarry and Tolliver are allies. When Bullock replies no, Al tells him: "Bedridden I know more than you." Swearengen's concern is that if the government knows Jarry is allied with Tolliver and harm befalls him, Al will take the blame. The crowd, angry now and in possession of the knowledge that Jarry is in fact inside the Bella Union, heads over without further ado. Finding Jarry inside a cashier's cage, they turn it over and fall upon Jarry, with every intention of doing great harm until Seth Bullock arrives, firing into the ceiling to restore order. The mob, thwarted, turns its anger on Fields, who's taken refuge under the hay in Hostetler's livery shop. Flushed out of hiding, he's being tarred with hot pitch before Bullock makes his second rescue of the day. "Disperse this riotous assembly," he says, and the mob complies. Alma Garret relents, allows herself to be examined by Doc Cochran and learns that most likely she can have a child, although with more difficulty than most women. "It adds pain. 'Difficult' in that sense." Garret is nonplussed. "I've been told it wasn't an alternative for me even to contemplate, so this is new information," she responds. The Doc examines Al's eye and observes "a reabsorption of the hemorrhage," to which Al responds: "What the fuck is less blood in my eye? I want use of my fucking limbs." Bullock arrives and reports that the commissioner is safe. "Thanks for that," Al says. "Let me get on my feet and I'll hold my end up and more so... They're coming against us, have no illusions on that score either." Swearengen senses that there's another force at play in what's going on in Deadwood. "I'll guarantee you too, politicians ain't got balls for this type unsupported move," he says. "Someone's backing their play or they'd be here bending over for us." When Bullock asks if that might be Tolliver, Al points out, "Tolliver is us. They're not going to back Tolliver over me this early in the game. There's a nigger in the fucking woodpile, someone from outside the camp."
Something Very Expensive
Doc Cochran gives Swearengen the once-over and is amazed his miraculous recovery. "You, Al, are an object lesson in the healing powers of obstinacy and hostile disposition," he says. Al complains the his arm and leg still feel waxy, but Cochran declares him ready to meet the world, and he is soon propped up and receiving a long line of supplicants. Down on the street Cy Tolliver asks Wolcott how long he should keep buying claims. "This phase is almost over," Wolcott says, watching the arrival of a cart driven by Lee and his men. "Even as another begins." As the cart stops, Wu approaches and angrily slices open the canvas covering its sides, revealing a cage filled with Chinese women. "Tell me those are my new employees," Tolliver says. Alma and Sol meet, and the widow proposes the founding of a bank in town, to be run by Star. But Sol refuses, saying he has other obligations. "We all have complicating obligations," Alma says, turning pale as she rises and vomits in a basin. County commissioner Jarry has been badly shaken by his run-in with the mob and accuses Tolliver of being a Pontius Pilate. But Cy claims that he was merely manipulating the crowd on their behalf and that the morning has brought a raft of new claim sales for even lower prices. A terrified Jarry flees town, leaving Wolcott to wonder aloud what report he will make to Yankton. "That your money spends and that I am a dangerous man with whom to disagree," Tolliver answers. Back at The Gem, Trixie is first to give a report of the town's activities during Al's convalescence. Swearengen asks how things are going with "the Jew" and Trixie describes Alma Garret's bank offer. Al warns her against giving herself away for free, and Trixie explains that she is trading for accounting lessons. Next up is Farnum, who describes to Al how he set himself up to be a shill for Wolcott and Tolliver. "How much did he pay you?" a skeptical Swearengen asks. Farnum swears his loyalty. "You looked out for yourself against the chance I would die," Al says matter-of-factly. "I never wished for that outcome," Farnum replies. "But I am a born follower." Downstairs, Trixie locates Ellsworth. She is exasperated at his density, but makes the bewildered man understand that his boss, the widow Garret, is pregnant. Knowing that Alma might want to keep the baby, Trixie suggests to Ellsworth that he should consider "doing the right fucking thing." Ellsworth seems stunned by the concept, but appears to consider it. When the stage arrives, an ecstatic Merrick fawns over Deadwood's new school teacher, offering to take her on a tour of the camp. Sol arrives at the hardware store after his meeting, but Bullock has already opened. Bullock gets his partner to admit that he has met with Alma and the two argue. Bullock gets ugly and brings "the whore" into the discussion and Star warns him that he is over the line. Fuming, Bullock storms out. Al continues his audiences, now hearing from Miss Isringhausen, who has been escorted by Silas Adams. The woman tells Swearengen that while in Alma Garret's employ, the widow, under the influence of opium, admitted to having her husband killed, and named Al as her instrument. Swearengen, seeing through this artifice, asks Isringhausen who she works for, adding that he hopes it's not the Pinkertons, sent by Brom Garret's family to swindle the widow out of her gold. Miss Isringhausen declines to name her employer, insisting instead that Al focus on the money: $50,000 for his cooperation. Looking hard at Adams, Al asks if there is "no charge for the pussy" and asks for a day to consider the offer. Afterward, Silas is furious for being made to look like a fool. "Come on up and fuck me, why don't you," the former tutor says, promising to answer any of his questions afterward. Still riled, Bullock takes his anger out on the rabblerousing former claimholder Steve. "There'll be no murdering of people in this camp of any color and no assaults of officials," he says. "If you can't live with it, get out of this fucking camp." To punctuate his point, he slaps Steve to the ground. Tolliver and Wolcott are concluding some claim business when Cy complains about the quality of the new Chinese whores who are kept in unsavory cribs in the alley. In addition, there is something about Wolcott's anger, Tolliver says, that he is concerned about. "I hear accounts, Mr. Wolcott that you are a dangerous lay," he says. "And that adds to my concerns." Tolliver pointedly warns that such information might not be appreciated by Wolcott's boss, George Hearst. "It's a dangerous habit to indulge when you are not among friends," he says. But with barely controlled rage, Wolcott explains that Hearst is aware of his inclination, and finds it immaterial. Anger rising, he tersely insults and threatens Tolliver and suggests he find a way to make himself useful. Cy insults him in return, and Wolcott leaves. In bed, Miss Isringhausen describes how she was hired to answer Alma's ad for a tutor, but claims she was not told details about her employer. Silas suggests that Garret's family would seem a likely client of the Pinkertons, and Miss Isringhausen agrees. ,br> Charging briskly across town, Wolcott is rambling in fury over the betrayal of his secret. "No, Doris," he mutters. "We must not let you become past surprise." Entering the Chez Amis, he is told by Maddie that Carrie is napping, but he tells her he would like to see Doris. Maddie tenses, and Doris enters the room with him. Soon Joanie is back, and, knowing that Doris has been reporting to Tolliver, she is terrified at what could be going on in the room. Finally Wolcott emerges. "I would like to see Carrie now," he says. The girl is summoned, and is soon looking at Doris's murdered body. With a tear running down her cheek, she tells Wolcott that the problem can be dealt with. But Wolcott says he has another problem. Carrie has "seen him." Carrie realizes what has come. "You're fucking crazy. And I am going to die in this shithole." She asks if he can make it so it won't hurt, and in a flash, Wolcott has slit her throat with a razor. Outside Joanie can wait no longer. But when she goes to her drawer, her gun is not there, it is in Maddie's hand, pointed at her. "Go on, get out," Maddie tells her, crying. When Wolcott comes out this time, Maddie is waiting for him. "What have you done, Mr. W," she asks shakily. "Something very expensive," he answers in a daze. Maddie points the gun at Wolcott's face, telling him he will pay her $100,000 and more, almost babbling as she pushes the gun toward him. He reaches for her and in one move flicks his blade across her throat, and Maddie falls to the floor, blood pooling from her. Back at the Gem, Wu has his turn with Al explaining about the emergence of the "San Francisco cocksucker" Lee. Tolliver, meanwhile, engages Col Stapleton and Leon to break into the Pioneer, in retribution for Merrick's lack of cooperation with Jarry. Joanie rushes to the Bella Union to enlist Cy's help. At first disinterested, he jumps up when he hears about Doris. "Don't fucking follow me," he says running out. At the Chez Amis, he finds Wolcott, and after collecting himself at the ghoulish scene, smiles his alligator's smile and tells the man to go back to the hotel. At the Gem, Al's final meeting is with Lee. With Wu looking on from a closet, he has Dority stack bags of gold in front of him, but Lee is unmoved. After he has left, Swearengen shakes his head. If twenty won't sway him, he must be working for Hearst. Bullock apologizes to Star and asks about the details of Sol's meeting with Alma. "She never mentioned your name," Star says, but adds the bombshell. "I got the impression she was with child." At the livery, Hostetler wakes up to observe a strange scene. An impossibly drunk Steve is having sexual congress with Bullock's horse. Hostetler ties him up, and later tells Samuel Fields that he is going to kill him. "He needs to be dead," Hostetler says. But Fields convinces him to let him go, after securing from Steve a blessing and a written confession: "I fucked Bullock's horse." Receiving another good report from Doc Cochran, Al tells Dority and Burns that they need to muscle up with out of town recruits. Shuffling over to his balcony, Swearengen looks out over the street at night, as Joanie secretly hustles her girls out of town in the back of Utter's wagon.
E.B. Was Left Out
Al is surprised to find a door that connects his place to the Pioneer, and going through it, finds a despondent Merrick, who explains that Tolliver has wrecked his newspaper office in retribution for not publishing the county commissioner's notice. Swearengen gives him his version of encouragement—complete with a slap in the face—and tells him to "stand it like a man and give some back." At the Chez Amis, Tolliver enlists Lee to dispose of the three whores' bodies. When Joanie asks him about the women later, Cy refuses to acknowledge them, instead inquiring about the three women that Joanie secreted out of town. "They're sent away, Cy, never to return or be a problem, and I won't be either." Tolliver seems unhappy about the departure. "It's a not picnic, is it honey," he sneers. "Runnin' pussy." Joanie is badly shaken, and confides her secret to Charlie Utter. She reflects especially on Maddie: "She wasn't scared of any man. First I ever met," she says. When Utter asked why Wolcott did such an act, Joanie answers in a confused daze. "I don't know that. I'm not a man." As Charlie comforts her, she urges him to keep the information secret. Meanwhile, Con Stapleton and Leon are having difficulty generating business for Tolliver's new Chinese whores. They "ain't pullin', even at a dime a pop," Leon says, and Cy recommends marketing their exoticism and anatomical abilities. "We are dwarfs in the company of a giant," Stapleton admires. At the Grand Central, a seething Utter continuously insults Wolcott and accuses him of stepping on his foot. As the disagreement grows, Wolcott warns that if they fight, it won't end lightly, but Charlie unleashes a string of profanities and ends up beating the man brutally in the street. Bullock finally stops Utter's savage attack, and Al, observing casually, begins to connect Charlie's actions to the evacuation of the prostitutes the night before. Tolliver, however, is disturbed, and entreats Al to call a meeting of the town leaders so he can make it clear that Wolcott is the "wrong ox to gore." Tending to Wolcott, Doc Cochran explains that Utter is Bill Hickok's former partner. Wolcott, seeking to learn more of Utter's motives asks the doc to tell Charlie that he is in possession of a letter of Hickok's, said to be his last. Cochran is hesitant. "If I do deliver the message, will there be a renewal of the violence?" he asks. "Well, I don't know doctor," Wolcott replies. "I didn't do well in the original." Still recovering from his illness, Al limps over to Alma Garret's room for an arranged meeting. Although the widow's disgust for him is barely concealed, Swearengen endeavors to earn her trust, informing her that her former tutor is in the employ of the Pinkertons. She has difficulty believing his story: that Brom Garret's family hired the agency to "bag her gold," and attempted to enlist Swearengen for $50,000. Asked how much payment he would require to tell the truth, Al shakes his head. "I don't like the Pinkertons," he says. "They're muscle for the bosses, as if the bosses ain't got enough edge." He further explains that with George Hearst's agents in town, it serves his interests to have Alma remain. "If you want to match their fifty, that'll be between you and your god." At the meeting of Deadwood's town fathers, Tolliver says that the incident with Wolcott cannot be repeated. "The background of the beatin' ain't the point," he says. "The Hearst interest requires special treatment." As Al and the crew enjoy some canned peaches Cy adds that no "human court" can convict the Hearsts, whether they buy judges, juries or "start to killin'. With neither side seeking remedies, Al asks if Bullock would like to speak for the camp, but the sheriff declines. As the meeting adjourns, Cochran tells Utter about Wolcott and the letter. Farnum, watching from the Grand Central is beside himself that he has been left out of the meeting, muttering obscenities and averring that "public service was never my primary career." Bullock pays an uneasy visit to Alma Garret, but the two manage to hold a sincere discussion, talking politely about Alma's proposed bank. Circling around the issue of her pregnancy, Bullock asks her if he should leave the camp, but Alma refuses to make any decisions for him. As he leaves, they share a look. "It becomes you," he says. Trixie tells Al she is done with the hardware store, but Swearengen convinces her to return. "Now harpin's on the same level of hardship as a boot on your fucking neck," he says of her complaints of Bullock's criticism. In the alley, Con and Leon interview a man who has availed himself of one of the new whores. The customer tells them that there's a line of men waiting who have been "outpaced by white pussy's price." They're being watched over, he says, by a very tall Chinese man. Calamity Jane shows up at Utter's for her package run, but she is two days late and sports a face that looks much worse for the wear. "It's getting the upper hand on me," she says to her friend, who tells her to go up to her room and clean up. Feigning interest in shipping a parcel, Al tries to learn more about Wolcott from Charlie, but Utter won't bite. Later Swearengen tells Dority that the trip to Cheyenne to deal with the commissioners if off. He feels that Wolcott's troubles will spread to Tolliver, and that prospects are improving. Utter shows up at Wolcott's room, and the two agree not to shake hands. Using Hickok's letter as a lure, Wolcott tries to learn what Joanie has told Charlie, but Utter becomes enraged at the mention of her name. He tells Walcott that he would rather blow his head off and take the letter from the corpse that divulge a secret, and Wolcott seems satisfied. At the Bella Union, Joanie is in a stupor, drunk and upset. Cy sits her down for a talk and says that they should "wrestle the future to the ground," together. He tells Joanie that they'll reopen her place and asks her to move back to the Bella Union while "that maniac" is still in camp, but she rejects him. "Why'd you come here," says Cy, "If not to be protected?" Pulling her hand away from his, she answers, "I came to turn a trick."
