paigow July 14, 2016 Share July 14, 2016 Zap2it: When the race to finish the railroad comes down to mere inches, all parties find themselves pondering the end of the line and what the future has in store for them Link to comment
kre8 July 15, 2016 Share July 15, 2016 (edited) found an interesting post on the official Hell on Wheels facebook page... They posted this 2 days ago............. I wonder why they would ask or tease such a question? unless they're hinting at something purposely... Edited July 15, 2016 by kre8 Link to comment
canthaltilt July 16, 2016 Share July 16, 2016 (edited) hmmmmmmm Edited July 17, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
Ohwell July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 Best part of the show was seeing so much of Psalms. I'm happy he got a good send off. I did not need to see Campbell and Louise again. It's nice that Cullen is learned some Chinese and was eating what I guess was a typical Chinese breakfast. I swear though, when he fell down drunk I thought he was having a heart attack. Instead, he finally let all his pain and anguish out. Maybe now he'll feel better. I have a feeling now that once the railroad stuff is over, he will go looking for Mei and the note she left contains information on how to find her. 2 Link to comment
nodorothyparker July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 That was 40 some minutes of goodness of seeing the race to the finish with Psalms and the freedmen joining together with Cullen and the Chinese workers followed by 10 minutes of I have no idea what. Something something Durant double crossing Huntingdon somehow over something and Cullen rolling around on the floor in pain for some reason. We couldn't figure out if he had fallen and broken his leg or had a heart attack or what. He's in next week's previews though so I guess we can assume whatever it was wasn't that serious. 3 Link to comment
lidarose9 July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 I can't help it. The opening montage with newspaper lady typing away at her typewriter about an event in 1869. From wikipedia: From 1829 to 1870, many printing or typing machines were patented by inventors in Europe and America, but none went into commercial production. (...) The first typewriter to be commercially successful was invented in 1868 by Americans Christopher Latham Sholes, Frank Haven Hall, Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soule in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, although Sholes soon disowned the machine and refused to use, or even to recommend it. It looked "like something like a cross between a piano and a kitchen table."[18] The working prototype was made by the machinist Matthias Schwalbach.[19][20][21] The patent (US 79,265) was sold for $12,000 to Densmore and Yost, who made an agreement with E. Remington and Sons (then famous as a manufacturer of sewing machines) to commercialize the machine as the Sholes and Glidden Type-Writer. This was the origin of the term typewriter. Remington began production of its first typewriter on March 1, 1873, in Ilion, New York. It had a QWERTY keyboard layout, which because of the machine's success, was slowly adopted by other typewriter manufacturers. As with most other early typewriters, because the typebars strike upwards, the typist could not see the characters as they were typed. 2 Link to comment
Dowel Jones July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 I had to laugh at the Chinese and the Irish walking out for better pay at the beginning. Damn that capitalism! In reality, I'll bet there was plenty of work available on the railroads after the completion, and the mining boss was under no contract to keep those workers for any length of time. So maybe they made the right decision to return to Bohannen. They should have doubled their pay, though. I also thought Bohannen was checking out, especially when Louise made the comment that no price was too high. All he lost, and his reward (and all the workers, black, white, and Asian), was to see a railroad company reap the great rewards of winning the contest. I realize that's the way it was in the boom era of western expansion, but it just doesn't feel right. As I understand it, according to one of Ken Burns' programs, the two RRs actually kept right on working past each other because of the pay for mileage contracts. Someone finally blew the whistle and Congress forced the issue, resulting in the ceremony at Promontory Summit. Sidebar: It is ironic that there is no through track to Promontory Summit anymore, having been bypassed by a direct line over the Salt Lake to Ogden. Even Ogden has been bypassed by Amtrak, as they go through Salt Lake City. When I rode in there sometime in the 80s (paying customer), the route went from Ogden to Cheyenne to Denver, and eastern Utah/western Colorado was served by the Denver & Rio Grande Western, known by hobos as the Dangerous & Rapidly Growing Worse. They ran this beautiful old refurbished 1940s train from Salt Lake over to the Colorado River and all the way to Grand Junction. Ah, rail travel. 1 Link to comment
canthaltilt July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 (edited) 7 hours ago, Ohwell said: I have a feeling now that once the railroad stuff is over, he will go looking for Mei and the note she left contains information on how to find her. hmm if it was info on how to find her then I don't think he would be so grief stricken since he would know where she is and could go to her when he wanted.. but its definitely some kind of note from her..... But I don't think they would have focused so heavily on her box and his grief over Mei unless they were leading up to something with him and her at the end.. I think I wont watch the final episode unless I hear there was a happy ending.. Edited July 17, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
