S04.E12: Thirteen Steps

[TV Anonymous]

 

Cullen struggles with Ruth's unexpected decision; Louise risks her reputation to fight for a story.

 

There is no justice in the Wild West, it seems. Lily Bell died, Elam died, now Ruth died while Gundersen is somehow still alive?

Edited November 16, 2014 by TV Anonymous

[Shimmergloom]

I'm so pissed.

[blueglass]

This show is dead to me.

[nodorothyparker]

I think I'm done.  They've now killed off nearly everyone in the cast who's been around long enough to have any kind of relationship with Cullen yet next week is going to be about the damn Swede again.  And he just left the one thing that's defined him for the entire series run, again, pretty much validating everything Durant has ever said about him being an unreliable flake who isn't worth the trouble. 

 

I just can't anymore.

[NorthstarATL]

It's probably just my own upbringing, but I hardly believe that a woman so immersed in the Bible would see what she did as "murder", rather than justice, which is what it was. I can understand not going along with a lie, which is what  Cullen nobly offered at first, but she at least could have made a statement at her trial as to the very very good reasons behind having done what she did. Then, again, I haven't thought that the show handled any female characters well since they had Lily sleep with Durant, which was the first of many out of character choices.

[dohe]

Lily, Eva, Ruth, Louise and Naomi all have ultimately, in the end, served the purpose of propelling the motivations and behaviors of the male characters even if it means a disregard for the way the character has been written or logic.  This laziness in terms of how the female characters are presented is the show's major league weakness.  It is also why the show is never all that moving when it comes to female characters to me.  Ruth dying should have been heartbreaking.  Instead I found myself feeling detached from the proceeding because the sheer contrivance of the storyline and Ruth's decision was so abundantly clear.  That the sequence was more about setting up conflict, both internal and external, for male characters was too obvious.  Ruth had become a prop.   

 

This is also why the Louise/Campbell confrontation is unmoving in any regard.  The reparative therapy retcon of Louise's sexuality because the show lacks the creative spark to figure another way for Campbell to have an emotional link to the town (and therefore a heavier conflict) hangs over the sequence denying it any sense of anything more than contrivance.  Louise is a prop to serve Campbell just as Ruth is a prop to serve Cullen (and other men in the town)..

 

The show edges to the point of possibly writing female characters that feel true.  Yet it ultimately sees their purpose as how they can serve propelling the plotlines of male characters into what it incorrectly sees as intriguing places.  This half ass treatment of the women undermines the show.  The show is not the first to fail female characters. However it may be the most disappointing because, in each case, there was a chance for something far, far more substantial and the show keeps blowing it. 

Edited November 16, 2014 by dohe

[justmehere]

Damn it.

[TwoSocks]

I think Im done too. What started out as a good show about the building of a railroad (Seasons 1&2) has been turned into something else for me. Its all about killing anymore. The redemption of a self confessed killer.

[Puffaroo]

It's probably just my own upbringing, but I hardly believe that a woman so immersed in the Bible would see what she did as "murder", rather than justice, which is what it was. I can understand not going along with a lie, which is what  Cullen nobly offered at first, but she at least could have made a statement at her trial as to the very very good reasons behind having done what she did.

 

Not only that, I was waiting for someone to speak up and say that Sydney didn't die from her gunshots -- he basically committed suicide.  At the very least, it was the amputation that killed him, not Ruth.

[riverheightsnancy]

This is not a spolier, but the ONLY way this show ends IMO, is in the final moments of the series, Cullen has to die. They have been setting up this arc for a very long time. That way he can be reunited with all of the people that actually meant something to him. It has only been through death that he learns about love. I think Ruth's talk with him really solidified that and (as the previews already alluded), he is going to REALLY pay (just like during the war) for not being there. 

[Babalooie]

Creepy little hangman boy.  I counted seven attempts to save Ruth.  She just wasn't having it.

[Ohwell]

The worst part was that creepy little boy. 

 

I was disappointed that Dead Rabbit guy didn't go through with his threat to do something to Campbell if he went along with the hanging.  However, Durant getting in touch with Grant does seem like Durant is hatching a scheme to get rid of Campbell, although I'd prefer the Dead Rabbit guy killing him.  

 

I can't stand Louise.  So she printed a story that he didn't want printed.  Big whoop.  She still slept with someone she knew to be a slimeball and she continues to act civilly around him.  If she cared anything at all about Ruth, she would have clobbered him with some of that printing machine equipment.   

 

I'll watch next week only because it's the season finale but I'm really done with this show. 

[TwoSocks]

That whole "Snow" storyline didn't make any sense to begin with I don't think. The idea of putting a badge on a child killer to begin with was ridiculous.