Childish Games
Swearengen calls a sit-down with Bullock to enlist him in "the coming campaign," explaining that their cause is "survivin', not being allied with Yankton or with cogs of the Hearst machine." He wants Bullock to consider contacting his judge friend in Montana, with an eye toward annexation. Creating a dispute between Helena and Yankton might offer the opportunity for a new territory, statehood, or even a new republic, and Swearengen wants Bullock to be the town's "trustworthy mug.". Bullock says he's not interested, but Al disputes it. "To not grab an ankle is to take a position," he says, and an unspoken agreement is made. Wolcott writes to his employer George Hearst that he has consolidated many claims and that, with the exception of the Garret claim, every considerable deposit in the region is now under his control. He also outlines the brutal steps that have been taken at the mines to control the workers -"Germans and Cornish" - who are bent on stealing, but suggests that bringing in Chinese laborers and moving to a 24-hour operation is still a delicate issue. He closes the letter saying that he is looking forward to Hearst's arrival in town and promising that what he will see is "the largest and most forward-looking gold operation in the world." At the Bella Union, Doc Cochran offers to check in the Chinese whores, who are being treated abominably, denied even food to keep them alive. But Tolliver declines, saying that he is trying to be tolerant of a culture that considers the women disposable. When an outraged Cochran says he'll do the work pro bono, however, Tolliver changes his view. The stage brings a pair of interesting arrivals to town. One is the new telegraph operator, who will rent office space with Merrick. The other is an enormous "bone-shaker" bicycle that has been ordered by Tom Nuttall. Showing off the specimen at his saloon, some patrons express doubt that it is built to handle streets as rutted and muddy as those of Deadwood. A bet is soon made, with many of the citizenry taking a position. Martha Bullock and William pay a surprise visit on Alma Garret and the two are able to conduct a civil conversation. Since the new schoolteacher has already fled town, Martha proposes that she take over in the education of the camp's children. Alma agrees that it is a good idea, but their unspoken conflict looms large, and whatever civility the two have mustered quickly evaporates. After a terse discussion of past slights, Martha leaves upset. Al summons Miss Isringhausen to his office and agrees to the offer she has made. Al will sign a document that he instructed Dority to kill Brom Garret at Alma's behest. Miss Isringhausen will sign a document outlining their arrangement. When Dority has escaped custody, final payment will be made, and Isringhausen's signed confession will be destroyed. Martha's visit to the widow Garret leads to a chain reaction of discomfort. Recounting the conversation to Seth, she sees her husband grow quiet and distant. Bullock then promptly argues with Sol Star about the future location of Alma's bank. And at the Grand Central, an agitated Alma finds herself knocking on the door of her former employee, the Pinkerton spy Miss Isringhausen. Seething, Alma condemns the woman, and when Miss Isringhausen icily mentions Bullock, Alma moves to strike her. But Miss Isringhausen is no naïf and, grabbing Alma's wrist, she dismisses the widow: "Alright, Mrs. Garret, you've had your fit of temper. Get the f**k back to your room." Calamity Jane is in a bad way, throwing up on the boardwalk in front of Utter's store. Charlie suggests that Jane's experience in losing a loved one could prove useful to Joanie Stubbs. "How does standing in my own puke prompt you to volunteer me to give a condolence call?" Jane asks with disdain. Tolliver introduces Wolcott to Mose Manuel, a large, surly saloon hound who co-owns a lucrative gold claim with his brother. The brothers have had a falling out, and Wolcott offers $200,000 cash if they'll both sell. Soon after, the entire town gathers to watch Nuttall in his quest to ride the bone rattler and win his bet. Richardson goes looking for his boss to ask permission to observe the spectacle, and bursting into Farnum's office, finds him choking on a poultice he had applied to a bad tooth. The old man digs out the obstruction and saves Farnum, earning him a tongue-lashing and a stomp on the foot. As the huge crowd whoops in excitement, the bicycle ride is successful. Swearengen - accompanied by his confidante, The Chief-watches from his balcony, and Merrick preserves the moment for posterity with his camera. By the time Nuttall has completed his ride, Al, Bullock-even Wolcott-find it difficult not to smile at the event. Two people not in attendance are the Manuel brothers, who are discussing Wolcott's offer. Mose implores his brother Charlie to accept the deal, but he refuses--and Mose promptly shoots him dead. Jane pays her condolence visit to Joanie, who is waiting in the dark at the Chez Amis. Even in her intoxicated state, Jane manages to piece together the events of the murders and Wolcott's beating at Utter's hands. Ellsworth, after much soul searching and discussion with his dog, pays call on the widow Garret. Explaining that he lost his wife and baby girl to typhus, he gingerly explains that he understands Alma's condition, and offers himself as a candidate for marriage. Alma is clearly moved and surprised, and asks her friend for a brief interval before giving an answer. At the Bullock house, Martha confronts Seth, telling him that he is an able provider and a good father for William and that no further demonstrations of affection from him will be necessary "as other duties claim your attentions." Bullock makes it clear that there have been no other duties since Martha arrived at camp, but his wife becomes incensed. "Do not sacrifice further on my account, Mr. Bullock," she says angrily. Dropping in on his neighbor Merrick, Swearengen offers a newspaper item that suggests that Bullock "would not confirm" his discussions with Montana regarding annexation. Surprised, Merrick asks if the story is true. "Did he f**king confirm it to you?" Al asks. Then, seeing the telegraph apparatus, Al upbraids Merrick for not keeping him informed. Utter visits his old friend Wild Bill in the cemetery, and describes his concerns about Jane's self-destruction. "I won't stand before you claimin; optimism," he says. He also promises to deliver Bill's final letter to his wife. In the alley, Doc Cochran is horrified by the treatment of the Chinese whores, and Mose Manuel is overwhelmed by his act against Charlie. "It's not easy to forget a f**king brother," he yells. "Money has properties in this regard," Wolcott tells him. Unnerved by the staring eyes of the Chinese prostitutes, Wolcott finds himself at the Chez Amis. Joanie, her back to the door, tells him to "do what he came to do." But Wolcott seems uncertain what that is. Finally, Janie smashes him in the head with a bourbon bottle and runs to the back room. "I got a gun in here. Get the f**k out and lock the front f**king door," she says, seemingly out of her reverie. Jane, drunk and late as always, stumbles out to keep an eye on Joanie, and discovers a bleeding walking Wolcott down the street. "Are you the f**king c**ksucker," she asks him, pointing her gun. Wolcott, a little stunned at the recent turn of events is calm. "I may well be," he says.
Amalgamation and Capital
Over coffee, Bullock and his stepson William share a moment of conversation, and Seth asks the boy about his father. Martha watches the pair from the stairs, moved by William's remembrances and by Seth's interest. When the talk is interrupted by Charlie Utter, however, the communication between Martha and her husband is still very strained. Farnum reports to Al, who is still irked that E.B.'s toothache detained him from his duty of reporting on the telegraph man's arrival. He tells Farnum to befriend the operator Blasanov and monitor any wires coming in from Yankton. At the Bella Union, Tolliver is agitated. The extremely belligerent-and now wealthy-Mose Manuel has ensconced himself in his establishment, but is not spending at an acceptable rate. To make matters worse, A.W. Merrick has filled the Pioneer with rumors of potential suitors for Deadwood, confusing Tolliver's own interests. Ellsworth and Alma discuss the impending arrival of a safe filled with currency, which will be secured at Bullock & Star until the new bank is ready, but business has become awkward between them as she ponders his marriage proposal. Before rushing out in another bout of nausea, she gives him a letter to be delivered to Swearengen. Hostetler and The General have come into possession of a valuable wild horse, and they intend to "nut him" in order to sell him to the Calvary. Hostetler warns that the moon isn't right for it, but the men stand to make $100 on the horse, which makes a delay unpalatable. Al is irritated at Merrick's coverage of the annexation issue, which includes rumors of interest from Montana, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. "Don't spread your legs for 'em yet, Johnny," he tells Burns. "Not with Mexico yet to be heard from, and France." In his office, he berates Merrick for his clumsy handling of the story. He warns the newspaperman that the use of misinformation as a tool must be handled carefully, because the people coming after them are rough types, "after our nuts." Farnum reports to Swearengen that Miss Isringhausen has sent a telegram, and that she appears to be waiting for a reply. William, planting seeds brought from his old home, tells his mother that Bullock is missing his brother, and suggests bringing him lunch. Bullock and Utter's interrogation of loud-mouthed Manuel goes poorly, with Mose denying any firsthand knowledge. Bullock is suspicious of a man "gut shot by his own hand" on the same day the two sold their claim. Tolliver adds his own stream of insults to the interview, and when Wolcott interrupts to report the death of a thief on one of Mr. Hearst's claims, Utter becomes enraged. He has to be held back from attacking Wolcott, and then mixes it up with Tolliver. Pulled out by Bullock, he yells out to Manuel. "Sure got to you, didn't he Mose? Now he's got to get you to die." Still sputtering outside, Utter tells Bullock about getting Hickok's letter back from Wolcott, but refuses to explain the beating he administered to the geologist. Explaining that he is leaving town, he tells Bullock not to worry about Mose Manuel, but reveals his own concerns about Jane. Seth promises to look in on her. Armed and passed-out on Joanie's front step, Jane tells her new friend that she's "keeping half-assed vigil after the fact." Though Jane is skittish and awkward, she eventually comes inside. Later, Joanie asks her to move in for a while as a favor. Martha and William arrive at the hardware store with lunch as Bullock, Star and Ellsworth endeavor to install the safe. She suggests that Alma should be in attendance, an idea that galls Trixie. Running after Ellsworth, who is on his way to fetch the widow, Trixie demands to know the status of his proposal. Al meets with Miss Isringhausen, telling her that he has received a letter from Alma Garret, who has realized that she has betrayed their plan by letting it slip that she knows Isringhausen works for the Pinkertons. Al surmises that Miss Isringhausen's wire reported this to her bosses. Miss Isringhausen acknowledges this to be true, but adds that she assumed the bidding on his loyalty was still open. "The bidding's open always, on everyone," he replies, but goes on to explain that having the widow Garret's in-laws selling out her claim works against his interests. Under the circumstances, Al suggests that Miss Isringhausen's loyalties might be more affordable than his own. The former tutor accepts Swearengen's offer of $5,000 (and her life), under the condition that Bullock witness the signature of the confession document and that he escort her out of town. But Bullock is not available at that moment. A safe full of money and a room full of strained emotions is more than enough to keep him occupied. Alma and Martha both make an effort to improve relations, however, and soon Trixie is making the first deposit in the new bank. Mose Manuel is meanwhile bringing the timbre of the Bella Union to a new low, receiving sexual favors while simultaneously gambling and loudly complaining. In a fit of abuse, he claims he is being cheated and demands all of his money back. With an armed guard over his shoulder on the balcony, Tolliver moves to placate Manuel, but Wolcott steps in and baits the man further, invoking his dead brother. Mose raises his gun and is immediately shot. Brushing aside Tolliver's objections, Wolcott orders someone to get the sheriff. At the livery, Hostetler and the General are having trouble containing their wild horse, and when it comes time to nut him, the horse breaks for the street. The wild animal narrowly misses Tom Nuttall aboard his bone shaker, but smashes into Steve, who is talking to William Bullock. As the sound of alarm fills Deadwood, Steve pulls himself up on a broken leg, and William, unconscious, lays splayed out on the street.
