S05.E14: Done

[paigow]

DVR Alert: TVGuide says 9:00 - 10:05

In the series finale, the golden spike, government hearings and unpredictable actions mean new beginnings and endings for the survivors.

[4i48]

"unpredictable actions".....

Cullen moves to China

Edited July 22, 2016 by 4i48

[Ohwell]

He might as well.

[4i48]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/tcrr-dodge/

Here's some interesting info that Cullens character is seemingly based off of loosely... might give an idea how it ends....... He did fight in the indian wars but that happened before the railroad was built... so I'm not sure why they are showing him in army uniform in the preview...... I am thinking Durant somehow ends up causing trouble for Cullen with the government and in the end he goes on the run.... Off to China...

Shortly after building the Union Pacific track to its famous completion at Promontory Summit, Utah,
Dodge resigned his position; he had no taste for a mere desk job. In 1870 he retired for a while to Council Bluffs.
The general was a resolute family man who had kept frequent correspondence with wife Anna throughout construction.

Although Durant had once promised Dodge stock in his secret scam, the Credit Mobilier, it had never materialized.
Dodge had been eager to get in on the windfall, however, and purchased 100 shares in his wife's name. It turned a handsome profit --
341 percent in just 18 months -- but when the Credit Mobilier scandal erupted in 1872, Dodge would claim that his wife bought the
shares from "her own resources," presumably housekeeping money. A congressional committee wanted to know more,
but Dodge had no interest in going anywhere near Washington. Federal agents were sent out, but they could not manage to find him.
Peter Dey, whom Dodge had once replaced as engineer, told Congress that Dodge was "a man of wonderful resources, and can live in Texas all winter,
out of doors, if he wants to, where none of your marshals can go, and if he don't want to come he will not come." Dey proved correct.

Edited July 22, 2016 by 4i48

[4i48]

exclusive preview

http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/1012275-exclusive-preview-hell-wheels-series-finale

[ennui]

I think it's weird that they are running a marathon, but they stop before the end and insert True Grit. Why? 

[riverheightsnancy]

Awww, the end made me sad. I was hoping that Eva would go and find her daughter, but she looked positively angelic riding off into the sunset. It made me cry pretty hard. Even though the show had ups and downs, It was a favorite for a long time. 

[TigerLynx]

It started out kind of amusing with Cullen demanding Mr. Li tell him what the note said, and the bar fight, then it kind of meandered all over the place.  So Cullen decided to go to China.  I bet the ship sinks before he gets there.

Durant sure does love to talk.  As annoying as he can be and as much of a snake as he is, Durant was right about Washington being full of a bunch of corrupt fat jerks who do nothing but waste money.  Some things never change.

[Ohwell]

Well, thank you, writers for giving Cullen a happy ending.  I had a feeling that Mei's message contained instructions on how to find her.  I don't think the ship will sink.

Loved the bar fight; and the laughing at the end of it was hilarious.  I think all the workers needed to let off steam.  

The scene of Eva riding off into the sunset looked beautiful, but I don't know where the hell she was going.  

I'm glad Psalms and Mickey made it out alive, but what were those coins that Mickey threw away?  I hope Psalms finds a wife. 

[Ohwell]

I think Cullen's changing facial expressions in the confessional booth were his finest acting on the show.

[riverheightsnancy]

15 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

 

I'm glad Psalms and Mickey made it out alive, but what were those coins that Mickey threw away?  I hope Psalms finds a wife. 

I thought that they were coins at first too, but I think that they were the photographic plates that they would project that he and his brother would show to the workers back in the early days of the RR. They were images of Ireland and beautiful places around the world and then they moved up to images of naked women and all that. I think that's what they were. 

[Ohwell]

Ok, thanks!

[catrice2]

Ok. I caught the last 7 to 8 minutes, Eva hugging the reporter, Eva riding off on a horse, Cullen on a boat. 

I just can't sit through another hour....what happened to everyone?

[nodorothyparker]

That was one of the least nonending endings I've ever seen.  I honestly thought it was just going to another commercial break before it started the final wrapup until the credits started rolling.

The bar fight over nothing that dissolved into laughter was great, as was Cullen wandering around hungover demanding a translator.  I did like Cullen answering every question put to him with the honest answer that Durant made the Transcontinental Railroad happen.  It is amusing to see the Grant administration, which would be remembered as one of the most corrupt administrations in American history, portrayed as such a stickler for going after Durant's shenanigans.  I think Durant's big final speech was supposed to be about that, but I admit at some point I just zoned out.

