Season 2: The Honeymoon

[Wilowy]

We were swoony in love with the show. Did it live up to our expectations?

[walnutqueen]

Wasn't this the Season of the Gleets?  Because that was awesome in a really horrible way.

[Wilowy]

It was! See the Swearengen thread for more on that! :)

[walnutqueen]

Season 2 also introduced us to Martha Bullock, an oft overlooked and under appreciated character in her own right.  She was another one of those strong female characters  I adored; and my empathy for her blossomed when we heard the one (and only) letter from Seth that ever reached her.  It was a singularly touching and elegant love letter, full of promise :

Dear Mrs. Bullock,

Your house is near finished.  My satisfaction does not exceed the camp’s lumbermen and sawyers whose patience I have tried by my over watchful eye for greenness and for good square edge quality in the cut boards.  I’ve chosen pine, one-year seasoned, for the sills, posts, floor joists and rafters.  The other framing timbers is of spruce.  Where partitions bear upon them, I have doubled the beams and supported the floor with locus posts set three feet into the ground.  I think you may laugh to see the mullioned windows with their view of the camp from out the parlor.  Being unfinished, they look like unfocused eyes.  I’ve left these and all final decorative choices to your superior judgment and sensibility.  I hope that you and the boy may arrive in good health and safety.  I look forward to our opportunity to better get to know each other.  I pray that in my brother’s stead, I may be permitted to be a father to the boy as good as Robert would have been, and as to your care and comfort and safety, as good a husband to you. 

Yours Sincerely,

Seth Bullock.

 

 

[Wilowy]

Thanks for that, walnutqueen! How cool to see it in print. You're right... a sweet, elegant letter indeed. 

[walnutqueen]

A promise made and broken, a future shattered by the now.  Pity.

[honeywest]

I think (on my third viewing) that I'm finally starting to understanding the Miss Isringhausen subplot. But I'll probably get confused again before she's gone.

[Wilowy]

She's a Pinkerton! Freakin' little spy! I loved her! :D

[honeywest]

I first watched Deadwood a year ago, on HBO Go, when I was sick at home. I loved it immediately (made myself ration it to two episodes a day rather than binge-watch the whole thing) but realize now that there were a lot of nuances I missed when I was running a 103-degree fever. . . .

[walnutqueen]

honeywest - I will not admit to how many times I've watched these episodes (at least, not 'till you do some serious waterboarding), but I have noticed more nuances with every single viewing - there is a wealth of gold to mine in this gem of a show, and I am a prospector at heart.  :-)

[honeywest]

I noticed while rewatching "Something Very Expensive" that Carrie asked Wolcott if there was any way to cut a throat painlessly--anticipating Johnny's question to Al at the end of "Tell Him Something Pretty."

 

I wish Garret Dillahunt had turned up in a third role in season three.

Edited April 27, 2014 by honeywest

[Wilowy]

They did discuss it, it just never came to pass. That would have been awesome though, you're right. 

[walnutqueen]

honeywest  - I also remembered an earlier episode when Joanie was telling the little con girl how to recognize that moment, just before something very bad is going to happen.  That feeling saved Joanie from Wolcott's blade.

 

If anyone could pull off a third character it would be Garret Dillahunt.

[Catherinewriter]

As Season Two progressed, I remembered that there was some very bad stuff coming up (yes, worse than the general very bad stuff). Does anyone have any insight into what the f--k was wrong with Wolcott, and why Cy and the other men let him get away with his murders. It certainly can't be said that it was good for business. And where are the rest of the hookers going hidden in Charlie Utter's wagon? Dear Charlie, so many people count on him, with good reason.

[Wilowy]

Joanie made good the whore's getaway because she knew a Madam in another town. She sent them away with money and her good recommendation. 

 

Wolcott was a serial killer. What I wouldn't love to have my darling BAU profile THIS cocksucker! And yes, most people turned a blind eye to his doings because he was killing whores. Even Hearst pretended not to know what he was up to, paying off the town's lawmen to keep quiet. Cy was afraid of Hearst, so he let Wolcott's murders slide right on by. 