Advances, None Miraculous
In the moments after William's accident, Hostetler and the General begin to realize the enormity of their situation, as Bullock carries the limp body of his stepson to the Doc's. "Only violence we meant was to that stallion's pr**k," Hostetler says. "And that to turn an honest dollar." It soon becomes clear that all in town know the horse was the General's, and Hostetler is beside himself. Saying he won't beg for mercy, he makes a move to his rifle, but the General grabs it first. As they grapple over it, the smaller man pleads for the opportunity to get out of town. "Let's ride for six hours," he says, "...If you're still of a mind, I'll shoot you." Tolliver, too, is agitated over the twin incidents, and tells Leon and Stapleton to "take that tub of guts" Mose Manuel on the sled to Joanie Stubbs' instead of bothering Doc Cochran. At the Gem, Trixie is beside herself having seen the boy's condition. But Al is all business as he discusses the confession with Miss Isringhausen. The former tutor/Pinkerton is having second thoughts about signing the document, now that her escort is otherwise occupied, and refuses to sign. Al soon receives a visit from his new ally Merrick, who informs him that a telegram has arrived from Yankton. Jarry, having read the Pioneer's speculation, is coming to town to find out which way the wind blows in terms of annexation. Dority is dispatched to round up Star and Hawkeye, but Farnum informs him that Hawkeye has been gone for three days. When Adams rides up, Dority collars him for the meeting instead. Arriving at the Gem, Star is disturbed to see Trixie at home in her old environs. He accuses her of learning accounting at Al's behest. Adams meets with Swearengen and Miss Isringhausen, and the young woman is soon induced to sign the document -although not before trying one false signature. Reaching into his pocket, Al produces the $5,000 he had promised. "Wish I had five like you," he says as she leaves. Doc Cochran informs Bullock that the trauma was far too much for a young boy to withstand, and that William's brain has been injured in the accident. Bullock asks if hearing his mother's voice would give comfort. "It might well," the doc replies. "His father's, too." A sobbing Tom Nuttall is happened across by Calamity Jane, who learns of the accident. Sitting with Joanie afterward, she concludes that "an unlubricated drunk" would be of little value bedside. At the No. 10, a guilt-ridden Steve does battle with a bottle of whiskey, cursing Hostetler and the General and blaming them for William's injury. When Star has his turn in Al's office, Swearengen invites him to join the cause that his partner Bullock has signed on for. He asks Sol to brief Adams on details of Montana and its influential people, to give credibility to the annexation rumors. Star agrees. Trixie pays a visit to Sophie and Alma Garret and bluntly asks the widow about Ellsworth's proposal of marriage. Alma is taken aback, but tells Trixie that she finds it difficult to commit to another loveless marriage. Cochran visits the Chez Amis and treats the hernia that Con Stapleton has developed in dragging Mose Manuel across town. But as to the wounded Mose, the doctor declines intervention, saying he has other patients with better prospects. At the Bullock's, a stunned Martha laments leaving Michigan, and says she wants to take William home. Seth tells her that the Doc says it's better not to move him. But Martha understands William's condition. "There's no better about it, is there?" As Jarry makes his rounds, Merrick follows Al's orders and pretends to be unwilling to talk to him. Later, at a sit-down, Adams pretends to be hostile to Jarry, but after some cajoling, Al tells his man to "tell Jarry what Bullock had you doin' in Montana." Jarry is easily drawn in to Silas's story, that a powerful Butte man named Clark has offered Swearengen's crew $50,000 for their support. Jarry asks Al if he will wait, to allow him to investigate a counter offer from Yankton. Al agrees, but adds that he only speaks for himself. "We knocked the c**ksucker up," Swearengen says. "And soon he will find himself delivering." Delivering the $50,000, Adams asks? "Elections," Al responds. Looking in the window at the Bullock family, Doc Cochran has a change of heart. He tells Jewel to inform him of any developments and heads across town. "Come get me at the Chez Amis. I'm be operating on a whale," he tells her. Far from Deadwood, an uneasy General and Hostetler discuss heading to Oregon. But, hearing the whinny of the cursed stallion, Hostetler has the germ of another idea. If they return to camp, he thinks out loud, with the offending horse and to pay their respects, they'll be able to leave on their own accord. Then, he says, they can go to Oregon and open a livery. The General contemplates the risky strategy and finally agrees. "Let's find that f**king horse," he says. In town, Jarry tells Tolliver and Wolcott of his meeting with Swearengen, and informs them that Al and Bullock are working together. At William's bedside, Martha and Seth talking soothingly, of how proud they are of him. Bullock talks of his duck calls, and his garden. Finally, Martha tells her son to rest. "Rest, Will," she says. "Rest and we'll all rise together." All over town, people stand, keeping vigil, or drink in silence. A pall has fallen over Deadwood. Andy Cramed, the former gambler and Bella Union habitué, arrives at the Grand Central, informing Farnum that he has become a preacher . As he makes his way to Cochran's cabin, the entire town seems to be watching, as if wondering whether to stop him. But as he reaches the front door, Bullock emerges. His eyes fixed far in the distance, he seems to understand why the man is there, and silently accepts him in.
The Whores Can Come
A new day in Deadwood, but the air is far from fresh, and Al Swearengen wrinkles his nose at the stench of smoke from across town. As Lee stares on impassively, the bodies of dead Chinese whores are burned unceremoniously, and Wu is apoplectic at the sight. Stomping, spitting and cursing, he assails Lee, but a henchman knocks him to the ground without effort. Bullock is at work on a coffin for William, and Al is delicate about approaching him. Offering condolences, he asks if he could walk beside him, at a distance of "twenty paces or so." Yankton's man is among them, Swearengen reports, and Al is hoping Bullock will maintain the impression that he and Bullock are allied. The sheriff moves as if in a daze, but nods in agreement. Mose Manuel still draws breath, nursed by Jane at Joanie's place. Appearing more sober than she has in a while, Jane cusses out the sleeping Leon and Stapleton and sends them off to tell Doc "he's got a live one." With a combination of pictographs and coarse communications, Wu solicits Al's help against the "San Francisco c**ksucker" Lee. Wu indicates to Swearengen that the bones of the dead girls must be returned to China; it is a spiritual matter. Al is brusque with his old ally and sends him back to the Alley. Drinking afterward with Adams, Dority and Burns, Al queries them on strategy. Johnny volunteers that "Hearst is backing the other Chink," but Al muses that backing a loser against Hearst and letting him "pick me up from the canvas after," might not be the worst thing. At the end, however, Swearengen's decision is more visceral. "Hearst's chink bossing that alley ain't to my f**king taste." Trixie visits Alma and, in her own way, apologizes for butting into the widow's affairs with Ellsworth. She also spends time with Sofia, who has been nearly silent since William's accident. Preparations continue at the Bullock house, and Martha has packed her things. Seth tells her that he had hoped she wouldn't make a decision in the throes of such a terrible day. But Martha says she can't bear to stay. They receive a visit from Andy Cramed, and the funeral plans are made; the service will be brief and largely private. At the Bella Union, Jarry wants Tolliver to cash a $50,000 check intended to bribe Cy's main rival. Although he is offended, Tolliver realizes that there are advantages to cooperation. The Gem whores are wailing and despondent over the tragedy that has befallen the town, and Trixie asks Al if they can attend William's memorial. "I won't object," Al says. "But it's yours to keep them she-apes from disgracing me." As to the idea that Swearengen himself might want to attend, Al is appalled. "What the f**k would I want to go there for?" At the Chez Amis, a landmark event is taking place as Calamity Jane opts for a bath-something she seems not at all comfortable with. Sol is distressed that Trixie has again found her way back to Al, and she explains that a lifetime of habit is hard to change. But, she says, she is willing to learn another way. Jarry pays a visit to the suddenly mournful Swearengen and Adams, and the magistrate apologizes perfunctorily about "the sad day on which commerce must intrude." Al feigns indignation, and refuses to conduct business on the "day of his godson's passing." Jarry senses that Al is negotiating and insists on an opportunity to counteroffer, but Al insists that a new offer must be no richer than the current one. "What a type you must pass with that you do not fear a beating for such an insult," he says. Jarry leaves with the message clear: he is to suggest a counter-offer, but one not involving money. Tolliver accuses Andy Cramed of running a dice game in his territory and warns him that he will nail him to a tree if his reformation turns out to be a con. Nearby, Swearengen calls Lee into his office and insultingly tells him that there will be no body-burning or violence while the grieving goes on in town. Wolcott offers to buy Grand Central from Farnum, who is so overwrought by the idea he begins to hyperventilate. "C**ksuckers!" he wheezes. "Think they can take away everything." As Trixie tries to make the whores presentable for the service, Alma talks to Sophia about how she has lived with things she thought she couldn't live with and asks the girl to share her sadness with her. "I know we are as much in the world in our pain as in our happiness," she says. Very nearly the entire town of Deadwood gathers outside the Bullock house for the service, and Cramed does his best, droning through Psalms. The awfulness of the words overwhelms Martha, and she rushes back to the house to look at her boy, in his coffin, another time. Returning to the memorial she tells Bullock to let the people come and say goodbye to William. The townspeople file through, and Dority and Burns return to Al to let him know that the whores will be awhile. Swearengen tells the crew to grab Wu and put him on ice. Ever gentle, Ellsworth carries Sofia up the stairs of the Grand Central, and Alma takes to opportunity to tell him that the answer is "yes, to that question you've asked me." At the Bella Union, Tolliver baits Wolcott, telling him that he has a strange look on his face, a look reminiscent of Wolcott's murder spree at the Chez Amis. Wolcott accuses Tolliver of being desperate over losing power. "What I do in a situation like that, instead of murdering helpless women," says Cy, "is I get on my hind legs and fight."
Boy-the-Earth-Talks-To
With his guard Davey asleep, Wu sneaks out from his room at the Gem and quietly signals to two of his men. A plan is quickly hatched, and soon Lee's giant henchman has received a hatchet in the back. Lee pulls his pistol and levels it at one of the assassins, kills him and keeps walking down the alley with the weapon drawn. Wu confronts him with a cleaver, cursing him emphatically. But the confrontation is interrupted by Johnny Burns, who sizes up the situation and pulls his own gun, dragging Wu from the scene. Al, who has seen George Hearst arrive by coach, is furious when he learns of the Wu fiasco. Trying to salvage his plan, he tells Farnum that he wants to meet with Hearst and tells the hotelier to inform Hearst that he has the man who killed his man. Solemn in their house, Martha and Bullock discuss their plans, and Martha suggests that she'd still like to take up teaching the town's children and Seth agrees that it would be a good idea. Sitting stiffly, he eventually reaches for his wife's hand. Nervous about his impending nuptials, Ellsworth makes one of his numerous trips to Sol's store for support. Hearst pays a visit to Swearengen and the tone is cordial. Al obsequiously offers Wu up to him, but Hearst explains that his single preoccupation is the pursuit of "the color." He is happy to deal with the town's predecessors if it enables him to focus on his mining operation. In that case, Al suggests, Wu would be the perfect man for supplying Chinese laborers for the mines. Hearst is open to the idea, but tells Swearengen that he would need a demonstration that Wu would "prove out" over Mr. Lee. Hearst makes another offer for the Grand Central, and Farnum snaps, cursing him. Farnum apologizes, claiming madness, and indeed, E.B. seems to be slipping back and forth from rationality. Hearst offers him $100,000 and a job as manager, and Farnum readily agrees. The town prepares for Alma's wedding: Trixie dresses to the nines and even Jane is coerced into new clothes. After sleeping by the telegraph, Jarry brings Al Yankton's counteroffer, and Al summons the former lawyer Silas Adams to peruse it. "We study for our f**king lives," he says. Tolliver sidles up to Hearst and not-so-delicately lets the man know that his geologist Wolcott killed three women-- and that Cy was central in the cover-up. Alma pays a rare visit to the grave of her husband, ruminating on her situation. "I am afraid that my life is living me," she says to Brom. "Soon it will be over and not a moment of it will have been my own." Hearst angrily confronts Wolcott about Tolliver's story, and Wolcott admits that it is true. "It happened in Mexico, and it's happened here," he says. Hearst tells him that they must end their connection. Al and Silas work over the Yankton agreement, fine-tuning election issues and removing the clause offering a $50,000 bribe. "If we get this thing off the ground, I will be without peer robbin' these f**kers blind," Al says. "But I don't want the founding document recording a f**king bribe." As the wedding party gathers at the Grand Central, Al spots the fine couple, Sol and Trixie, and tosses his employee Miss Isringhausen's letter as a wedding gift to Alma. With Joanie, Jane, Merrick, Sofia and others in attendance, and with Sol on hand to give away the bride, a somewhat shaky Alma and Ellsworth are married. As a reception takes place in thoroughfare, Dority, Adams and Burns dress in the clothes of Chinese laborers under Wu's direction. Wearing masks, they follow him into the alley and begin dropping men with knives and hatchets. Finally, they reach the room of Lee, who is being serviced by a prostitute. Wu slits his throat with relish. George Hearst attempts to pay off Tolliver with two large bags of gold, but Cy tells him he wants five percent of every claim he helped arrange. If Hearst refuses, Tolliver will make public a confession letter from Wolcott. After Tolliver leaves, Hearst orders his enforcer, Captain Harris, to find out if the letter exists. At the Gem, the deal with Yankton is consummated, with Bullock on hand as a witness, and as Deadwood celebrates the wedding with singing and dance, Merrick barks news of the new elections. Tolliver ridicules Andy Cramed for bringing the "plague" of religion into town and finds himself stabbed in the gut. "God is not mocked, you son of a bitch," Cramed says, walking away. Cy is terrified: "He gutted me!" he says. "Don't let me die." Al watches the celebration from his balcony, with The Chief and a bottle for company. When the triumphant Wu arrives, he promises allegiance to "Swengin." Cutting off his ponytail, he declares "Wu America!" In the middle of the celebration, Captain Harris makes a discovery. Wolcott has hanged himself from the balcony of the livery. At the Gem, Bullock is at the bar, and Swearengen baits him. "Don't you have a f**king home to go to?" he asks. But Bullock, walking out, catches sight of Alma, and he and the bride share a long look until Al interrupts. "I believe it's to your f**king right."