At least by pursing his big happy ending in China, the U.S. Army isn't likely to be able to go after Cullen for deserting from the commission he accepted about 5 minutes earlier.  Eva is going to ride off to the sunset?  I guess?  I really thought looking up the child she gave away might figure into what she did next, but apparently not.

Edited July 24, 2016 by nodorothyparker

[paigow]

23 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

 Eva is going to ride off to the sunset?  I guess?  I really thought looking up the child she gave away might figure into what she did next, but apparently not.

Is there a town on the way? She did not look prepared... No coat, not much food, no gun...Or she just wants to ride until she dies?

[4i48]

I thought Eva went back to the Indians...

It would have been better if they actually showed him reuniting with Mei on screen.. but either way.. good enough...   The address was Ningbo China, I believe that's what the China guy said when he translated..... where Mei said the missionary was in an earlier episode...  the safe place...

She had that look of peace on her face on the boat because she knew she left that address for him.

Quote

Cullen ultimately decided to board a ship for passage to China to reunite with Mei.

“Allowing him to leave his battle behind, setting him free, opening up a new chapter that allows the audience’s imagination to work rather than closing it down,” Mount says. “All I knew is when I was standing on the bow of that ship, I wanted to close my eyes and feel at peace with the sun in my face.” 

Edited July 24, 2016 by 4i48

[Raja]

9 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Ok. I caught the last 7 to 8 minutes, Eva hugging the reporter, Eva riding off on a horse, Cullen on a boat. 

I just can't sit through another hour....what happened to everyone?

As best that I can follow, Durant survived his bout with congress when then Colonel Bohannon testifying only to the railroad would not have been built without Doc pushing it, criminal or not. Cullen returns to the scene of his first murder when congress subpoena'd him. After the President and the assembled soldiers forgave him for riding with Nathan Bedford Forrest and is offered a high commission, commander of the US 4th Cavalry . Then at the crime scene, the confessional booth at a DC Catholic Church he  hears from a priest that he was forgiven only to have a second one on one with Custer who basically says we are alike ,killer angels and in Custer's case would rather fight then have a conjugal visit with his wife. 

Mickey was moving to California and breaking his tie to Ireland by destroying his slide show to continue the business. Psalms and the other workers had a fun fight after getting drunk the night before at the bar as their goodbye. Eva with her share from the railroad and brothel and presumably out of the business even as another freak show for the writers who wanted to promote her story literally rides off into the sunset while Cullen sails off into the sunset as the traditional westerns tended to end.

[canthaltilt]

9 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Ok. I caught the last 7 to 8 minutes, Eva hugging the reporter, Eva riding off on a horse, Cullen on a boat. 

I just can't sit through another hour....what happened to everyone?

Cullen gets the note Mei left him translated.. It's an address,  her address in China.. at the missionary in Ningbo...    He gets offered a job with the army.. he takes it.. then realizes he made a mistake...  he goes to a church, confessional.. just sits there and says nothing while the priest asks him questions.. then he has some type of epiphany in the booth and starts laughing / crying..  

back at his hotel room.. you see him getting ready to leave as Durants speech can be heard.. they show eva too who rides off to somewhere on her horse... a shot of his army uniform left on his bed as he leaves..  next they show him on a train.. a guy comes around and says next stop San Francisco..  they show him arriving at the passage to china ship yard...  show him holding Mei's note while looking out over the ocean.. then show the hull of a ship... then show him on the ship off to China..

Edited July 24, 2016 by canthaltilt

[JackONeill]

I've often wondered why Cullen has always been viewed as being so god-like. He was a confederate, yet Grant offers him the rank of Colonel. Yet, all that he had done since the war and since killing a handful of people was help build a railroad (yes, not inconsequential, but he didn't do it himself.)

I'm stymied why they even bothered to have Cullen accept the rank. You could see (at least I could, his distaste for the Union blues.) Was it so he'd have some cover when he was "testifying" before congress? Was it to fee force to the audience that he was a hero in everyone's eyes?

But, if nothing else, this episode gave Mount a chance to wear some other clothes (even though the tux looked stupid what with his hair).

[paigow]

4 hours ago, 4i48 said:

I thought Eva went back to the Indians...

Not arguing with you, but they had better be within an hour or 2 ride, because she was not equipped for overnight travel.

