S05.E10: 61 Degrees

[paigow]

TV Guide:

Cullen's nitroglycerin experiment provides an explosive backdrop for the railroad life in Truckee. Meanwhile, Durant's plan turns deadly.

[Dowel Jones]

He's on to you, Mei.

[Ohwell]

Yeah, he's on to her and I wonder what he'll do about it?

Too bad that poor guy got shot on the train as a result of Durant's shenanigans.  Newspaper lady was lucky that all she got was a hit to the face.  I know she's supposed to snoop around for news, but that's what you get for showing up where you don't belong. 

Is Eva going to kill herself on that white horse?  I don't understand her fascination with it.

[NorthstarATL]

So now he thinks Cullen is gay? It's like a wacky comedy! That was a pretty awful scene on the traincar. I wonder if the guy's wife's suit for abandonment, if it went through, wouldn't bite her in the rear now that she would have been a widow just a week or so after? I know it's callous, but I think about things like that. Felt bad about that guy's family. He had his priorities in order, though. The sex scene with the nitro was not explosive. Will Eva ride the white horse?

[Ohwell]

23 minutes ago, NorthstarATL said:

Will Eva ride the white horse?

I'm sure the Chinese guy could fix her up with some.

I'm glad that guy told Cullen to take this job and shove it, and got the hell out of Truckee with his family.  I think his leaving got Cullen thinking about his own priorities.  If the writers let Mei live, maybe he's thinking about settling down and starting his own family again.  

[nodorothyparker]

Poor Delaney.  No one ever took him seriously or respected him and in the end, he ends up with a bullet in his head in yet another Durant scheme gone bad.  And Mickey, has anything you've involved the Dead Rabbits cretins in gone well since you've imported them from back east?

Was I supposed to think Cullen and Mei were two of the world's biggest idiots for banging at the opposite end of the table from their home explosives lab all of about 5 minutes after we've been told repeatedly how unstable it is?  Because I did.  It did give me a brief laugh when they were in the tunnel explosion together though because all I could think was yep, she's going to be injured or killed so they can show us yet again that nothing good ever comes from a woman having sex with Bohannon.  I suppose Cheng will take care of that with all of his lurking and suspicious looks.

Dear show, please stop showing me Durant in afterglow with anyone.  I don't even know what the attraction is for Maggie.  In addition to Durant being a fraud and a blowhard, he has no neck.

Nice to see they're at least paying attention to building the railroad again.

[beesknees]

I thought for sure Mei was going to get blown up this episode because now that she and Cullen have done the "dirty deed" and he had a single moment of pleasure in his life it's time to get back to sheer misery for all parties involved.  

The scene where Bohannon and Mei were getting it on with the nitro glycerin 2 feet away was really stupid and unbelievable.  Wasn't buying it.  And why was he so rough with her?  It was kinda off to me for some reason.  Didn't really seem very sexy.  At first I thought Bohannon was straight up sexually assaulting her.  I know rough sex can be a turn-on sometimes but I was sort of scared for Mei when he began roughing her the hell up.

The fascination with Eva and that white horse.  Don't get it.  Was that Common's horse back in the day or ? (forget Common's character's name).  Yup.  Eva's gonna die on that horse.  Regarding Maggie (hotel woman) - impressive rack, lady.  I am being sooo superficial.  I know it.  (Hangs head in shame) - I will see myself out now.  Agree with the other poster(s) that seeing Durant in any state of undress is no bueno.

Edited June 27, 2016 by beesknees

[Commando Cody]

I was about halfway through this episode and I wondered why I was still watching. I'm so disinterested now. I guess I have to see it through to the bitter, bitter end. I don't see a happy ending for Bohannan. I don't see him driving the last spike in and then walking off into the sunset with Mei and then finishing the series by driving the last rail road spike in. I'm kind of expecting Mei to get raped and killed. We know how little the Mormon woman meant to Bohannan because she lived. The desk clerk - or whatever he is - started suspecting something was up last week. I think he was pretty miffed when Mei left with the prostitute. Short of making her take her clothes off at gunpoint, he's probably going to find a way to catch Bohannan and Mei in the act.  Also, was Bohannan disinterested after the three Chinese men died in the explosion? I didn't get the impression that he was too concerned. 

How many episodes are left?

[lidarose9]

Nothing makes any sense. I feel sorry for the actors trying to bullshit their way through this, cuz it's all just random. If there was any real motivation for any of these characters to do anything, it got pissed away over the last 2 seasons. It's painful to remember some of the really decent storylines this show had a few years ago. I really liked it. Now I hate it.

[juniemoon]

I have no idea what I'm watching anymore. From the sex we've seen, what are we supposed to think about Cullen's feelings for Mei? Does he feel something for her, or is he just satisfying urges? (Seems more like the latter.) And while I saw a little bit of chemistry between them during the first half of the season, I'm not seeing any now. Making the nitro bottles rattle? What was the point? To distract us from the un-sexy sex? Fail. Yes, rough sex can be hot, but this just seemed like WTF? I have no idea what's supposed to be between them and now don't care.

The whole Maggie/Durant thing also seems like some other show. And women of that time didn't wear their dresses without undergarments -- quite the contrary. So her throwing on her dress and standing there with her girls strategically exposed was laughable (and again, aimed at the adolescent boy audience, I guess). "Marry me!"? Where did that come from?

I thought Strobridge was one of the more interesting remaining characters, and just like that, Cullen gets him fired for seemingly no reason. He didn't have to "order" him to work with the nitro. Guess they're just shedding characters now.

I agree with lidarose9 that the whole thing just seems like random scenes with no rhyme or reason or direction. No character development or insight. No clear storylines. What a great original premise gone completely off the rails. (So to speak.) I'll limp to the end but only because it's so near.

[ennui]

I saw Cullen and Mei's aggressive sex as we-almost-died life-affirming. Sort of like make-up sex after a huge argument.

Eve's fascination with the white horse is understandable. It's beautiful, and it's wild and free. Very appealing. But, when it knocked her down, I think she remembered it could be dangerous, too.

[Ohwell]

31 minutes ago, ennui said:

I saw Cullen and Mei's aggressive sex as we-almost-died life-affirming. Sort of like make-up sex after a huge argument.

That's the way I saw it, too.

[catrice2]

I am sorry, but has Cullen been shown with a normal woman? i get that he is supposed to be "damaged" with this sad back story, but first he has sex with a young girl in a barn with her family a few feet away, and now he is sleeping with someone who is pretending to be a man? Then there was the flirtation (at least on her part) with the religious girl. 

Can he have a normal relationship and see where that goes?  After the sex in the barn with  Naomi? the "rough" sex with Mei was disturbing.  What are they trying to say about him? 

I keep DVR and fast forwarding, and I have done that so much I no longer know what is going on in this season...Eva, Mickey, Durant, I have no idea. I don't even know how Cullen left the railroad and why they took him back. 

[snowwhyte]

Finally watched this and didn't really enjoy it. Cullen was an idiot messing around with nitroglycerine. His former friend was right to call him out and leave with his family. It's strange, Cullen makes a lot of mistakes but I always thought he was loyal to his friends. His putting the railroad first at the expense of everything else is something I still don't understand. I just don't get his motivations.