Tell Your God to Ready for Blood
As Swearengen surveys the deserted thoroughfare from the Gem balcony, Dority warns him things are headed toward a bloody outcome. "Absenting myself don't change your f**kin' instruction," Swearengen counters. Resigned, Dority heads back inside where three Cornishmen from Hearst's operation are heckled by a man making fun of their talk. When one of the Cornish reacts, the man shoots. Another man enters, gun pulled. Dority chases the armed men out and orders the two Cornishmen to leave their dead friend. Burns, who's been watching from above, checks with Al, also watching, on where to stow the body. At home, Bullock nervously asks Martha if she'll review the campaign speech he's written. Deadwood's first elections are being held and tonight the candidates stumping for Mayor and Sheriff are to address the camp. Bullock accompanies Martha to the schoolhouse, now housed at the Chez Ami, and they run into Mr. Ellsworth, escorting Sofia to school before he completes his home decorating errands for his new bride Alma. Ellsworth comments on Bullock's pending meeting with Hearst, "If the chance comes up natural, stomp on the cocksucker's foot." Joanie Stubbs heads out from Chez Ami and Jane, emerging from the alley and a night of drinking, observes to Mose: "Off to the Bella Union like the moth to the f**king flame." She harangues Mose for his uselessness as a watchguard at the Chez Ami and he, in turn, criticizes Jane's drinking habits. As the Bullocks pass the Gem, Swearengen calls out from his balcony, asking for a word with the Sheriff. Bullock agrees to stop by. Charlie Otter walks awhile with Bullock to update him on the morning's activities - Cornishman killed at the Gem; as far as he can tell it wasn't Dority. Bullock says he'll look into it. E.B. Farnum is prepping his own speech for Mayor, but not too worried about the competition: "Will they have the Jew-merchant instead? - let them then, and welcome." When Joanie Stubbs arrives at the Bella Union to check up on Cy Tolliver and the whores, she isn't pleased with what she finds—run down, dirty whores and their unkempt rooms. Joanie yells at Tess for their habits, and threatens to toss out Lila if she doesn't clean up her act. "You know she's gonna let her stay," Tess mutters when she leaves. As Joanie tends to Tolliver, still recovering, she suggests he might have picked wrong choosing Tess over Lila to see to the whores. He defends his choices, since Lila's on the needle. "Tess ain't picking up the bit," Joanie warns. Silas Adams busts in ranting to Sol Star and Trixie that he can't pay the note on his house. Sol assures him they'll work something out but Silas sees no hope. Trixie follows him out "Why not cork up and go onstage with that tragic f**kin’ minstrel turn?" she demands. He tells her Al wants Star to take over his house. Trixie heads to Al's to find out why. Swearengen explains that with Sol a candidate for office, he has to worry about appearances. She's to install herself at Shaunessey's and sneak through a special-cut passage to the house. "F**k you Al, f**k Shaunessey's, and f**k the passage into Adams' house," she shouts. She returns to Sol and relays the plan in a full-throttle rage. Bemused, Sol tries to follow her rant, "You said you'd just gone to piss." Shaunessey accuses Joanie of disarray in her room during her last stay. She insists she sat on the bed for three hours that last day. "Very very likely," he sputters. She pays for her room while he works himself into a twist. In her room, Joanie holds a gun to her head, contemplating. When she returns her key this time, Shaunessey demands to know the state of the room. "No disarray, but you nearly had brain on your walls." Bullock comes to Al to ask about the morning's shooting. Al wants to spare him the details until after his meeting with Hearst, so Bullock can confine himself to the meeting’s purpose - what if it was Hearst behind the murder, sending a message to Swearengen that everything is in his- domain and testing "your willingness to bend to his f**king will before he backs your candidacy"? He urges Bullock to skirt the topic and to exercise some self-control. Meanwhile, Ellsworth returns from his chores to find Alma unconscious and runs for the doctor. Bullock ascends to his meeting with Hearst. Hearst enquires about Star being a candidate for Mayor and Bullock for Sheriff, noting that both are partners in a hardware concern as well as officers at the Deadwood Bank - capitalized by Alma Garrett Ellsworth. Bullock bristles at her name. Hearst says he's interested in her holdings and would like Bullock to tell her so. He brings up the shootout that morning, feeling Bullock out for how he'll handle it. When Bullock evades, Hearst clarifies "I'd want to back you. To thank you for taking her my message." Bullock says he hasn't agreed to anything and leaves, boiling. On his way out, Bullock lashes out at Farnum, assuming he has told Hearst of his affair with Alma. Swearengen interrupts the beating and carts Farnum off to be tended to. Doc Cochran prepares laudanum for Alma's pain. She resists, not wanting to awaken those demons. "Leave the demons to God and the pain to me," he urges. She takes the drink. Doc tells Ellsworth that Alma must remain abed and take her medicine. Fearful of losing another wife and child, Ellsworth is nervous but agrees to do his best. Bullock tells Al he wants to withdraw from the race or Hearst will use Alma against him. But Al urges him not to do anything - including more beating on Farnum - until he talks to Hearst. Al debates with Dority whether Hearst really knew about "Bullock putting it to the widow." Either way, Bullock certainly tipped him now. Bullock confides to Utter that his temper got the better of him and contemplates withdrawing from the race. Utter draws from Bullock his agreement that his opponent Harry Manning is dimwitted, pushing him to realize the camp is better off with a sheriff with a temper. With school out, Jane enters, hesitantly. Martha tells her the children are curious to know about scouting for Custer, "Shall we fashion a story about your experiences, Jane, for the children to hear?" But Jane demurs. Trixie goes to Alma and pushes her to answer whether she truly wants to keep her baby. When Alma admits she does, Trixie, relieved, insists she must succumb to being waited on and to rest until the baby is born. Frustrated with the politics, but determined to get a bead on Hearst, Swearengen interrogates Farnum about whether he told Hearst about Bullock and the widow. Farnum insists he didn't say anything and Al believes him. Swearengen and Hearst meet. Al plays that he fears a plot against Hearst, based on the morning's shooting. Hearst counters he believes it's a plot against the Cornish, not against him. But Al insists he takes it as an affront that the shooting happened on his premises without his approval and cancels the speeches for the night, threatening to nix the elections as well "if the insult ain't cured by tomorrow." "Shall I perceive you then as dangerous to my interests?" asks Hearst. Al cannot argue with dangerous. Hearst orders the thugs back to the saloon. Bullock, Star, and Utter are toiling over their speeches when Al arrives with a reprieve: the speeches are postponed. He asks to see the much-relieved Bullock and updates him on his meeting with Hearst. Joanie finds Jane drunk at Chez Ami. When Jane pointedly asks Joanie whether she plans to return to the Bella Union - to live and work - Joanie evades, insisting the girls need looking out for. Jane asks to sleep inside for the night and Joanie wonders why she stopped. Jane shrugs, "Every day takes figurin' out all over again how to f**kin' live."
I Am Not the Fine Man You Take Me For
Swearengen spends a sleepless night as a drunk wanders the deserted streets. "I am not the fine man you take me for," shouts the man as he climbs the hustings and proclaims his sorry lot - then topples to his death. Preparing for the day, Martha and Seth Bullock discuss whether the speeches will take place that night. He teases her about her tea, admitting he actually likes his "unusually strong." The teasing is sexually charged. "It's an easy thing to fix," she replies. Doc warns Alma that she needs surgery if she wants to avoid a miscarriage. Ellsworth is frightened for her, having lost his first wife and child in similar complications. Alma acquiesces and she and the doctor make their preparations. At the Gem, Dority bristles against Swearengen's strategy with Hearst. Dority wants to strike first, he doesn't like change. "Change don't come looking for friends," says Al. Turner delivers Swearengen an envelope from Hearst. Inside is a cryptic diagram of X's and lines. Tolliver quizzes Joanie on why the speeches were cancelled. He tells her the bible brings him peace: "Getting gut-stabbed by a minister of God will bring you to examine your path." She confesses to putting a gun to her head the day before. Tolliver urges her to come back and work at the Bella Union, she's turning away from her "gift and training." "When you speak, I feel like it's the devil talking," she replies, rankling Cy. Stapleton busts in with news that Lila's in a bad way. Joanie rushes to her rescue, taking her to Shaunessey's to get through her withdrawal. Jane's all swagger as she brags to Mose she slept inside the Chez Ami the night before. She elicits his help in lugging water for a tub. As she bathes in the empty school room, Mose asks can he listen when she tells her story to the children. "From outside, at your post near the shitter," she accedes. After poring over Hearst's diagram, Swearengen proposes an interpretation: the X's are murderers and the lines are the door and bar of the Gem. Al sends Adams off to sell his home to "the Jew" while he prepares Dority and Burns for the ambush. Richardson tends to Farnum's wounds while E.B. vows not to mince words in his speech. "Bullock should be murdered! Thank you very much!" he recites. On the morning walk to school, Sofia runs to join Mr. and Mrs. Bullock so Ellsworth may return to Alma. "My mother's sick" reports Sofia. Seth takes notice. At the Gem, two of the men who murdered the Cornishman the day before show up with others and deploy themselves in the foretold pattern of X's. Before they can stage their argument, Swearengen slits one man's throat. "Debates are on for tonight," Swearengen announces. Deputy Utter, walking in as the man goes down, turns and leaves, "I'll drink after I've et." Prior to her surgery, Alma recites her last wishes to Ellsworth and Trixie. When she makes it clear that Sofia should inherit her properties, and Bullock is to remain guardian of those properties, Ellsworth, wounded, insists he fetch Bullock to accept. Jane stands before the children to tell her story about being an Indian scout for Custer. Nervous at first, she soon warms to her audience, and they to her. "Uh oh" says Richardson, reporting to Farnum that Sheriff Bullock and Utter and Hearst have arrived (apart) at the buffet. E.B. is nonplussed. Bullock and Utter start to untangle the latest murder mystery at the Gem but Bullock is called away by Ellsworth to Alma's bedside. She wants Sofia's interests protected and fears Hearst would go after Ellsworth and Sofia if her first husband's family were to challenge the girl's title in court. "I understand," agrees Bullock. "I regret nothing," she says as he takes his leave. Alma asks Ellsworth to remind Sofia the full moon is in two days. "We three will watch it together," she promises. Outside the window, Sol calls out to Trixie that he bought the house - but vows no pressure to move in together. Dority and Burns clean up the blood bath at the Gem as Dority explains the intrigue to Burns, who's still having trouble following. Meanwhile, Adams complains he feels shunted aside having missed the murders at the Gem while he was signing papers with Sol. Al assures him he's not shutting him out. Turner arrives with another envelope. Al opens the message: "Come watch the speeches with me on my veranda." Al, Dority, Burns and Adams head to the street to see workers at the Grand Central busting a hole through the top floor wall onto the roof below- Hearst's new veranda. Al confronts Merrick on publishing news of the morning's gunfire when he wanted it kept quiet. "Has the press not a duty, Merrick, qualifying its accounts in time of war?" He urges Merrick to publish an extra edition that the speeches are on again that night. Bullock asks Charlie Utter if he'd stand watch outside Alma's place while he gives his speech that night. After Alma goes under, Trixie and Doc argue as they see to her. "When you've done with hers Doc, why don't you f**king kiss mine?" Martha stays with Sofia while Bullock delivers his speech. "And we'll both pray for Mrs. Ellsworth," Martha assures him. Tolliver is tormented by Joanie's calling him the devil as he hugs his bible to his chest. Stapleton announces, "Andy Cramed that stabbed you" is arrived. When the Reverend comes in, Cy feigns an invalid's restless fever dreams. Cramed asks for forgiveness but Cy prostrates himself, insisting "I denied you'd been called - treated you like the sh**back f**king operator you used to be." He rises up, feeling the strength of spirits moving through him, a shaking gun in his hand. Leon interrupts and Cy orders him to his knees to beg for the Lord's forgiveness. Unnerved by the drama, Cramed makes his escape and Cy's salvation abruptly ends with his departure: "Get the f**k up Leon." Swearengen heads to the Grand Central to watch the speeches with Hearst, leaving Dority, Burns and Adams to watch over Al from the Gem balcony. Waiting on word of Alma's surgery, Utter consoles Joanie, who confides her poor feelings about herself. He asks her if she liked Wild Bill the one night they met. "I thought he was a gentleman," she says. Utter agrees and yet reveals, "Bill thought of his old self as you do." He urges her not to judge herself, but to give credit to the good opinions others have of her. As Hearst and Swearengen watch the speeches, Hearst lays bare his intentions - he sacrificed men at the Gem today "to show the virtue of consolidating purposes." But Swearengen doesn't agree. "Purposes butt up against each other, and the strong call 'consolidating' the bending of the weak to their will." Turner escorts Al inside for further discussion. As Turner beats Al, Hearst insists he will acquire Alma's claim and demands his help. When Al refuses, Turner knocks him out. The nervous candidates stumble through their speeches, largely ignored by the crowd. As Bullock gets a thumbs up from Utter on Alma's surgery, Al emerges from the Grand Central, straining to stay upright. Bullock offers to go after Hearst. But Swearengen refuses, leaning on Bullock to make his way home on his own two feet - as Hearst surveys his domain from his veranda.