[Raja]

14 minutes ago, JackONeill said:

I've often wondered why Cullen has always been viewed as being so god-like. He was a confederate, yet Grant offers him the rank of Colonel. Yet, all that he had done since the war and since killing a handful of people was help build a railroad (yes, not inconsequential, but he didn't do it himself.)

I'm stymied why they even bothered to have Cullen accept the rank. You could see (at least I could, his distaste for the Union blues.) Was it so he'd have some cover when he was "testifying" before congress? Was it to fee force to the audience that he was a hero in everyone's eyes?

But, if nothing else, this episode gave Mount a chance to wear some other clothes (even though the tux looked stupid what with his hair).

It went with Doc's speech about the nation healing and the Confederates becoming Americans again. Also to misdirect us, if he was 4th Cav how could Bohannon get to China. Even as he accepted the commission I thought he was going to an embassy in China but with Custer  and his we are stone cold killers thrown into the mix I should have known better

[JWalker]

At least we got some "closure" as far as Cullen is concerned. The rest of his storyline is left to our imaginations. Wouldnt he be considered a "deserter" now after accepting the commission then leaving? Is so he will never be able to return home. Perhaps that was his intention all along.

[Raja]

11 minutes ago, JWalker said:

At least we got some "closure" as far as Cullen is concerned. The rest of his storyline is left to our imaginations. Wouldnt he be considered a "deserter" now after accepting the commission then leaving? Is so he will never be able to return home. Perhaps that was his intention all along.

Enlisted and officers are treated differently. He resigned before formally going through a change of command and didn't just leave his regiment as they went into battle.

[nodorothyparker]

I did wonder how naive we were supposed to think Cullen was in all the Washington scenes of him with the Army officers and temporarily accepting the commission.  Did he really need Durant to tell him that the former Union men were not really his friends or Custer to spell out for him that his new job would be primarily Indian killing?  This is still a few years before Little Big Horn, but Custer by this point had already made a national reputation for himself on that front that he was hoping would translate into a presidential bid so he should have had some idea.  Maybe I should just take this as confirmation of my theory that he left his better judgment in the barn with the future Mrs. Snitty Mormon Wife and that's why so little has been coherent or made sense since then and leave it at that.

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/hell-on-wheels-series-finale-1478296128798774.html

I supposed that should rightfully be in the media thread, but since we now know how they did decide to end this, I find it interesting that so much speculation that Cullen would die in the finale in some nihilist blaze of glory almost turned out be right.  They did very seriously consider doing that and end with the Swede assuming his identity to essentially walk around wearing his skin but eventually decided it would feel too dark and pointless for viewers after five seasons.  Seriously.

[canthaltilt]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

It went with Doc's speech about the nation healing and the Confederates becoming Americans again. Also to misdirect us, if he was 4th Cav how could Bohannon get to China. Even as he accepted the commission I thought he was going to an embassy in China but with Custer  and his we are stone cold killers thrown into the mix I should have known better

man nothing you say ever makes any sense LOL

24 minutes ago, nodorothyparker said:

 This is still a few years before Little Big Horn,

actually its 7 years before..  that battle happened in 1876...  this railroad stuff was 1869

Edited July 24, 2016 by canthaltilt

[Ottis]

So Durant gives a "you can't handle the truth!" speech. Ok, I guess. And we know later he is wandering New York penniless. So he either escapes jail or gets out. 

OK ending. Wish more of the show the past two seasons was like the past two episodes. The first two seasons, Common's arc and then the last 2-3 episodes of season 5 were the best parts. In the middle was some odd, Dr. Quinn stuff. I will miss the show, tho, because it felt real. Kind of like Fargo makes me feel cold when I watch that series.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Ottis
Typo

[TigerLynx]

I thought the bar fight was hilarious, everyone was passed out or hungover, Cullen was hungover and just wanted to get drunk again, Mick was in a lousy mood and decided to take it out on Cullen and Psalms, the guy who had been passed out and woke up because of Cullen/Mick/Psalms arguing just wanted to go back to sleep, but Mick wouldn't give Cullen that drink so it was like okay fine, if we can't drink and be miserable, sleep/pass out and be miserable, then we'll have a fight.  The whole "Hell if we know why we are fighting" was priceless.

I don't think Cullen needed Durant or Custer to point out the truth to him.  Cullen knew none of the people at the party wanted to be "friends" and it annoyed him that Durant and Custer thought they had to point that out to him.