canthaltilt July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 (edited) 10 hours ago, nodorothyparker said: That was 40 some minutes of goodness of seeing the race to the finish with Psalms and the freedmen joining together with Cullen and the Chinese workers followed by 10 minutes of I have no idea what. Something something Durant double crossing Huntingdon somehow over something and Cullen rolling around on the floor in pain for some reason. We couldn't figure out if he had fallen and broken his leg or had a heart attack or what. He's in next week's previews though so I guess we can assume whatever it was wasn't that serious. it was the pain of missing Mei and then some Edited July 17, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
snowwhyte July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 I thought it was a panic attack at first but it wasn't very clear. Cullen really looked old and beaten down in this episode and everyone seemed to notice. I thought it was great to have all the characters back together and interacting. I thought it was a mistake to send Cullen over to the other railroad. It did lead to the awesome scene of Psalms listening to Durant's speech and basically going, screw this, you don't get to win and helping Cullen instead. Loved that. 3 Link to comment
Ohwell July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 Cullen does look better in the previews of the next episode. Hopefully, he's gotten himself together. My main complaint with this show all along has been the inability to understand what some of the characters are saying--especially Cullen. I could use closed captioning but when I do that I'm too busy reading the lines instead of concentrating on the story. Plus, I don't know if it's just my tv but I usually have to turn the volume on AMC shows much higher than other channels. And, speaking of not understanding, maybe it just went over my head but I couldn't understand Eva's little speech to Cullen about why she wanted the white horse. I guess she was trying to dispense some "wisdom" to him, but I just didn't get it. Link to comment
ennui July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 4 hours ago, canthaltilt said: it was the pain of missing Mei and then some Yes, and Cullen's not accustomed to crying, which made it even more painful for him. Is it me, or is Cullen's leg getting worse? I hope he doesn't die of tetanus. I thought Louise's comment about the price was flippant. Link to comment
lidarose9 July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 There were a few good moments that actually made me remember how good this show was when it was good. But they were stirred into a morass of whatever. This episode made me do a mental inventory of the many characters, MANY, who are no longer with us for the end of the line. The ones that remain aren't the ones I give a shit about, except for Psalms and maybe Eva. Mickey is still there not because he was an important character but because he outlasted the good ones. And oy, more Eva with the spotted horse again: heavy-handed, lazy. (One good moment, her story about having to leave her "Mojave family" -- we have never really been told her backstory, have we? I was glad they gave her that 2.5 minutes.) I also thought Bohannon was having a heart attack. I guess that was his backlog of emotional pain coming loose. We could make a list of the people he's lost that would be a mile long. He had one good speech about why that railroad mattered, which I missed half of cuz he can't fucking enunciate worth a shit, but for most of those people it was just another day's work. It's idiotic to pretend the jobs would disappear once the contest was over; they were building additional lines and spurs all over the place as soon as they could. The mass defection of Psalms' crew was handy and tidy, and you could see it coming from a mile away, but I guess they ran out of plot twists. Link to comment
Ohwell July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 25 minutes ago, lidarose9 said: He had one good speech about why that railroad mattered, which I missed half of cuz he can't fucking enunciate worth a shit, I was actually laughing at that "speech" because even some of the men looked like "WTF is he talking about?" 2 Link to comment
nodorothyparker July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 We've gotten details of Eva's story over the seasons as I guess the writers thought it seemed relevant, but never in one coherent form. When the Mormons ate the show, she suddenly mentioned that her original family was Mormon. Other than that, it's dribbled out that she lived with Indians, hence the facial tattoo. Was she taken prisoner? Rescued by them? From them? Who really knows? I can't understand half of what anyone's saying without closed captioning either and I'm of the opinion that if I'm going to have to read everything, I should probably just get a damn book and skip the TV. The white horse has appeared in how many episodes now and I still have no idea what the point of it is except to give Eva scenes with someone who isn't Mickey. At least the horse isn't likely to want a pity quickie in the barn. I got a big kick out of Psalms' big "uh hell no" moment when Durant stood up in front of men who had been killing themselves all day for an arbitrary finish line and blathered about how hard he's worked and how he really needed them to work even harder so he could "win." Durant always has been gloriously tone deaf and this was no exception. Sure, you could see it coming and it didn't really matter in the end with Durant apparently figuring out yet another way to cheat, but it still felt good. 3 Link to comment