True Colors
Trixie busts in on Al, accusing him of turning recluse. She's enraged that Alma is set to meet with Hearst, "the Lady's bright idea." Furthermore, she can't understand why Al seems to be caving to Hearst. They're interrupted by the arrival of a stage coach from San Francisco, carrying a dandified Wu as well as Hearst's nigger cook, Aunt Lou. A second wagon arrives with the flamboyant Jack Langrishe and his theatrical troupe, who Swearengen knows from Virginia City. Al orders Trixie to stay close to the Jew and to keep him apprised of the widow. "That's more f**king like it," she says. Mrs. Ellsworth visits Doc Cochran, who rebukes her for not resting longer, though he admits she seems fully recovered. She takes offense at his concerns, assuming he finds her incapable of sound judgment. Hearst reminisces about Missouri with Aunt Lou as she tries to impose some standards on frontier life - like clean boots and peach cobbler. He assures her this place is rich. At the Gem, Wu meets with Swearengen, trying to illustrate his trip with pen and pad: "Wu, San Francisco." Al presses for when Hearst's new Chink employees are to arrive. 'Ten day," Wu informs. Al explains how it will work: he will set up a meeting between himself, Wu and Hearst. "Wu, Hearst, Swedgin," Wu nods. Al emphasizes: "Swedgin must be translator, as only he in camp is versed in both languages." Ellsworth and Alma argue about her intended meeting with Hearst, Ellsworth not wanting her to go. But she won't be dissuaded and asks that he accompany her. He acquiesces grudgingly. At the Gem, Merrick pumps Al for information on Langrishe. The flamboyant Jack Langrishe enters, full of innuendo, making a date to talk to Merrick later. E.B. Farnum announces to Richardson that he's to be discharged, no doubt, being replaced by Hearst's newly arrived Ethiop. And he suspects his replacement will be arriving next. Hearst arrives and assures him he has no plans to replace Farnum and Richardson can remain, but will hand over cooking duties. But Hearst wants information from Farnum about Mrs. Ellsworth and why she changed her mind and requested a meeting. E.B. is no help on this count and Hearst leaves in disgust. In the jail, Bullock interviews a miner via a Cornish translator, who saw Hearst's guards cut off the legs of a fellow miner who "talked union." "Accident," claim the guards, being interviewed by Utter. Bullock tells Utter to release the Cornish "when they're done crying. Make them understand I was just talking to them." When the Ellsworths arrive for their meeting, Ellsworth cannot contain his rage and murderous accusations towards Hearst -- and Alma has to escort him out. She offers to come back alone, that afternoon. As they walk through the camp, Ellsworth forbids Alma to present her offer later. In public she must agree: "Your wife. In the thoroughfare. Having once laid down the law." Swearengen gives Langrishe a tour of the camp, as Jack scouts possible theater locations. Al reveals his hand wound: "You're the first I f**king revealed that to-." "Goes with me to the grave," vows Langrishe. While Doc and Trixie discuss Alma's volatile mood, he dissolves into a fit, coughing up blood. He shoos a terrified Trixie away. Bullock wants vengeance for Hearst's murdering of unionizing miners. He tells Sol he's going to go after the man. But when he tells Hearst he is putting him on notice about the murder of the Cornish, Hearst points out that there are no laws he has broken. "There is a sanction against murder," states Bullock. Hearst reminds him that two of his guards had their throats slashed at the Gem while two others looked on. Merrick visits Blazanov, who's returned from Chicago with a new apparatus and attempts to illustrate "duplex telegraphy." He also reveals, conspiratorially, the news of a woman he met in Chicago. A conversation to be continued on the men's "perambulations." Hearst goes to Cy Tolliver's to challenge him about the alleged letter from Wolcott, with which Tolliver threatened Hearst. Hearst claims to have his own letter which exonerates him. "What do you want?" asks Cy. "I want you to work for me," Hearst counters. At the Gem, as Al explains Langrishe's stellar promoting skills to Burns, Bullock busts in, furious over Wu's refusal to hand over the body of the murdered Cornish. Al urges him not to go after Hearst now. But Bullocks demands Swearengen have Wu turn over the body. Joanie Stubbs chases Langrishe away, who appears interested in taking over the Chez Ami. When Alma returns to Hearst's, she apologizes for her husband's behavior and reads him her offer. "A vulgar man would ask if...you expected him to produce a jackknife and make himself a capon before you," he responds. He wants to name an amount to buy her out. She refuses. Enraged, his threats become menacing and lascivious: "You are reckless madame, you indulge yourself." Bullocks spies Alma returning home from Hearst's. He catches up to her, but she passes him quickly. At home, Alma complains to Ellsworth about her meeting with Hearst. "He grinned at me like a jackal." Ellsworth notes he tried to warn her and wonders what happened next. Alma says she was confused and scared by his next intent, but he let her go. Ellsworth, furious, says she almost got what she deserved. Langrishe's company enjoy Aunt Lou's cooking at the Grand Central. Hearst eats in the kitchen, talking to Aunt Lou. Afterwards, Aunt Lou changes her demeanor as she unwinds, smoking a cigar, slugging liquor and beating the Chinese at their tile game. At the Bullocks, Utter and Sol eat with Seth and Martha. Seth insists the elections can't be a joke. "The offices have to count for something." He proposes a drastic measure: laws. Cy shows up at Hearst's to learn the duties of his service. "Your duties will be to answer like a dog when I call," Hearst states, warning him of the punishment when he is displeased. "Such displeasure today brought me near to murdering the Sheriff and raping Mrs. Ellsworth." Cy agrees: "If He hadn't meant me to wag it, Sir, why would the Lord've give me a tail?" Surveying the camp from the Gem balcony, Al confides to Langrishe he wonders if he's queer, given that he hasn't gone for Hearst's throat. Jack suspects Al cares about what happens to Deadwood, "You'd not see this ruined or in cinders." Al gruffly agrees he'd avoid that if he could.
Full Faith and Credit
Early morning in Deadwood. The tubercular Doc Cochran checks on Cy Tolliver. Blazanov delivers a telegram to Jane from "Nigger General"; frightened by what it might contain, she runs off to Utter to have it read. And Mrs. Ellsworth officially opens the Bank of Deadwood. Meanwhile, John Langrishe falls into step with Joanie Stubbs to inquire about buying the Chez Ami for his use as a theater. "Perhaps you'd consider f**kin yourself," is her reply. Passing Hearst on the street, Dority suggests he f**k himself as well, and later gets a warning from Hearst's second, Turner, when he delivers another invite to Swearengen. At the Bella Union, Claudia, one of the new actresses in town, appeals to Stapleton for some gambling lessons. The tutorial leads to the booking of a room at the Grand Central, leaving Stapleton ready for more...in a few days. Claudia, however, appears less eager. Utter reads the telegram to Jane: "Hostetler means to bring the horse back." As they argue over the meaning and a reply, the General and Hostetler arrive in camp with the horse that killed young William. When Steve the drunk sees them, he goes on a rampage, railing about the injustice of them coming back to claim the livery when he's the one who cared for the horses when they left. Bullock follows Steve to the livery, to confront Hostetler himself. Joanie goes to Cy to discuss Langrishe's interest, and he urges her to solicit an offer. She next goes to Utter with her dilemma about whether to sell. He probes her on her ambivalence and she confides: "I wish once I could care for those little ones. Just once, 'stead of doing what I did." Mr. Ellsworth brings Alma an apple on her first day. He defends Alma's professional credibility to an ornery customer who is giving Trixie a hard time about the availability of his funds. When Bullock arrives, Hostetler takes responsibility for the accident. Bullock won't hold him responsible; instead he wants to talk about the livery. "Any chance to keep hell from breaking loose between you?" he asks. Hostetler is amenable. Joanie practices her proposal to Langrishe with Utter: she will sell if he agrees to build a new school. She asks Utter to secure Mrs. Bullock's agreement to move the school, however, before she talks to Langrishe. Bullock accompanies Hostetler to thank Steve for caring for the livery. He offers to keep Steve on--with pay. But the drunk responds with a barrage of insults, screaming epithets while Bullock holds him in check. When Hostetler finally blows, Bullock hustles him out and restrains him. "I was gonna go to Oregon," says Hostetler. "Let him buy me out fair and I'll f**king go." Bullock goes to Steve with the offer, who agrees if he had "the means at loan." In the midst of Bullock's attempt to broker a deal, Utter comes to him about the schoolhouse issue. Bullock assures him Mrs. Bullock will not mind leaving the Chez Ami. Al tries to sort out the meaning of Hearst's invite while getting serviced by Dolly. He blames for her for his lack of response, accusing her of altering her method. Langrishe stops by the Gem to ask Al about Joanie, why she might be holding on to the Chez Ami, but Al has no answer. Bullock approaches Alma for a loan for Steve to buy the livery. "What is Steve the drunk's surname?" Alma asks as she approves the loan with Bullock to cosign. Swearengen and Cy ascend to the meeting with Hearst at the Grand Central together. Al demands to know the occasion. Hearst indicates he'll be coming and going and wants Cy and Al to see after his interests. Swearengen demands to know the numbers, but Hearst wants his agreement in principle. "When you and him come to them, let f**king Adams know and he'll bring you my answer later," responds Al. Deals are in the works. Joanie brings her terms to Langrishe, who agrees to build a new schoolhouse. Steve and Hostetler get into a standoff over who will sign first. Bullock, at wit's end, takes Sol's solution: "have them meet at the time their dicks will be down and have them sign simultaneous." Adams shows up and Al demands to know where he's been. "Looking for someone whose name you told me never to say again," he replies, referring to Hawkeye. Al warns he better not end up dead because of him. Swearengen explains he's named Adams to represent him in his dealings with Hearst. Adams wonders how Dan will take it, and Dan's feelings are, in fact, hurt when he learns. But Al explains, "you'd never go against me, which Tolliver knows. I need someone he don't know that about." Mr. Ellsworth praises Alma's skills to Sofia, while Alma, looking out the window, gets a signal from Leon to meet him. She excuses herself for some air. Jane and Joanie discuss where they'll live, if not at the Chez Ami, Joanie inviting Jane to live with her wherever she ends up. Jane wonders, is Mose invited to the new destination? In bed, Bullock vents about the standoff to Martha as she strokes his arm tenderly. Al complains again to Dolly for her technique, while he confesses that it was Hearst chopped off his finger. He recalls another time when he was restrained: by the orphanage proctor, keeping him from joining his mother, who'd changed her mind about abandoning him. "I don't like it either," Dolly says, "when they hold you down."