[nodorothyparker]

The more I think about this episode the more frustrated I am.  This show used to be about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, one of the great moments of achievement in American history, and the people who made it happen.  I remember an interview with Anson Mount way back in season two where he talked about how the real theme of the series was raw ambition when you've really got nothing else left, and it made sense.  But somewhere in the past two seasons it completely veered away from that and became a lot of self-indulgent meandering where the only real consistency was to see how much more suffering they could pile upon the lead character week after week.  At this point, they've killed off so much of the carefully constructed community we were introduced to and left us with a bunch of characters I can't identify or recognize.  I've got no real reason left to care unless it's out of a sense of obligation to see the show through to it's end, and I'm just not sure I have that anymore.

 

It finally became clear to me that the show was openly thumbing its nose at the audience who hung in there through all this for the original premise when sometime after 40 minutes of watching Ruth refuse any effort to get the show back on track or pretend that her story was ever really supposed to matter except as another body on the altar of Cullen Bohannan's suffering, they very jarringly cut to the train crew.  We got a few short minutes of watching them finally get the steam shovel running, which was actually a pretty big deal in terms of progress, only for Cullen to quit and walk away a scene later.  He's presumably off now to chase again after Snitty Mormon Wife, another terribly underdeveloped character who seemingly exists only to further his suffering and who will almost assuredly end up dead in some particularly bloody way at the hands of the Swede just like Lily Bell and the rest.  Lather, rinse, and repeat.

 

It's all a terrible waste.

Edited November 16, 2014 by nodorothyparker

[maraleia]

I think I'm done as well. After what they did with Louise and for that matter the rest of the female characters I have to bow out. As a feminist and lesbian this show flies in the face of everything I believe in.

[Ailianna]

Not only that, I was waiting for someone to speak up and say that Sydney didn't die from her gunshots -- he basically committed suicide.  At the very least, it was the amputation that killed him, not Ruth.

But he only got the amputation because she shot him. Even in our modern legal system, the failure of medical treatment to save someone doesn't get the person who put them in the position of needing that treatment off the hook. Even medical malpractice doesn't get the shooter off if the only reason the victim was exposed to the malpractice was because of a shooting/stabbing/poison/so on. Medical malpractice is "reasonably foreseeable."

Snow considered suicide, but ultimately died as a result of being shot. But there were a lot of reasons Ruth shouldn't have hung. Everyone involved basically thought she did the right thing.

[TwoSocks]

I had trouble hearing some of the audio between Ruth and Cullen at the end. I heard Ruth tell Cullen she loved him. Ruth asked Cullen if he loved her. What did he say?

[nodorothyparker]

He said he did.  She then asked if he loved Naomi and he said he thought he might.  So I guess make of that what you will.

[Ohwell]

When Ruth first asked him, he quickly said something like "of course."  But then she asked him again, "do you love me," and he didn't/couldn't answer.  She then knew that he loved her as a dear friend but nothing more.  I think she was ready to go at that point.  I ached for her.

Edited November 16, 2014 by Ohwell

[beesknees]

Le sigh.  This show needs to be put down.   (With a bullet).

[TwoSocks]

I was sure Cullen said something the second time Ruth asked him. Couldn't make it out. Maybe I was hearing things.

[Puffaroo]

Snow considered suicide, but ultimately died as a result of being shot.

 

I see your point, but I guess we have to agree to disagree.  Sydney likely would have survived if he hadn't removed the dressing and sat on the window ledge, bleeding out.

[Ohwell]

I went on the HoW website to see the scene of Ruth and Cullen in the cell.  When she asks him the second time if he loves her, he says "I can't lose you, Ruth."  I had to replay that nine times and turn the volume up to the highest level before I could understand what Cullen was mumbling.  (That has always been a peeve of mine with this show--not understanding what some of the characters, especially Cullen, was saying.)  Anyway, one of the producers says that at that point Ruth realizes that Cullen didn't love her the way she loved him.

 

Anyway, when I said he didn't/couldn't answer, what I meant was that he most certainly didn't say "yes."

Edited November 16, 2014 by Ohwell

[bmoore4026]

Remember when Westerns had awesome women like Miss Kitty, The Barkley Women, and Calamity Jane?  Those days were nice.

 

They should just change the "Women in Refrigerators" trope name to "AMC Syndrome".

 

Then again, I think someone at AMC has issues with women.  I mean, look at how some are represented on their shows - Pissy Betty from Mad Men, Duplicitous Lori from The Walking Dead,  and then there is Skylar.

Edited November 16, 2014 by bmoore4026

[maplebrew]

I agree with almost all of the comments on this thread. Despite that, this still managed to dramatically be the best episode of the season for me. Ruth never interested me as a character, yet this episode packed a wallop because of her. 

