S05.E11: Gambit

[paigow]

Mickey has blood on his hands after working with Durant; Campbell returns to town, complicating Louise's life.

[Ohwell]

Well that was interesting how Durant's story was wrapped up.  Too bad about Maggie; she really did love Durant and, apparently, he loved her.  You paid a heavy price for your schemes, Durant.  

I never want to see Campbell and Louise again.

I wonder if that's the last we'll see of Mickey and Eva.  

[paigow]

Bit of hyperbole...Campbell hit on her, she told him to fuck himself, he walked away...more inconvenient than "complicated". It's not like Campbell arranged the kidnapping so he could stalk her again.

[Dowel Jones]

That must really suck when your boss says "No, we're not paying the ransom.  Do what you gotta do."

So Durant ends his days in abject poverty.  Couldn't happen to a more deserving person.  I had this vision in my head that he was starting to write a biography called "Hell on Wheels."

Townes van Zant for the closing song.  Cool.

I didn't recognize the old guy who came in and took the satchel from Durant. Help?

[paigow]

51 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

 I had this vision in my head that he was starting to write a biography called "Hell on Wheels."

 

It was a manuscript about dragons and winter coming to upstate New York....but it never got finished...

[nodorothyparker]

So again we get an object lesson that nothing good comes from having sex with any of the men on this show.  But I think we already knew that about Durant and before these last couple of episodes I would have given Maggie credit for being smarter than that.

I have no idea whether I'm supposed to see it as a good or a bad thing that Mickey and Eva hooked up.  Bad I guess for Eva that he's a two pump chump but he is one of the last surviving named characters on their end of the story.  At least he finally rid us of the annoying Johnny Shea first even if he did have to first cry about killing his own blood, to which we're sitting here thinking you do remember you started this story with a brother you eventually put a bullet in, right?

Good for Louise getting to tell Campbell to fuck off.  I think the white haired guy at the end was one of the men Durant had cheated with this particular land scheme and had come demanding restitution, which set this whole mess in motion.

Edited July 3, 2016 by nodorothyparker

[juniemoon]

11 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

 At least he finally rid us of the annoying Johnny Shea first even if he did have to first cry about killing his own blood, to which we're sitting here thinking you do remember you started this story with a brother you eventually put a bullet in, right?

 

I'll admit I wasn't watching with the degree of attention I used to, but I was so confused. First Mickey says he won't kill kin (even though we know he killed his brother), then he kills kin, then he breaks down to Eva that he killed kin -- twice. Why did he kill Johnny exactly? And what sense did the sex make with Eva? WTH? I don't even have any farfetched theories.

Maggie is now So In Love with Durant, she's willing to sell her hotel to save him. Uh huh. How long does a sale like that take? Apparently she wrapped it up in maybe a day, in cash. Not only does she have magnificent bazoombas, she has giant real estate skillz. Can't use 'em now, though.

No Cullen Bohannon, the only reason I'm hanging on with my scraped and bleeding knuckles. I wish I'd just waited for this last season to come out on Netflix and binged-and-cringed through to the end in one painful swoop.

[Ohwell]

I started disliking Louise when she started screwing Campbell.  She knew he was a bastard, and didn't he oversee Ruth's hanging?  So I don't care that she finally told him to fuck off.  I still don't like her.

I agree that Maggie's love for Durant seemed to come out of nowhere.  I thought she was just having casual sex with him; I didn't realize it was luuuurve.

Looks like next week will bring resolution to the Mei as a woman story.  I just hope she survives.

[lidarose9]

Maggie had to be in love with Durant so she could die, so he could have a bottoming out moment. It was supposed to be ironic, I guess, that he'd promised her no more schemes, and then... oh, you know, we've all seen this kind of thing a million times before where it worked, and this time of course it felt ham-handed and silly. UGH. MAKE IT STOP.

Yeah, good thing Eva stuck around long enough to get fucked by Mickey after his big turning point moment. Losing her baby, losing her man, becoming a drunk gambling addict, then a savvy but pointless madam... Oh I forgot about the getting raped. They have pretty much exhausted the indignities available. Maybe if they'd done another season she could get smallpox.

And Mickey, wut the everlasting fuck? This is the one who murdered his own brother? And then spent a lot of time developing into a psychopath, and I don't even remember what all, but none of it was good.... and now I guess he's -- being redeemed? He saw the error of his ways? UGH. And so he gets to be with Eva by virtue of the fact that he's the last man standing.