A Two-Headed Beast
Tolliver interrupts Stapleton, playing 'Captain' with the breasts of a voluptuous Bella Union whore. Cy is looking for an underling to represent him in his dealings with Hearst, mimicking Swearengen's approach. Stapleton recuses himself, as he's in the midst of a "spasm of sex interest," having had his urges awakened by Claudia. Cy agrees he's of no use at the moment. Hearst tries to discern Adams' loyalty to Swearengen, and whether he can win it away. In the end, all Hearst offers is a message that Turner demands Adams take to Dority: "Tell your friend I know he's afraid of me." Steve washes himself outside the Number Ten Saloon, scrubbing off the spittoon contents that Nuttall poured on his head. It's a big day for Steve -- the livery deal signing -- and Nuttall wants Steve to comport himself with respect. Merrick interviews an unusually loquacious Alma Ellsworth. He is moved by her words, but Trixie, watching, is suspicious of her enlightened state. Swearengen debriefs Adams on his meeting. Dority, riled that he's been called out, is ready to fight. But Al wants to think first. "It's Hearst calling you out, and I'm tying to decipher his reason." Bullock draws his gun to fire the signal for Hostetler (with Star and Harry observing at the Hardware store) and Steve (observed by Fields at the Number Ten) to sign their agreement simultaneously. Merrick reads his article about the bank to Blazanov. He's beginning to voice his suspicions of Mrs. Ellsworth's altered state when Blazanov spies a body, stabbed in the heart, being dumped in the street. Merrick fetches the Sheriff. Cy quizzes Leon on his getting-high habits and whether he's been trying to earn extra funds by copping for Lila, but Leon swears he's not. When Cy threatens him, he admits he copped for that "c**t at the bank." Bullock arrives at the abandoned body - another Cornish union organizer. Outraged, he busts in on Al at the Gem, insisting the third body calls for his withdrawal of their agreement that he leave Hearst alone. Al begs more time, adamant he has a plan. Bullock agrees to see to one other piece of business first. At the bank, Alma reviews the agreement between Steve and Hostetler. With all in order, Trixie fetches Hostetler's payment in gold. Alma presses for a handshake between the two men to seal the deal. But Steve won’t oblige, insisting to Hostetler "you will return to me that board you made me sign." Farnum complains at the Gem that he misses the camaraderie he enjoyed before he was exiled for selling his hotel to Hearst. "We was never your f**king boon companions, E.B." replies Dority. Al tells Farnum that Hearst wants violence between Turner and Dority. "The why's what f**king confounds me," Al says. But E.B. has no useful information to offer and Al refuses to confide his plans. Langrishe greets the invalid Chesterton, his company's dying star, who arrives by stagecoach. Langrishe tells him the camp is "yearning for elevation and festering with wealth" as they struggle to get the man moved inside. Al, unable to figure the angle, sends Dority off to fight. Dority prepares, greasing himself up. Burns offers to shoot Turner if Dan signals something is going wrong, but Dority won't have it. As Turner prepares, Hearst and Turner recollect past fights, Hearst insinuating he should make the fight an object lesson for everyone watching. Dority and Turner charge towards each other and a long and brutal battle ensues in the thoroughfare while Al and Hearst watch from their lookouts. It appears Dan is finished but he manages to gouge Turner's eye and rises, victorious, to finish him off. Langrishe sees to Chesterton, suggesting that the arts do not provide enough for them to nurse him through an illness from which he will not recover. Chesterton agrees to earn his keep by helping with the conversion of the theater. Langrishe holds a company meeting, assigning roles for the next production: costumes, civic relations, the renovation of the bordello. Doc Cochran arrives asking to make his last call of the day on Dority. But Dan refuses to see him, or even to accept an offer of a bottle and whores. Mrs. Ellsworth drinks her drug, and offers to help her husband with his bath. He jumps out, nervous at her overture. Alma attempts to seduce Ellsworth but he suspects something and tells her he'll arrange to collect his things. "Will you have me bring the little one back?" Alma says she will fetch her. "Don't forget," he warns her. Sol bangs on the wall to signal Trixie, who insists she doesn't want to see him, but enters through the secret door adjoining their quarters. She alludes to her concerns about Alma, but Sol doesn't catch her meaning. Bullock, Steve, Hostetler and the General search the livery for the board Steve signed, but when they uncover it, it is blank. Steve has a tantrum, insisting he won't accept it as the board. Hostetler can't take being called a liar anymore and in his own fit, shoots himself. Burns asks Al to look in on Dan, but Al refuses: "Some shit's best walked through alone." As they sit, Burns asks what they are waiting for. "To see what kind of hell breaks loose," Al replies. Hearst comes to the Bella Union to drink after seeing to Turner's body. Cy joins him and Hearst is drunk by the time Bullock bursts in. When Hearst tells Bullock to f**k himself, Bullock arrests him, dragging him through camp. Al sees them go. "The Sheriff has eliminated several of our options," he notes. Spying Merrick below, Al warns: "Not a f**kin' word comes to print." Merrick nods: "Understood."
A Rich Find
Hearst, having spent the night in jail, demands of Utter if Bullock actually thinks he's accomplished something. Utter feigns discovering the dead Cornish in the cell adjacent, and wonders aloud if it's Hearst's knife. Bullock tells Martha over breakfast that "things fell apart" regarding Hostetler and Hearst the night before. Swearengen interrupts their discussion, calling on the Sheriff to find out why he arrested Hearst. He warns Bullock that having lost Turner, and now being humiliated by his jailing, Hearst will be on the war path and "we who will be his wrath's object ought to stay close and confide. Our alternative is flight." Bullock agrees flight is not appealing, as Martha, pleased, listens from the stairwell. Alma, readying herself and Sofia for the day, grows impatient with Sofia, who is concerned by Mr. Ellsworth's absence. Meanwhile, Steve, drunk, protests outside the livery, defending himself as guiltless in Hostetler's suicide: "My hands are clean and my heart is quiet!" Bullock arrives at the jail and Hearst demands to be let out. As he is let go, Hearst removes the bloody knife from the Cornish and takes it with him, staring down the Sheriff. "Guess he knows whose it is," notes Utter. Aunt Lou's son, Odell, arrives in camp. She ushers him into her room, insisting it will be fine for him to stay with her. Hearst returns from jail and is surprised to find Odell in Aunt Lou's room. Realizing her error, she backtracks, but Hearst, asserting his role as owner and employer, extends his own invitation to Odell to stay. Swearengen coaches Adams on how to handle Tolliver regarding Bullock's incarceration of Hearst. Adams heads off, unsure of the logic, but willing to enact his instructions. When Adams attempts to relay all that Al asked him to imply to Tolliver, Cy is uninterested. He's more excited by Leon's revelation that he's copping for Mrs. Garrett. Jane and the General build a simple coffin for Hostetler and Jane offers to see to the burying with him. Leon stands in the thoroughfare, yelling at his own reflection in a puddle, about the bind he finds himself in, with Tolliver wanting to use him to drug Alma Garrett. "Once the bank lady dies of an overdose...I get a bullet in my ear." Cy goes to Hearst with a plan: "Suppose I could put the Ellsworth claim into play for you Mr. Hearst?" He tells him of Alma's habit. Hearst explodes, furious he didn't have the news earlier, when it could have prevented the loss of Turner. Calming himself, Hearst orders Cy not to kill her - yet. Leon goes to Alma and tells her he won't cop for her anymore. Catching him after he exits, Trixie puts a gun to Leon's head and warns him to stop selling to Mrs. Garrett. He insists he is no longer the lady's supplier. Trixie confronts Alma directly: she knows Mrs. Ellsworth is using again. In response, Alma fires her. She closes the bank and heads home for a fix, where she runs into Mr. Ellsworth, come to fetch his things. She appeals to him to reconsider. "An arrangement like ours couldn't become anymore tolerable to you and I couldn't bear it - seeing what you’d do to yourself," he says. Cy pays E.B. to keep him apprised of any of Hearst's activities. E.B. goes to Al to return the $200 from Cy, assuming Al is the source. When Swearengen denies that he is, E.B. tells him to consider it a display of his loyalty. "Save us, think of something," Farnum begs Al. "Have I ever not?" Swearengen replies. Utter, Star and Bullock contemplate the dilemma of Hearst and their options. Leon confides to Stapleton his dilemma regarding Mrs. Ellsworth and Tolliver. Cy interrupts, ordering Leon to hold off on upping the purity, but to continue selling Mrs. Ellsworth her regular dosage. Trixie goes to Al after her firing, to tell him what's transpired. "I wouldn't mind turning a f**kin' trick." Al lets her have it, ordering her to look after herself and get out of the Gem. Something gnaws at Aunt Lou. She sent Odell a letter in Liberia, where he was 27 days ago, telling him she was coming to Deadwood. How in that time could he have gotten the letter, booked passage to New York, and made the trip West? "Well mama, maybe I set out without having a letter," he suggests. Much as she wants to believe him, she has doubts. Especially after Hearst reappears and Odell tells Hearst he was at the site of "the find" in Liberia - "The gold." Aunt Lou chastises Odell for mentioning gold to Hearst. She presses her son, and he reveals the truth about his time in Liberia: "'Merican niggers steal off the African 'til the English cheat us out of it." He heads off to find a drink before his meeting with Hearst. Steve rails about why there's not customers at the Number Ten. Odell shows up looking for a drink. Steve ignores him. Dan shuffles in to see Al and they discuss Dority's reaction to Turner's killing - the trouble with seeing the light go out in a man's eyes - just as Al had predicted. Swearengen wants to send Dan to Cheyenne to see to the hiring of guns. Jane and the General return from burying Hostetler. Aunt Lou spots them and begs the General to save her boy. Obliging, he goes to the Number Ten to fetch Odell and tries to talk him into leaving town with $742 he has from Aunt Lou, who begs that he not try to run a number on Hearst. But Odell won’t listen. Jane and Aunt Lou share a drink. The General returns announcing his failure with Odell. As she runs out, Aunt Lou swears Hearst ain't getting her boy. Bullock arrives at the Gem to talk to Al. "Charlie Utter thinks it has to come to blood...and if it has to, that we should strike first." Al agrees and delays Dority's trip. "We'll collect the camp elders, be baffled among friends," Al says as he and the Sheriff head out. Hearst, standing outside the Grand Central as Odell arrives-late-for their dinner, greets the two men with venom. Joanie comes upon Jane, drunk and shouting in her drinking hole. She offers Jane to come stay with her at Shaunessey's. Joanie drags Jane away, over her objections.
Unauthorized Cinnamon
Aunt Lou worries while Hearst meets with Odell, who seeks assistance with a gold find in Liberia. Odell shows Hearst an assay report and a sample of the ore, explaining he's authorized to seek partnership as first deacon of his congregation. Noting liquor on Odell's breath, Hearst asks if the congregation has loose rules about drink. Showing gold, thousands of miles from its "purported source," doesn't impress, Hearst tells him. It seems a slipshod approach to fleecing him. Odell takes umbrage, and Hearst calms him to continue their discussion. At the Number Ten, Nutall, Burns, Rutherford and Harry Manning discuss who should attend the meeting of the camp's leaders at the Gem. Nutall insists on bringing Harry. Seth asks Martha if they can eat quickly so he can attend. Jewel puts out cinnamon for peaches at the meeting, setting off Dority, who doesn't want it set out. Burns tries to rouse Doc to come to Al's meeting, but the Doc is too sick. Trixie, in a state over Alma's dope use and the camp tensions, worries about what's to become of Sofia. Sol suggests the Bullocks or he and Trixie could take her. "You'd have us care for a child?" Trixie asks, touched. Waiting for the meeting's participants, Cy and Al discuss Hearst. Given his rage at the ear-pulling he suffered from Bullock, Cy thinks they have but one option: "Giving Hearst Bullock's the only thing that don't end with the camp in flames." Gustave the tailor busts in with something important for Mr. Swearengen, who agrees to see him before the meeting commences. Gustave presents Al with a vibrant array of swatches to wrap his finger stump in style. Joanie tries to sponge clean Jane, who hollers and resists, insisting she has no sisters and is not used to such treatment. Joanie confesses she slept with both her sisters but would never touch Jane if she didn't want it. Jane gives her leave to kiss her, and Joanie does. Hearst strikes a deal with Odell. In a moment of emotion, he confides how he hates Deadwood, that such places make him an outcast. "I want to send you to help your people, and take this place down like Gomorrah." With Bullock arrived at the Gem, the meeting begins. Bullock tosses his badge on the table and Cy jumps at the chance to placate Hearst, but Al rejects the gesture. Utter suggests sending women and children away, then attacking Hearst "as Wild Bill would've done." Bullock presents another idea, a letter, which Merrick reads aloud: a message of condolence to the family of the murdered Cornishman. Al orders Merrick publish the letter for Hearst and others to read: "That's a very nice f**king letter." Blazanov asks Merrick to accompany him to see Swearengen. Merrick leads the way and the telegraph man shows Al a message for Mr. Hearst, confirming the arrival of 25 additional bricks. They agree it is men, not materials, en route - as Blazanov heads off to deliver the sealed original to Hearst and Al destroys the copy. Harry collapses after the meeting, with trouble breathing, and Nuttall takes him to the Doc, who diagnoses him: "Don't eat cinnamon anymore." Aunt Lou worries about Odell getting into business with Hearst. She begs him to leave with her $742 and a brooch. She sobs, terrified for his well being. Instead her son comforts her. Burns, Adams and Dority rehash the meeting and the implication of publishing Bullock's letter. Alma watches over Sofia as she sleeps, sobbing: "I want to be good." When Ellsworth arrives to say goodnight to the child, Alma asks him again to reconsider leaving. "I pray now to forego forever," she vows. "Not having me in this house is going to improve your odds," he insists. Blazanov delivers the telegram to Hearst, who gives Blazanov a $20 gold piece in thanks. Chesterton continues to decline and Langrishe's temper is short with the stress of it. He stops to visit Al, who wishes he'd invited Langrishe to the meeting. Al confides the strategy: printing the letter of sympathy. "Strategy some might call ingenuous, and others merely off the point," notes Langrishe. Al wonders why he endorsed the plan but Langrishe defends it, "its publication invoking a decency whose scrutiny applies to him as to all his fellows? I call that strategy cunningly sophisticated..." Steve yells at the General for sleeping in the Livery, but asks if he'd be inclined to stay on and work. "No." says the General. "Nor would I wanna f**king have you!" Steve retorts. Al orders the Doc up to see him, confronting him on his illness and rumors that he may leave the camp. "I've believed for a dozen years that disease is airborne...and I won't make others sick." As the Doc leaves the Gem, Al storms after him, insisting the doc take swatches - one for a spit rag and the others for masks - and remain in camp, going about his business. "I ain't learning a new doc's quirks," Al insists.