paigow July 17, 2016 Author Share July 17, 2016 17 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said: Sure, you could see it coming and it didn't really matter in the end with Durant apparently figuring out yet another way to cheat, but it still felt good. Wikipedia says that Durant actually got to Ogden first...and later sold the rights to Central Pacific. Link to comment
Babalooie July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 My take on Eva and the horse is that because of the horse having those red spots (of unknown origin to me), and being hard to tame, she identifies with said horse. Regarding Cullen's speech, the actor Anson Mount is from Tennessee. Being from Lynyrd Skynyrd territory in N. Florida, I have no problem understanding him, but can certainly understand people from other regions having difficulty. Link to comment
NorthstarATL July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 The final few minutes of actually BUILDING the railroad were the best that the show has been since maybe the second season. It was invigorating and reminded one that this was a huge undertaking and that it mattered. 17 hours ago, lidarose9 said: I can't help it. The opening montage with newspaper lady typing away at her typewriter about an event in 1869. From wikipedia: From 1829 to 1870, many printing or typing machines were patented by inventors in Europe and America, but none went into commercial production. (...) The first typewriter to be commercially successful was invented in 1868 by Americans Christopher Latham Sholes, Frank Haven Hall, Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soule in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, although Sholes soon disowned the machine and refused to use, or even to recommend it. It looked "like something like a cross between a piano and a kitchen table."[18] The working prototype was made by the machinist Matthias Schwalbach.[19][20][21] The patent (US 79,265) was sold for $12,000 to Densmore and Yost, who made an agreement with E. Remington and Sons (then famous as a manufacturer of sewing machines) to commercialize the machine as the Sholes and Glidden Type-Writer. This was the origin of the term typewriter. Remington began production of its first typewriter on March 1, 1873, in Ilion, New York. It had a QWERTY keyboard layout, which because of the machine's success, was slowly adopted by other typewriter manufacturers. As with most other early typewriters, because the typebars strike upwards, the typist could not see the characters as they were typed. Well, if I've learned ANYTHING from Google and their "doodles", it's that some woman, perhaps a lesbian, ACTUALLY invented and used the typewriter before the people listed historically STOLE her invention, so the show is likely accurate. 1 Link to comment
Ohwell July 17, 2016 Share July 17, 2016 26 minutes ago, NorthstarATL said: The final few minutes of actually BUILDING the railroad were the best that the show has been since maybe the second season. It was invigorating and reminded one that this was a huge undertaking and that it mattered. Exactly. When I watched those scenes, I said to myself, "Now this is what Hell on Wheels is supposed to be about!" 5 Link to comment
catrice2 July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 I just cannot stay interested anymore. I fast forward through most of the episode and then come to the comments for everyone to explain what happened. Cullen has become so unlikable, predictable, broken, etc. that not only do I not care what happens to him, I can barely watch him on the screen. I thought he was having a stroke at the end, something to do with his leg injury. I have never known what was going on with Mickey or Durant. I agree with the person who said he dies in the end. What else is there? Link to comment
canthaltilt July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 4 hours ago, catrice2 said: Cullen has become so unlikable, predictable, broken, etc. that not only do I not care what happens to him, I can barely watch him on the screen. I agree with the person who said he dies in the end. What else is there? It's because they refused to let his character just be happy.... It Mei <-- still happen in the end.. but I wouldn't be surprised if its a bad ending.... And if he does get a miserable end he would be the only one to blame... he should have gotten on a Boat to China already... instead the next preview shows him in a military uniform doing god knows what???? Link to comment
paigow July 18, 2016 Author Share July 18, 2016 Part of the preview says he is supposed to testify at somebody's trial...maybe there's a time jump and he joins the army afterwards...hunting Chang's killer. Link to comment
canthaltilt July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 (edited) changs killer? Edited July 18, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
paigow July 18, 2016 Author Share July 18, 2016 Classic unsub ploy...Cullen leads manhunt for himself...finds and frames other white guy...gets reward...moves to Hong Kong 1 Link to comment