These other people, I suppose we were meant to giggle with delight when we see Campbell and that ginger psychopath who rides with him. Oh, what fun! Callbacks! Except they are fuckheads too! All of these people are fuckheads! Even the reporter woman. God, she is just walking misery, isn't she? All these people are so miserable. Why doesn't she move to San Francisco and be sure to wear some flowers in her hair. Or something.  Really, the only person I give a shit about is Psalms. The rest of these people can all go fuck off. Including Cullen Fucking Bohannon. What a loser. I mean there are anti-heroes and then there are losers, and this character jumped the shark so long ago, I can't even bear to look back. Really it all should have ended on that railroad bridge. That day. All the rest of this is just shit.   ...  whew... I feel better now.

[Commando Cody]

I can't keep the two women straight. One was a journalist. The other was the hotel owner? Or was one the journalist and the hotel owner? They both look alike. I'm pretty sure at least one of them was a lesbian in an earlier season. Then she suddenly went back to men. I don't know how you can sell a hotel in an afternoon. She must have had an offer on the table already. Someone with cash ready and just waiting for her to sell. That's realistic. 

For a while, I thought the show was going with the audience forgetting that Mickey killed his brother. He seemed so offended about killing his cousin. I kept thinking that he killed his brother. At least the show acknowledged it.  

I can't explain it, but the sex between Mickey and Eva made total sense to me. I think it has more to do with upset people needing the dopamine rather than the actual sex. Eva and Mickey had some sort of relationship beyond being business partners. She seemed like she was trying to help him out. 

[Dowel Jones]

All I can say is that Al Swearingen would be turning over in his grave had he actually been dead when this was taking place (he was very much alive).

[Raja]

After Mr. Ferguson and the Swede I thought at least history would have spared us an hour's detour to show Doc Durants death. I will still finish off the series but it is because we are in the mid summer lulls.

[Ohwell]

10 hours ago, lidarose9 said:

Really, the only person I give a shit about is Psalms.

Same here.  I hope we get some final scenes of him before the end.

I do like Mei as well.  

[NorthstarATL]

Maggie's story COULD have been an interesting one, and maybe a nice counterpoint to Durant's in showing that someone (even a woman!) could make a reasonable success out of the West, without scheming and without profiting from others' weaknesses, but, alas, the story HOW chose to tell was one where she was simply a supporting character in others' biographies, and she died in order to give Durant some needed manpain. I would compare her to Lily, who was ruined (IMO) by for no apparent reason, becoming Durant's sexual partner, but at least Lily WAS one of the main POV characters early on.

 And WTF with Eva and Mickey? That scene should have ended with her walking out of the barn after refusing him initially. There was nothing in his confession or his manpain that required her to give him a pity screw. She was way beyond that sort of thing this season, and now, again, she's servicing someone else's storyline.

  Such a bad week, especially for the women.

[paigow]

8 hours ago, NorthstarATL said:

 There was nothing in his confession or his manpain that required her to give him a pity screw.

 

8 hours ago, NorthstarATL said:

she died in order to give Durant some needed manpain.

 Mickey & Durant need Advil ASAP...Opium is probably easier to find though...

[snowwhyte]

I was actually enjoying this a bit to start. I think Durant is the only character who is consistent in personality and action. He will always put himself first, cheat and scheme and then feel sorry for himself when it all blows up in his face. He might have the odd twinge of conscience but never enough to change his behaviour. It was so predictable that his scheme would go wrong and i was angry that it was Maggie who had to pay the price this time. She started out a strong female character, a savvy, no nonsense businesswoman able to take on Durant. She ended up a fool unable to see that Durant wasn't worth her time or money. 

I did like the death of Johnny Shea. He was a vile character.

[ennui]

So, I guess I'm the only one who likes Campbell?

How many episodes to the finale? I'm a little confused because it was half last summer, half this summer.

[Ohwell]

I despise Campbell because: 1) he deputized that child-killer, Sydney Snow, to maintain "law and order"; and 2) he oversaw Ruth's hanging.  I also despise Louise for screwing him.

[ennui]

It's a challenge to find any characters in this show who aren't despicable.

[Ohwell]

Well, there's Psalms.  Eva isn't too bad--now.  Stagecoach Mary, and only because she hasn't been seen much.  I can't think of anyone else.   

[Raja]

7 hours ago, ennui said:

 

How many episodes to the finale? I'm a little confused because it was half last summer, half this summer.

Three more a 14 episode finale season.

Edited July 10, 2016 by Raja
wrong week

[TheRabbi]

It was about 25 minutes into the episode when I actually realised we hadn't seen Cullen yet. Goes to show how little I've cared for that character recently. I found this episode alright from Durant's perspective. Mickeys motivations have always been a bit questionable to me.