Leviathan Smiles
Merrick and Blazanov deliver the day's edition of 'The Pioneer' to eagerly awaiting readers at the Grand Central and the Gem. Seth and Martha quarrel over her willingness to accept the theater troupe's delays for moving her school to a new location. "It seems you waked intent we quarrel," she accuses him, suggesting his mood may have had something to do with the previous night's meeting. The stage coach arrives to the sound of gun fire - celebratory shots fired by a pair of young riders accompanying the stage. The driver explains to the crowd gathering that they were put upon by road agents, but the two young men saved the day. "Would have lost the strong box sure, Sheriff, 'not for them there -" The two men identify themselves as Wyatt and Morgan Earp. Wyatt reveals to Bullock he was a lawman in Dodge City and Witchita, but "ain't looking for none of that here...we got a timber lease." Joanie Stubbs rouses Jane. As they depart for the day, Shaunessey preaches at them regarding their sinful ways; Jane tells him off. "I'm moving out of that f**kin’ place," says Joanie. "Not me, I never moved in," Jane replies. Steve rants at the General: "Don't think you was offered a job here last night!" But the General will not engage in argument, telling Steve he is off to San Francisco, soon as he finishes an errand. Steve decides to hide his saddle to prevent him from leaving. The General stops by Aunt Lou's to return her money, not being able to wait on Odell any longer. She fills him in on Odell's plan to meet one of Hearst's men in New York to return to Liberia for gold. Swearengen talks to Wyatt, evaluating the Earps' story. "Road agents, the story goes, don’t work these Hills but by my leave," he tells him. Earp sticks to his story but Al doesn't buy it. "My opinion, your tale's full of sh**." He postulates that to make a hero's entrance into camp, the brothers played all the parts themselves. Al promises Wyatt he will double the price of anyone who seeks any hiring of his gun. The General returns to the livery to find Steve unconscious, apparently kicked in the head by the General's horse. Wyatt fetches his brother, who is trying to capitalize on the goodwill they created with a whore at the Gem. Wyatt interrupts Morgan's transaction and sends him to the hardware store for supplies while he heads to the Bella Union. Hearst stops by Merrick's to "thank" him for printing the letter of condolence from Sheriff Bullock to the family of Hearst's murdered worker, "Was the Sheriff's making his letter part of the public record meant to embarrass or reproach me?" Hearst demands to know. Merrick claims no presumptions on his part. Hearst storms out. Cy Tolliver observes Wyatt playing craps and feels him out for his interest in being a gun for hire. Wyatt doesn't reject the idea out of hand. Jack Langrishe promises the failing Chesterton that he will move him to the theater that day. Leaving to make arrangements, Jack runs into Hearst and seeing him wince, suggests a technique for relief of back pain, which he offers to apply himself. Langrishe then secures Martha Bullock's offer to cancel the school's afternoon session so that Chesterton can be transported to the theater for a final look. At the Gem, Burns chastises Morgan Earp for conning the whore out of $7 worth of f**king. Wyatt pays his brother's debt. Meanwhile, the Sheriff accosts them in the thoroughfare, enraged at Morgan for leaving his pile of tools unpaid for in the middle of the hardware store. Cy presents to Hearst his plot to engender a duel between Bullock and Wyatt Earp. "...whether Bullock or this gunsel stood at the finish there'd be no losing in it for you." Hearst approves. The General offers Doc money for Steve's care and burying - and for telling the bank their loan is in danger. Doc suggests the General stay with the livery, but he resists so Doc offers to send Jane to see to Steve. The General agrees to stay "'til the bank gets someone over here." Bullock complains to Swearengen about the arrival of the Earps, and worries that publishing the condolence letter was a mistake. But Merrick and Blazanov arrive with a telegram for Bullock, as well as the news that Hearst took umbrage at the letter -- and warned that a storm is coming. Bullock returns to the hardware store to confront the Earps. His wire confirmed Wyatt's past as a law man. The air is tense and hands are on triggers as Bullock notes: "Not asking why you've put the work aside, I'll say only some that do -- find themselves ready and uniquely able to work the other side of the street." Assuring him that they simply want to work their timber claim, they leave peaceably. Hearst paces as Aunt Lou comes to beg that Hearst send someone to follow Odell to give him her garnet brooch that he left behind. He refuses, suggesting no one would want to ride in service of a colored man, and that, instead, they mail it to his man in New York to pass along to Odell. Wyatt introduces Morgan to Cy at the Bella Union, as the brothers conspire about their options in Deadwood. Chesterton, having been transported to the schoolhouse sits with Langrishe, who describes the future theater and eases him gently into death. Jane tries, unsuccessfully, to feed Steve. She leaves the General to try - but he ends up flinging grits in Steve's face in frustration. Langrishe gives Hearst a treatment for his back while the Countess observes. Hearst claims to be much improved but won't rest as he is "waiting for something." Back at the Gem, Al and Jack share a drink as Jack shares the news that the old actor passed. He suggests that there may be another way to get to Hearst, using the back treatments. As the two men retire to the Gem balcony, they see Hearst, waiting. The Bullocks apologize to each other for their morning's quarrel. "Perhaps tonight will be twice as sweet," Seth suggests, just as the camp is disrupted by Hearst's posse riding into town. Cy pulls the plug on the gambling wins he'd orchestrated for the Earps, seeing that Hearst has called in the pros. Witnessing Hearst's pleasure at the arrival, Swearengen notes: "Leviathan f**king smiles."
Amateur Night
Early morning. The Earp brothers are evicted from the Bella Union after their night of whoring. Seth gives Martha the combination to the store safe, in case of any "eventualities," which she understands as being "threatened by the arrival of those men last night." And Joanie and Mose prepare the new schoolhouse for the arrival of the children. Meanwhile, Hearst makes it clear to his lieutenant, Barrett, that the camp is to know his new gunmen have arrived - and he'd have no objection if the knowledge was transmitted by a disruption of traffic in the thoroughfare. He also orders the discomfiture of Merrick. Swearengen discusses with Dority, Adams and Burns the Pinkertons who have been hired by Hearst, and whether there are remaining options for reinforcements. They are interrupted by several pistoleros riding through camp, nearly trampling Wu. Swearengen wonders about his ability to remain unprovoked: "'til reinforced, can we learn the ways of church-mice?" Adams visits Tolliver to find out if he has a message for Al about the arrival of the horsemen last night. Not wanting to reveal his own unease, Cy simply replies: "Tell Al since we didn't wake to the Apocalypse I s'pose we only need fear their Winchesters." Langrishe stops by to check on Hearst's back pain and is introduced to Aunt Lou. Hearst asks what Swearengen's reaction was to the arrivals last night and Langrishe begs to remain neutral. Trixie goes to the bank to make a deposit, and notes Alma's "clearness of the eye." Langrishe arrives at the bank to deposit $4000 and borrow the same amount, suggesting that knowledge that he was borrowing from the bank to remodel the Chez Ami into a theater, would prove his intentions to lay roots in the camp. She approves the "loan" and he invites her to the Amateur Night his troupe is hosting that evening. The General deposits the comatose Steve in a wheelbarrow at the Number Ten, over Harry Manning's objections. The General then gets the clear from Alma of any obligation to the livery. He is free to go. Morgan complains about being unceremoniously kicked out of the whore house that morning, and snarls at the pistoleros making trouble. Wyatt tries to keep him focused on their timber lease. But as they drive through camp Morgan is provoked by one of the pistoleros and vows he'll see him that afternoon. Wu draws pictures as Burns and Dority try to discern their meaning. And Adams reports back to Al that Cy seems to be on the outside of Hearst's plans, along with them. "We out to form a f**king club." Barrett arrives at the Pioneer office, claiming he's there to write an article. When Merrick questions him, he beats Merrick and leaves, while Blazanov watches, petrified. Burns figures from Wu's drawing that he is holding his men outside Custer City because "Swedgin" and Hearst are on the outs. Al socks Burns for having solved it -- then praises Wu for clever precautionary thinking. Langrishe continues spreading the word Amateur Night, including Utter and Joanie. Jarry and Adams feel each other out on whether they are on equal footing. "Pretty taut line Mister Jarry, not knowing how deep your hook's set..." muses Adams. Jarry wonders how deep $500 would set it, and Adams insists he hand it over to see. Blazanov brings Merrick to the Gem to be seen by Doc Cochran. Al figures Hearst was behind the beating and Blazanov hands over another telegram intended for Hearst, for Al to read in advance. Morgan shoots the pistolero who provoked him earlier and Bullock rushes to keep things from escalating, Wyatt rushes to the pistolero and places his gun outside his holster, so he may claim the fight was fair. When Barrett arrives, claiming his man had orders not to draw, Bullock arrests him for "interfering with a f**king peace officer" and hauls the Earps off for questioning as well. Hearst seeks details of Merrick's beating from Barrett. Blazanov delivers Hearst's telegram and Hearst goes to deliver the news to Aunt Lou: Odell is dead, found on the road to Rapid City. Mose finds Jane, passed out. He orders her to get up and accompany the children to the new schoolhouse with Joanie. The Earps give their statement that both men drew simultaneously. Having admitted that their timber lease is worth "f**k all," Bullock presses the Earps to "move on" and Wyatt agrees. Meanwhile, Joanie and Jane lead the children to the new school house as the camp watches; the Sheriff rushes to join Martha to walk with her. The camp gathers for Amateur Night. "Tonight we will be the audience to you" announces Langrishe, as the camp people parade their tricks of balance, song and juggling. Hearst orders Aunt Lou not prepare dinner in her grief. Jarry briefs Hearst on the number of soldiers bivouacked near Sturgis, and others in the hills, in case they are needed, to back Hearst's preferred candidates for office. Jarry says Governor Pennington requires a note confirming they spoke, which Hearst reluctantly agrees to. Cy frightens Joanie and Jane who are sweeping up the school house. Jane runs off to fetch protection from Mose. Cy refuses Joanie's order that he leave, but agrees when Mose and Jane return. Al performs his own sad ballad on Amatuer Night...to an audience of none, alone at the Gem.