 

Cy was the worst person in Deadwood. At least Wolcott knew what he was and confessed before committing suicide. Cy was a psychotic sociopath, a controlling, abusive, and murdering fuck with zero moral code. Hell, I'd put Dan up in front of the figurative pearly gates before Cy.

[Catherinewriter]

I guess my question here is with the writers. First of all, there was no Wolcott in real life, and second of all, does it make sense that neither Swearengen nor Cy would intervene to prevent Wolcott's psychopathy? After all, the bottom line for both of them is business and profit, which surely went downhill for a time after Alice Krige and the other two women were killed. So it's not that these kinds of men (Wolcott) didn't exist, I just wonder what Milch's fuckin' intention was in this arc. Took up a lot of time that could have been put to better use for the other characters.

[Wilowy]

Short answer is that he had a mancrush on Dillahunt. Who knows? I actually think his arc is interesting, and I'm fond of the actor, too. :)

[walnutqueen]

I hate to say this, but I doubt business was significantly impacted by the murder of three whores.  Pimps and serial killers are keenly aware of what value society places on whores, and how easy it is to find a seemingly endless supply.

 

Cy is definitely the spawn of the devil - he just doesn't have a redeemable bone in his body.

[Catherinewriter]

Walnut, I agree with you about Cy. But there have been a few places in the series in which the unavailability of a prostitute has concerned Al, at least. But you're right, they probably were a dime a dozen. I really hate this part of the series.

[walnutqueen]

Yes, Al had a heart and a soft spot for the weak. 

 

The scene where we first see the Chinese slave/whores was chilling and so very awful to watch.  Those outstretched hands said it all.

[honeywest]

Doc's insistence on treating the Chinese whores as well as the white ones is another reason to love him. And Cy's resistance to the idea is another reason to hate him.

[Catherinewriter]

I was confused by the end of this scene. Did Cy agree to let Doc treat the Chinese women, or not? This arc is so, so painful, as I'm sure it was to the real women. And I wonder why people such as Jane and Joanie didn't take steps to alleviate some of the women's pain. God, what a life.

[honeywest]

He finally agreed when Doc said he'd do it pro bono (and when he threatened to stop treating the Bella Union women unless he was also allowed to treat the Chinese women).

[Catherinewriter]

Okay, good. I couldn't tell from his physical response what he'd decided. And since it was clear he couldn't give a f--k, I was afraid he'd blown Doc off.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Catherinewriter

[walnutqueen]

In the midst of the sorrowful preparations for Will's funeral, some much needed comic relief was the "superstition throwdown" scene between Johnny, Dan and Trixie, replete with prescient dead birds, boots new and on the bar and the sprinkling of whiskey on the threshhold.

 

 

RTA: which made the subsequent funeral service that much more poignant and terribly wonderful.

Edited May 3, 2014 by walnutqueen

[Wilowy]

I consider myself a fully-girded viewer of Deadwood, and appreciative of all it's greatness as well as it's failings. But I cannot watch William dead ever again. Once was enough. Sweet, sunflower-seed planting child. It was so something my Willow would do. 

[Catherinewriter]

Oh, William, we hardly knew ya. But what we did was wonderful. May you find that trout in a pool in heaven. The actor has only been in one other show, according to IMDB - "Numbers." A shame, since he had a terrific presence.

Did anyone else find it strange that neither Martha nor Seth held him, or at least held his hands while they were keeping watch? Was there a strain of Victorian behavior in the late 1800s that kept people from being physical with one another (except for the constant brawling, of course)?

By the way, does anyone know what happened to Eddie. The last time I saw him he was apologizing to Cy (perhaps not sincerely) about his behavior after Cy killed the two con kids, and then suddenly there was someone else at the gaming table. Did I miss something. I liked the character.

[Wilowy]

The actor who played Eddie, Ricky Jay, left Deadwood under heated circumstances. He's been rather vocal about it in the past, but hasn't said much since. 

 

http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2004/09/27/Ricky-Jay-wont-return-to-HBOs-Deadwood/UPI-16081096310660/

[Catherinewriter]

Thanks for the link, Willowy. And fuckety fuck fuck. I've heard that many folks have problems with Milch, including, way back, Jimmy Smits on NYPD Blue.

[Wilowy]

I hear you.