juniemoon July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 On 7/17/2016 at 2:43 PM, nodorothyparker said: At least the horse isn't likely to want a pity quickie in the barn. I just had a flashback to Mr. Ed (yes, I'm old), saying, "But Willlllllburrrrrr, pleeeease, I killed kin." I have to confess that I haven't seen this ep yet, nor the last one, because I decided to stop the trickle of painful disappointment from watching episode by episode and just binge -- pull off the band-aid -- the final three eps next weekend. And any scene that has viewers wondering if they're seeing severe leg pain, or a heart attack, or a stroke, or accumulated emotional loss just validates my decision. (Didn't Bohannon have a similarly dramatic emotional release when he wailed at Elam's grave?) I don't really need to see Cullen "happy." I just need for his ending to make sense for his character. And I have very little faith that it will. Link to comment
Ohwell July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 12 minutes ago, juniemoon said: And any scene that has viewers wondering if they're seeing severe leg pain, or a heart attack, or a stroke, or accumulated emotional loss just validates my decision. Now that's funny. Link to comment
canthaltilt July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 (edited) some people are saying that because the preview shows him in some kind of military uniform.. that he joins the army.. but how would he do that with his messed up leg.. but better yet.. why would he even do something like that at all.. Edited July 18, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
snowwhyte July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 Maybe its a flashback to his time in the war. We got a war flashback for the Swede, why not Cullen? 1 Link to comment
canthaltilt July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 10 minutes ago, snowwhyte said: Maybe its a flashback to his time in the war. We got a war flashback for the Swede, why not Cullen? well here's one of the comments about that Quote Saw the preview; saw Bohannon in the uniform of the then US Army. What the hell is HOW team doing? This guy has had enough of war and of violence. And what lies ahead are the indian wars! The sort of atrocities that have scarred Bohannon's soul. Don't know what the HOW team is thinking!!!!!! Link to comment
snowwhyte July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 It really would be a terrible idea to have Cullen rejoin the army for so many reasons. I know the writers aren't good but even they must know that. Now the railroad is finished I can see the finale being a sort of recap of Cullen's journey complete with war flashback. We see where he's been to explain where he ends up. 1 Link to comment
paigow July 18, 2016 Author Share July 18, 2016 (edited) http://www.amc.com/shows/hell-on-wheels/video-extras/season-05/episode-14/next-on-hell-on-wheels-episode-514 It is blue US Army...thus, NOT a flashback. It might be a dream / vision or actual. See time index 22 sec. Edited July 18, 2016 by paigow Link to comment
snowwhyte July 18, 2016 Share July 18, 2016 I can't watch the preview since I'm not in the US but if they had Cullen rejoin the army they better have a damn good explanation. Link to comment
paigow July 18, 2016 Author Share July 18, 2016 10 minutes ago, snowwhyte said: I can't watch the preview since I'm not in the US but if they had Cullen rejoin the army they better have a damn good explanation. I am in Canada and the link works for me. Link to comment
canthaltilt July 19, 2016 Share July 19, 2016 (edited) I got 5 bucks that says the clowns at AMC kill him off in the end......... I think it was actually Bohannons fault letting Mei leave. sure he did a lot for her and didn't want her to leave.. but he could have just said.. pack your stuff, we're leaving.. instead he was willing to stay there putting them both at risk... for the railroad ?????? don't have much pity for him anymore.. they've turned him into an unlikeable, self destructive buffoon... and an alcoholic now it seems like... good game amc... Edited July 19, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
paigow July 19, 2016 Author Share July 19, 2016 2 hours ago, canthaltilt said: instead he was willing to stay there putting them both at risk... for the railroad ?????? My theory for this is "Hate - Working". Just as we "hate - watch" various shows, Cullen has to finish the job regardless of any other factors. Link to comment
canthaltilt July 19, 2016 Share July 19, 2016 (edited) yet the job is finished..... and he's still there... I know there's one episode still left and not much time could have passed since "any sum within reason", probably only days or a week.... but I doubt anything changes. Edited July 19, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
canthaltilt July 19, 2016 Share July 19, 2016 (edited) found this interesting post made by someone on the hell on wheels facebook page.. not sure who it is but............ Quote after what I was told the girl's reaction was when she pieced together how the final episode ends when she went in to clean up after the final shoot wrapped. All we were told was "It's not what you will be expecting" -- confidentiality all the way. Edited July 19, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
Raja July 19, 2016 Share July 19, 2016 Just going by the promo monkey showed me my first thought is that the series should have ended with Bohanon pounding the spike while Doc Durant waited with the golden spike, Link to comment
canthaltilt July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 (edited) well after today... only 1 more day left till Sat.... I then predict extreme amounts of depression when nobody ends up getting an ending they want Edited July 20, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
ennui July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 (edited) I believe the white horse with the red spots is an Appaloosa. Spotted horses tend to be highly prized by the plains Indian tribes. I think that particular horse must have significance for Eva, since her tattoo means 'three blankets, two horses.' Maybe Cullen is going to re-enlist and join the cavalry. Maybe the 7th. He can go off to Montana with Custer. Regarding the trial, I thought Cullen was called to testify against Durant. Edited July 20, 2016 by ennui Link to comment