[maraleia]

Remember when Westerns had awesome women like Miss Kitty, The Barkley Women, and Calamity Jane?  Those days were nice.

 

They should just change the "Women in Refrigerators" trope name to "AMC Syndrome".

 

Then again, I think someone at AMC has issues with women.  I mean, look at how some are represented on their shows - Pissy Betty from Mad Men, Duplicitous Lori from The Walking Dead,  and then there is Skylar.

Or Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman!

[bmoore4026]

Or Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman!

 

I actually had forgotten about her!  She's a great example.

[susan vance]

I feel like a fool. I quit this show after Lily was killed at the end of the second season and vowed never to watch again! EVER! ...and then I got sucked back in at the beginning of this season, and caught up on the third, and now I find myself again facing the demise of an awesome female character I loved. I feel stupid because I should have known better!

 

That said, Kasha Kropinski was phenomenal in this episode. If nothing else, this storyline gave her a showcase, and I guess that's a good thing. I thought she was wonderful in every scene, but the moment at the end when Ruth saw Cullen in the crowd was something special. 

 

I'll probably keep watching just to see how it ends, but as the show has gone on, it's slowly stripped away the things I found most interesting, particularly any meaningful exploration of race and gender. The departures of Joseph Black Moon, Lily, Elam, and now Ruth have gradually made this a story about white men, and that bums me out, because I liked that the show seemed to be doing something different at the start. 

[maryis1]

She really did a great job for the entire show. Prior to this episode, I wasn't at all invested in her character. All the way up to the end I was engaged and on pins and needles to see what would happen. The part where the camera was inside the hood until she breathed no more was a first for me. I've never seen it portrayed that way. It's usually from the outside and watching the floor drop away from the gallows.

 

That being said, all the reasons for the Swede to finally get his due are now dead. When the boy died, so did any chance for the Swede to be identified by the child.

 

One thing I don't know if it has been discussed but the portrayal of Brigham Young in this series is really well rounded and true to history. Actually, he seems one of the more interesting characters lately.

 

When Elam was killed off, it seems like the freed slaves turned railroad men have sort of faded into the background. Psalms is a good character but without Elam to have conflict with (but knowing they respected each other), the rest of the crew seems 2 dimensional.

 

I'm sick of the Swede and would only want his character to be around if the young boy whose family Swede massacred was still alive and could bring him down. And if they have Cullen knocked off by the Swede. Then ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

[TwoSocks]

I enjoyed the scenes between Ruth and Cullen. Anson and Kasha played well off of each other I thought. The boy Ezra was killed so Ruth could kill Snow so they could kill Ruth. Theyd rather kill (those close to Cullen) than keep them around. Makes one wonder who will be left standing when its all done. The railroad has all but been forgotten this season. They will have to get back to it next season. Fortunately they have no choice.

[Ottis]

I had to replay that nine times and turn the volume up to the highest level before I could understand what Cullen was mumbling.  (That has always been a peeve of mine with this show--not understanding what some of the characters, especially Cullen, was saying.)

 

 

Closed captioning. I use it regularly, partly because I tend to watch DVR'd TV when everyone else in the house is asleep. But use it, it will save you eight rewinds!

 

This show is starting to feel like Sons of Anarchy, Wild West Edition. Each week there is a death or gratuitous blood or gore. I don't understand the direction. The way they write women characters is what it is for me, I guess. But I don't know what we are supposed to be learning from the show right now. The revenge angle was lost long ago. The railroad history angle has receeded almost out of sight. The struggle between encroaching civililation and the frontier was a intriguing story line this season, and it is still there, but is being buried under the blood. Vlearly this is about Cullen, but Cullen becoming what? A beaten man whose only reason to exists is to nail in the final railroad spike?

[hmmm]

I feel cheated and angry at the show for leading me to the bitter end of Ruth's life.  I was hoping for a last second reprieve.  All those men standing around watching a church lady hanged was truly bizarre.  

 

 

I'll stick to masterpiece from now on.  Wow, that was bad.   

[Dowel Jones]

I think Ruth's desire was to die in penance for what her father had done, as evidenced by the flashbacks last episode.  Campbell could have easily set aside the guilty plea or pardoned her outright despite her objections, but he was intent on showing off his power to the population and so hanged her, just because he could. 

 

On a side note, why build the gallows on the main street into town?  There's such a thing as marketing and civic pride, folks.

[TwoSocks]

Unfortunately Ruth had the misfortune of getting to close to Cullen. Thoes that do aren't around for very long it seems. Its a trend the writers started some time back. They don't seem to want Cullen to have anyone. Its gotten old.

[Babalooie]

Why build the gallows on the main street in town?  Because it was entertainment.  They didn't have movie theaters.  No, seriously. This is the way it has been done throughout history.