 

Tortured geniuses always have their problems. And there are just as many who swear devotion to him, like Keone. Calls him "Dai Lo" (a phrase of deep respect) and will follow him anywhere just because he finds him brilliant. 

 

Still doesn't give him a right to be an asshole.

[Catherinewriter]

Assholes assume the right to be such, non regarding the likes or dislikes of others. They are assholes by choice.

[Wilowy]

I hear you, but without Milch, we'd not have our show. 

 

Were you ever aware of his process? Did you know he would write out each script in longhand on a legal note pad, laying on the floor? That he would turn in revisions hours, sometimes minutes before they were to start shooting? 

 

He loved it and he cared and he was brilliant. 

 

Until he wasn't.

[Catherinewriter]

Color me confused. I know Milch was the producer, but he actually wrote very few of the scripts, according to the list. Or did he redo them all after they'd been written?

[Wilowy]

Milch wrote uncredited for most of the series run. Keone Young said he (Milch) had a hand in every single script. 

[Catherinewriter]

So the writer credits were a way to give writers more income, or more exposure, or what? Whatever the answer, seems to me to be more than a little fraudulent, no?

[Wilowy]

I think it was more collaborative than fraudulent. It was Milch's baby, but they wrote his ideas. I always likened him to an Art Director, the head honcho who still dips his own pen in the inkwell. 

[Catherinewriter]

Thanks for the info. I've wondered how the rhythm and Shakespearean-like language is maintained if the writers are different. Now I get it.

[Wilowy]

Here's an awesome season 2 blooper reel, with a "Dallas" opening, and a "Battlestar Galactica" closing. 

 

I love how when Ian fucks up you can hear his English accent. :D

 

[mizkat]

I think it was more collaborative than fraudulent. It was Milch's baby, but they wrote his ideas. I always likened him to an Art Director, the head honcho who still dips his own pen in the inkwell.

 

I read an article recently where Brown (who was also given writing credit) said that Milch wrote almost everything. The only one who could come close to him was Ted Mann.

[mizkat]

Did anyone else find it strange that neither Martha nor Seth held him, or at least held his hands while they were keeping watch? Was there a strain of Victorian behavior in the late 1800s that kept people from being physical with one another (except for the constant brawling, of course)?

 

That might have been part of it, especially concerning Seth. He was just getting to know and love him as a son. I liked watching all that constrained emotion because it ramps up the tension. There was definitely a mindset of restraint among "proper folk" during that time period, although they were often contradictory--couples would be all Seth and Martha in public only to become Seth and Alma in private. ;)

[Pallas]

I read an article recently where Brown (who was also given writing credit) said that Milch wrote almost everything. The only one who could come close to him was Ted Mann.

So the writer credits were a way to give writers more income, or more exposure, or what? Whatever the answer, seems to me to be more than a little fraudulent, no?

 

It was generous.  Milch wrote most of Deadwood; he gave writing credit (and fee, and residuals, etc.) to the writer who executed the first draft of each script, whose storyline Milch had created.  Milch then re-wrote the script and in many cases, was the equally uncredited but omnipresent director.  Already a very wealthy man and a well-regarded writer/producer thanks to NYPD Blue, Milch shared the bounty among his community of artists on Deadwood.  

 

In his three Deadwood  re-watches for HitFix's "What's Alan Watching?," and in his book about the big turn-of-the-century showrunners, Alan Sepinwall lays out the workings of the show.  He also addresses the reason for its cancellation, which he and others from the production place at HBO's door. (Moving those remarks to the Gem thread).  

[Catherinewriter]

"He also addresses the reason for its cancellation, which he and others from the production place at HBO's door." (Moving those remarks to the Gem thread).

Cocksuckers!!! Nothing at the Gem thread yet, but I felt compelled to offer this benign point of view.

[Kel Varnsen]

Through my rewatch and noticing things, last night I noticed an error in season 2. In the second episode Al is telling his story to Merrick, at the very end, and at the end of his story he mentions that the Gem has "comely whores, decently priced liquor and the squarest games of chance in the hills" and that it is open at all hours 7 days a week. But in the very next episode, when Al is on the floor and his door is locked, the Gem is closed, and the whores are asking Dan and Johnny when they are going to open up.