A Constant Throb
Attending to Cy's wound, Doc Cochran chastises him for abrading it. Hearst has breakfast with Jarry. The Langrishe troupe rehashes the Amateur Night talent. As Alma walks to the bank, a gun shot is fired in her direction. Swearengen and Utter rush to escort her to safety at the Gem. Al orders Utter to wire Bullock (gone to campaign in Sturgis), summons Trixie to watch over Alma, and dispatches Adams to guard the schoolhouse and Dority to fetch Mr. Ellsworth. As Jarry wonders aloud about a world in which a woman is shot at, Hearst accuses him of hypothesizing about his role in the shooting. Jarry backtracks quickly, turning the conversation to their mutual interests in the upcoming election. "Elections cannot inconvenience me," Hearst warns. "They ratify my will or I neuter them." "The troops at Sturgis will await your instructions," Jarry assures him before taking his leave. After wiring the Sheriff, Utter replaces Adams outside the schoolhouse, as Martha looks curious about the goings on that require her to be guarded. Richardson comes to Al with a note pinned to him, from EB, asking what is going on. "Tell him nothing's going on." Al replies. Al figures they'll hunker down 'til matters clarify. They talk at the Gem about options for hiring more guns. When Adams suggests Hawkeye could be trusted to hire more guns and lead them to camp, Al punches him. But knowing he's up against it, he gives in, agreeing, before deciding Mrs. Ellsworth should continue her walk to the bank - to confound Hearst. Drinking with Trixie to calm her nerves, Alma breaks down. Al arrives with a tray of tea and suggests the shots were meant to frighten her - and incite Mr. Ellsworth or the Sheriff to violent retaliation. With this Alma agrees to complete her walk to the bank alone. Jane and Joanie relieve Utter in front of the schoolhouse. Dority finds Ellsworth, knocking him out and tying him up before he fills him in on the circumstances, knowing he'll react rashly. Langrishe inquires at Shaunessey's for the "woman of exotic appearance" who performed at the Amateur Night. When he finds her, he learns she's followed him to Deadwood, desperate to train in his troupe. He offers to put her up at Shaunessey's, but she refuses, begging instead to be allowed to stay at the theater. Alma assures Mr. Ellsworth she's alright, and begs him to let her walk to the bank alone. He acquiesces, reluctantly, and Alma ventures out along the thoroughfare. With everyone watching, including Hearst, she proceeds - unscathed - to the bank. Hearst orders Barrett to read aloud a letter he has written and wants delivered to Swearengen. The note inquires as to whether they'd like Mrs. Ellsworth guarded at the bank in the Sheriff's absence. Janine, a new girl, applies to Cy, who, being in a bad temperament, barks her welcome to the Bella Union. Con Stapleton begs Claudia for another tryst. She stalls him, telling him to come back tomorrow. Barrett delivers Hearst's note to Swearengen, and also confides he's not pleased with what happened to Turner — Hearst ordering Turner to draw out the fight with Dority, thus getting him killed. Al turns on Barrett, kicking and beating him in retaliation for Merrick, Wu, Alma, all of it. Barrett reveals that Hearst has sent for more guns, but the information is not sufficient to prevent his killing, as Al slits his throat. Langrishe goes to Mary's room at the Grand Central to tell her that the young woman is going to live at the theater and study with the troupe, promising he's laid no carnal hand to her. "What does installing her accomplish, acknowledging me could not?" she retorts. He reminds her he never asked her to wait and she flares, as he departs. Hearst busts in on Farnum in a rage, "I await an outcome and the readying for it wearies me!" Al goes out on his balcony, calling out to Hearst on his verandah, wondering why Barrett hasn't returned to Hearst. "Jesus Christ Almighty, where do we find good help?" Al needles Hearst. Langrishe informs the troupe that the new woman, "Joseanne," will be staying at the theater - as Mary checks out of the Grand Central. Jane tells Joanie of a dream she had the night before, in which Charlie Utter tries to tell her something about the nights she feels she made mistakes. As Jane dissembles, she tells Joanie she knows she dreamt the dream because it was the night Joanie sent Mose to wake her from her drunken stupor...to walk the children to the new school. And before she went to sleep, Joanie kissed her. Listening to Jane's dream, Joanie kisses her again. Martha Bullock serves Seth and Sol dinner. But Seth is struggling with his feelings of impotence, having been away on this day, and he struggles to join Sol in normal conversation.
The Catbird Seat
Trixie, Utter, Sol and Bullock gather pre-dawn in the Hardware store, while Tolliver and Swearengen independently wonder what they are up to. Al heads over to find out, running into Merrick who's come to show Al his article about Mrs. Ellsworth's shooting. Blazanov interrupts them with a telegram for Al, trumpeting the arrival of 23 guns hired by Hawkeye. But the news comes too soon on the heels of the message sent to Hawkeye and Al, not trusting the reply, is angry he allowed Adams to talk him into wiring Hawkeye for help. Langrishe lingers outside Shaunessey's, considering Joseanne's room. While Farnum, having not yet wiped Hearst's expectoration from his cheek, talks aloud to himself about the pros and cons of his decision. Enroute to the Hardware store Al picks up Langrishe and Farnum and they arrive together, demanding to know what's going on. Those gathered insist it's merely a discussion of what circumstances would require Bullock to be recalled from his campaigning trip to Sturgis - meaning what fresh acts of Hearst-induced violence. Claudia goes to the Countess, insisting she's leaving the troupe because Langrishe is too cruel but the Countess is nonplussed. In his tent on Alma's claim, Ellsworth ponders the impact of his visits to Alma and Sofia -- and is shot dead by one of the Pinkertons. In Sturgis, as Bullock and Manning wait to give their speeches Bullock spies soldiers and demands to know why they're in town. They admit they're there for the election, perhaps to exercise their franchise. "Have they told yet who you're voting for?" asks Bullock. "Not yet," the soldier replies. A Cornishman drives his wagon into the thoroughfare, bearing Ellsworth's body. He runs into the Bank to alert Alma, who rushes out to see for herself. As Hearst and Swearengen observe the drama unfolding, Al rallies his men. Meanwhile, Utter steers the distraught Alma to the Gem. Sobbing, Alma demands Sofia be brought to her and as Utter hurries off to fetch the girl, Al ensconces Alma upstairs. When Trixie sees Ellsworth's body she reacts. Heading to the Grand Central, her hand on her Derringer, she bares her breasts as she enters and marches up to Hearst's door, exposing her privates as he answers her knock. Hearst is caught off guard, and in that split second she shoots him - aiming for his heart but hitting his shoulder. Trixie goes to Sol, sobbing, begging him to shoot her since she didn't kill Hearst. Sol hastens her away. Cy, who has watched the day's events unfold, takes his frustrations out on the whores, ripping their petticoats and frills. Meanwhile, in Sturgis, Bullock is giving his stump speech when a telegram from Deadwood is passed to him at the podium. He leaves immediately and Commissioner Jarry, who has been watching from the back, follows him out asking what has happened. "Don't you know? Or have they just got you handling the votes?" Bullock responds as he rides off. Farnum runs to the Gem claiming Trixie killed Hearst. But Al probes to discover EB didn't actually see anything - just as Hearst walks through camp, clutching his shoulder, surrounded by pistoleros. Sol hustles Trixie into the back of the Gem and Al goes to see her, commenting on her actions: "Loopy f**kin c**t." Utter brings Sofia to Alma, while Joanie, Martha and Jane wonder what has transpired that has prompted Sofia's removal from school. Doc Cochran grudgingly treats Hearst's wound in his cabin, with Ellsworth's body just yards away. Joseanne arrives at the theater and introduces herself to the troupe. Meanwhile Langrishe emerges from his room to ask Farnum about the shot he heard. When EB tells him it was Trixie who shot Hearst, Langrishe departs, avoiding conversation with his troupe. Downstairs at the Gem, Al lays out Alma's options vis a vis Hearst. She must hire guns to protect her property, but then leave camp so they needn't also protect her life. Or, to stay in camp, alive, she must sell to Hearst. "A very pithy rendering" notes Langrishe. Upon his return, Bullock rushes to the Gem ascending to comfort Alma and Sofia. The Doc arrives demanding to speak with Mrs. Ellsworth alone. He wants to know if she is certain Sofia saw her family dead or if, perhaps, the child was hidden by her family before the murders occurred. If the latter, he suggests the girl may have suffered from never being able to see her family alive or dead again. Alma agrees to Sofia's request to say goodbye to Mr. Ellsworth. Bullock accompanies Alma and Sofia home. That evening, Hearst observes from his perch with pride how his manipulations have galvanized the camp. Trixie and Sol lay in bed sleeplessly. Al meets with Wu, making him understand he wants him to bring all of his men back to Deadwood from Custer City. Swedgin will provide the guns.
Tell Him Something Pretty
Voting day dawns in Deadwood. Utter wakes Hearst to tell him a casket's arrived with his name on it - with a body inside. "Evidently not mine," Hearst retorts. But Utter continues to provoke him, telling him he doesn't like his tone, and next time he'd better change it. Hearst, amazed at Utter's gall, closes the door in his face. In the empty theater, Langrishe reviews the state of tensions in the camp, and whether it should prevent their debut, as Claudia listens. Adams comes upon Hawkeye, drunk in the thoroughfare, and demands to know where he's been. Hawkeye insists his men are camped outside of camp, so as not to tip off Hearst. Adams drags him off to clean up. Alma explains to Sofia how they are being forced to sell, in order to stay in Deadwood. She leaves Sofia with Jane while Star and Bullock accompany her to Hearst's to oversee the sale of her claim. Bullock and Alma insist that the gold be delivered directly to the bank's safe and Hearst is put out by the juvenile precaution. When Hearst gets one last lascivious comment in to Alma, Bullock defends her honor: "Can't shut up. Every bully I ever met can't shut his f**king mouth," warns the Sheriff. As Jane entertains Sofia, Joanie stops by to see if they need anything, and Jane pretends to Sofia she'd summoned Joanie with "secret thinking." Jane is unsettled when Joanie leaves, awkwardly. Laid up with back pain, Hearst orders Farnum to deliver a note on his behalf to Swearengen. Farnum fears the note demands his death, but Al reveals that it insists on Trixie's. Al gives him a note to send back in response. At the Number Ten Saloon, Nuttall praises Harry Manning's campaigning, while Rutherford plays checkers with comatose Steve. Nuttall unveils to an awestruck Manning the fire wagon he's received. When the General comes to fetch Steve to wheel him over to vote for Bullock, the General is disgusted with his state: "You don't want to look after him say so." Joanie stops by the Bella Union to see Tolliver, an attempt to offer some sort of olive branch, but Cy rebuffs her. Al drinks with Burns to tell him of his plan to save Trixie - that Jen, the whore Burns has a fondness for, must die in her place. "Hearst won't stand for an empty coffin. Likely he paid most attention to Trixie's tits and snatch, so Jen will adequately pass." Burns, distraught, asks to do it himself. Fed up with being in hiding, Trixie dresses to go out, swearing she's not afraid to die. Star angers, trying to keep her there, and when she resists, he throws her out himself: "At least I can say I threw you out, if you'd rather die than live with me." But she knocks at the door, and falls into his arms, weeping. Burns tries to murder Jen while Al waits outside the door. When Burns can't do it, he begs Al to handle it differently, but Al orders Dority to knock Burns out when he cools off, while Al goes to fetch another knife to do the deed himself. Aunt Lou helps Richardson bathe and dress to go vote, urging him to vote for Bullock. As the General and Rutherford line up to vote the Pinkertons try to pick a fight over the General getting to vote before a white man. Utter defends the General's right to hold his place in line, which Joanie observes. At the Gem, Star arrives to talk to Al about Trixie's concern that he will kill another whore in her place and Al tells Star to tell her it's too late, he already has. He also orders him to fetch the Sheriff. Meanwhile, Adams tries to pave the way for Hawkeye to give Al an update on his men. But Wu arrives before Hawkeye can get very far and Al sends Adams to go to retrieve the men while he talks to Wu. Joanie returns to her room to find Jane drunk, having been put out by Joanie's cool treatment earlier. Joanie tells Jane she saw Utter at the voting and wants to be that way to Jane—good in a tight place, even if they aren't getting along. Joanie tries to explain her feelings to Jane, and envelopes her in Wild Bill's bearskin robe that Utter gave her to give Jane. Al talks to the box containing the dead Indian Chief's head, ranting about the bind he finds himself in. He calls to Jen to come to his room. He emerges and sends Dority to box her. Trixie arrives in time to see the body, insisting on putting Jen in her dress before Dority puts her in the pine box. At the Bullock home, Utter and the Sheriff discuss the day's voting when Star barges in to retrieve the Sheriff. Meanwhile, Langrishe stops in on Hearst, and under the guise of asking after his health, feels out his intentions over resolving tensions with Swearengen and Bullock. Hearst reveals he plans to leave as soon as he sees the election returns and the whore who shot him dead. Back at the Gem, Merrick announces the election results from Sturgis—a landslide for Harry Manning. Bullock arrives in time to hear the news. "How do you think you might enjoy private life?" asks Swearengen. Newman delivers a note from Hearst to Tolliver revealing his plan - for Cy to be his "f**king quartermaster." In frustration, Tolliver stabs Leon and he bleeds to death while the whore Janine tries to help him. Meanwhile, Cy watches the factions gather in the thoroughfare—Hawkeye's 18 men, Hearst's Pinkertons, and Wu's Chinamen. Hearst strides into the Gem flanked by his pistoleros. He goes upstairs to inspect the corpse. Al accompanies him to the room while Bullock and Utter stand guard nervously outside, wondering whether the ruse will work. Revealing the dead whore, Al steps back, hand on his knife. Hearst checks her pulse, wipes his feet of her blood and leaves, satisfied. In the thoroughfare, Hearst climbs aboard the coach to ride out of camp, as he tips his hat at Alma, returning in her wagon with Sofia from Ellsworth's grave. Bullock goes to him, "You're done tipping your f**king hat...Get out of this camp or I'll drag you out by the ear." Hearst orders his driver to drive on. Still surveying the scene, Cy, tormented, points a gun towards Hearst, and then Janine, who placates him with her bare breasts. Bullock confesses his feelings of impotence to Utter as he heads home. Poking his head out of the hole in the Grand Central, EB stands on the veranda in Hearst's absence. Burns comes to Al, who is cleaning Jen's blood from the floor, to ask if she suffered. "I was gentle as I was able and that's the last we'll f**king speak of it, Johnny, " he says, muttering as Burns leaves. "Wants me to tell him something pretty."