[bogey77]

  I thought Kasha was wonderful in this episode.  I didn't really care for her character and it's sad that it took her final episode to see what a really great actress she is.  I was quite moved by her performance.

 

 As for the rest of the show, I wish it was cancelled at the end of  this season.  What is the point of dragging out fourteen more episodes over two years? This show started going downhill for me after Lily was killed. It seemed the new showrunners, writers, producers or whoever have done nothing but alienate the original viewers.   The original premise of building the railroad has been all but forgotten. The theme of the week now seems to be who can we kill that can cause the most pain to Cullen. Really??    Someone needs to put him and this show out of its' misery now. 

Edited November 17, 2014 by bogey77

[kathybgd]

This season veered so far off from season 1 that it is unrecognizable. I lost interest when they allowed Sydney Snow to stay around after one episode . Downhill from there , maybe sooner. All I saw witnessing the hanging were a bunch of strange men. Where was the Irish guy? I thought I saw ole pea eye from Lonesome Dove though. Terrible season. I really wanted to have this show being one of my favorites till the end. Not interested in even watching now.

[I-Kare]

Ever since they killed off Lily I've guarded my heart against Hell on Wheels, so this death (just add it to the rest!) didn't really piss me off as much as it should have probably. Speaking of Lily, I know they seem to want to forget she ever existed, but it seems like it would have been natural - when Cullen and Ruth were talking about love, his wife, Naomi, etc - for her name to come up. Particularly since she's the one Ruth would have had the most connection with in regards to who Cullen has loved. 

 

I've never liked Naomi, but I gotta say, "Naomi, you in danger girl." She'd better start running now.

 

Totally not here for the Swede. Maybe I'll finally delete HoW off my DVR. 

Edited November 18, 2014 by I-Kare

[Ohwell]

I thought I saw ole pea eye from Lonesome Dove though.

Sadly, ole pea eye (Timothy Scott) died just a couple of years after doing Return to Lonesome Dove.  He was only 57.  I loved that character.

[kathybgd]

Awe! I didn't know he died. And actually thinking about it, the guy looked just like the Pea eye in the series, and surly he would of been aged! Now that series was very good as far as westerns of this day go. I read the novel first and they pretty much stuck to it. This show just saddens me how far they've gone off the original script.

[Duke2801]

I thought this was the most riveting and emotionally charged episode of the season.  Maybe even the past 2 seasons.  I think the actress did a phenomenal job of portraying grief, anger, acceptance and fear--all over the course of the last several episodes.  And, as somebody pointed out, having that camera shot from the INSIDE of her hood?? Wow.  Terrifying.  But brilliant. 

 

I think Ruth's desire was to die in penance for what her father had done, as evidenced by the flashbacks last episode.  Campbell could have easily set aside the guilty plea or pardoned her outright despite her objections, but he was intent on showing off his power to the population and so hanged her, just because he could. 

 

On a side note, why build the gallows on the main street into town?  There's such a thing as marketing and civic pride, folks.

 

Yeah, I was having a hard time trying to determine the point of those flashbacks of Ruth as a little girl, but I think you are onto something there. Plus?  I honestly think the point was that Ruth wanted to die from grief. Her son is dead.  Though some may disagree, I'd say that there is no greater loss than the loss of your own child. 

[ennui]

I thought there should have been more fuss over the death penalty for a woman. Even today, juries are reluctant to give the death penalty to women. Life imprisonment would have been more appropriate.

[Raja]

I thought there should have been more fuss over the death penalty for a woman. Even today, juries are reluctant to give the death penalty to women. Life imprisonment would have been more appropriate.

That reminds me of 12 Angry Men. The jury was deciding upon death or not guilty. You would think the Governor can commute a sentence as well as pardon the guilty. Maybe that power came later Edited November 27, 2014 by Raja

[kelslamu]

I was sure Cullen said something the second time Ruth asked him. Couldn't make it out. Maybe I was hearing things.

He said, "I'll always show up."  Hence, he'd be there for her, but as a good friend not a husband. My take on things anyway.  After reading someone else's response above I realize he said what I put later.  Sorry bout that.

I could do without ever hearing from or seeing the swede again.  Thank you very much show.

Edited July 11, 2015 by kelslamu

[SoSueMe]

He said, "I'll always show up."  Hence, he'd be there for her, but as a good friend not a husband. My take on things anyway.  After reading someone else's response above I realize he said what I put later.  Sorry bout that.

I could do without ever hearing from or seeing the swede again.  Thank you very much show.

Norwegian,lol.

I remember the character correcting someone under his breath and he was very irritated :)

[kelslamu]

Hence, my saying Swede. lol  Yeah, that character makes me want to tick him off.  Sad, isn't it?