canthaltilt July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 (edited) 8 minutes ago, ennui said: I believe the white horse with the red spots is an Appaloosa. Spotted horses tend to be highly prized by the plains Indian tribes. I think that particular horse must have significance for Eva, since her tattoo means 'three blankets, two horses.' Maybe Cullen is going to re-enlist and join the cavalry. Maybe the 7th. He can go off to Montana with Custer. Regarding the trial, I thought Cullen was called to testify against Durant. why on earth would anyone want to see him to join the army.. not to mention the fact that it would go completely against his character at this point. where he has been trying to stop killing which is why he didn't kill the swede and dragged him back to be hanged.. not to mention war is what basically ruined his life... not to mention his leg his totally messed up... not to mention he's probably in his early 40's...... that would literally be the dumbest thing to happen.. Edited July 20, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
snowwhyte July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 It says a lot about how much this show has declined that we are all convinced the finale will be a massive disappointment. With any luck it will only be a mild disappointment. Link to comment
paigow July 20, 2016 Author Share July 20, 2016 What are his career options? What are his skills? As an Army officer he has platoons of able bodied men to execute his orders / plans. As a Sheriff / Marshal / Bounty Hunter, he would be vulnerable working alone or with minimal support. Even Magnum re-joined the Navy.... Link to comment
catrice2 July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 8 hours ago, canthaltilt said: well after today... only 1 more day left till Sat.... I then predict extreme amounts of depression when nobody ends up getting an ending they want Expressed by the characters on the show, or depression from us on the thread? I honestly don't think most of us care enough to be depressed, just grateful that it is over. Most people are watching out of a weird obligation to see it to the bitter end, not because they are interested in the story. 1 Link to comment
canthaltilt July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 (edited) 25 minutes ago, catrice2 said: Expressed by the characters on the show, or depression from us on the thread? I honestly don't think most of us care enough to be depressed, just grateful that it is over. Most people are watching out of a weird obligation to see it to the bitter end, not because they are interested in the story. by the viewers in general... you haven't spent time on the face book page.. they're pretty ravenous / addicted over there.. but think of it this way.. for the people who have watched this for 5 years.. they basically helped make this show a success.. they supported it with viewership / ratings.. enabling them to sell ad space and make money... they owe their viewers a good ending. Not some depressing shit hole of an end.. which I am fully expecting anyway. I mean if you're going to take people on a 5 year long story telling journey.. at least end it the way the majority of the fan base would want... and I am sure they must know what that would is.. AKA Cullen getting a good end.. Remember when Lily was still around? They knew the fans needed to see them together finally.. and they made sure they did it before the actress left... its just common courtesy.... Edited July 20, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
canthaltilt July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 (edited) 2 hours ago, paigow said: What are his career options? What are his skills? Well you would think at this point he would simply want some peace and quiet. I think that would be the most logical assumption.. Edited July 20, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
ennui July 20, 2016 Share July 20, 2016 I don't think Cullen getting a good end is the goal. Look at Lonesome Dove, quite possibly one of the most successful westerns ever. I don't any of those characters were happy at the end. Link to comment
Raja July 21, 2016 Share July 21, 2016 9 hours ago, paigow said: What are his career options? What are his skills? As an Army officer he has platoons of able bodied men to execute his orders / plans. As a Sheriff / Marshal / Bounty Hunter, he would be vulnerable working alone or with minimal support. Even Magnum re-joined the Navy.... I doubt if they would be bringing him on as platoon leader or an Infantry or Cavalry officer. But he was a Confederate Colonel who was an engineer noticed by President Grant on one of the biggest projects in the nation's history to that point. His joining the Army Corps of Engineers and donning the blue would be a sign of the states coming back together 1 Link to comment
canthaltilt July 21, 2016 Share July 21, 2016 (edited) 2 hours ago, Raja said: I doubt if they would be bringing him on as platoon leader or an Infantry or Cavalry officer. But he was a Confederate Colonel who was an engineer noticed by President Grant on one of the biggest projects in the nation's history to that point. His joining the Army Corps of Engineers and donning the blue would be a sign of the states coming back together so you're saying its all ceremonial.. he was firing a gun too though.... Edited July 21, 2016 by canthaltilt Link to comment
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