My take on Cullen leaving for China to find Mei was he has finally decided to put the past behind him.  The United States was supposedly founded on liberty and freedom, but that wasn't true.  There was slavery, women had no rights, and in order to recognize it's supposed "Manifest Destiny" it exterminated the Native Americans and stole their land.  Some of the same crap Custer was spouting about the Native Americans was exactly the same thing the slave owners said about their slaves.

However, since the writers are sadistic jerks I just know that ship sank.  I'm surprised we didn't get a tagline at the end that said "The ship sank, Cullen died, and never reunited with Mei, Eva fell off her horse and broke her neck, Mick committed suicide, and Psalms struck gold in California, but was murdered by outlaws who wanted it for themselves."

Edited July 24, 2016 by TigerLynx

[Dowel Jones]

Man, those wooden seats on the passenger cars sure looked uncomfortable.  I'll  take Amtrak any day. 

Oh, those poor drunk Irishmen.  Will somebody please tell that spider to quit stomping around on the ceiling?

I thought for sure that Eva was going to get thrown off the horse and then killed, but good for her.  Even if riding off into the sunset just gets you lost most of the time. 

I guess it had to be said, but giving the valedictory speech to such a pompous blowhard like Durant just felt wrong.  He spent time in the West, sure, but every thing he did was accomplished by taking credit for other people's work, either by riding on their coattails or walking over their backs in the mud.  I liked his New York ending in the previous episode better. And while the railroads performed some herculean tasks completing the line, it should be noted that they didn't move an inch before receiving some very generous benefits from those stuffed shirts at the hearing.  If you ever have the chance to look at a US Forest Service map of the Shasta Trinity NF in Northern California, observe how much of the wilderness is actually owned by the SP, as all the land in the checkerboard white areas is theirs.

Sidenote (again):  The railroad did not, and still does not, go to San Francisco (BART excepted).  It ended in Sacramento, and Bohannen would have taken a steamboat down the river to the Port of San Francisco.

ETA:  What was the point of Bohannen removing the piece of wood in the confessional?  He saw something there but then the scene moved on.

Edited July 24, 2016 by Dowel Jones

[canthaltilt]

36 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

ETA:  What was the point of Bohannen removing the piece of wood in the confessional?  He saw something there but then the scene moved on.

that was covering the bullet hole that he put there when he shot that guy in the confessional when the show first started

Quote

Perhaps the most memorable scene of the series finale is when Cullen, having initially decided to become a colonel in the 4th Cavalry, goes back into the confessional. “Do you seek salvation?” he’s asked. “Do you wish to be saved?” He’s crying, but he’s laughing. Then he says, “Thank you.” What’s going through his mind?
Anson Mount: That was one of those amazing moments where what you’re going through as as a professional and what you’re going through as a character sort of collide and they exist in parallel. The full ramifications of that scene that were implied in the writing — and it was great writing by Tom Brady and Jami O’Brien — I had not considered until I was in that booth shooting that scene. When Cullen sees that bullet hole [that he made at the start of the series], he is suddenly confronted with the entire arc of his journey on this railroad. And what he realizes is that this obscene burden, this tremendous war that was fought to make this engineering project, this addiction that he’s had to this thing — [Laughs] everything that he cursed about it was actually a gift of grace from god. It was exactly the thing that he needed to heal. He doesn’t realize until that moment that everything comes together — his faith gets answered, his self gets answered, his wound is sealed up. He comes to realize the great joke that it all is, and that he didn’t see it until that moment. He starts in that confessional as a murderer and he walks out of that confessional as a complete human being.

I literally did not see that on the page until I was in the middle of shooting the scene, and I went, “Oh, that’s what this is about.” And it was just so beautiful that yeah, I started crying. And I realized what that “thank you" was about. It wasn’t to the priest next to me, it was to god.

Edited July 24, 2016 by canthaltilt

[Dowel Jones]

Thanks, I had forgotten all about that.

[Ohwell]

So, to sum it all up:  While I enjoyed the series as a whole and looked forward to it on Saturday nights, I think the writers made a big mistake in keeping the Swede story alive for so long.  Big mistake.  But I'll just forget that and try to remember the good things about the show.  I'll miss it.

[catrice2]

Hear ye, Hear ye!  

[NorthstarATL]

I liked it well enough. We already saw Durant's death a couple of episodes back, so there was no suspense in his trial. Only his saying that he would be erased from history to explain his lack of Wikipedia. Eva's ride looked symbolic. I'm pretty sure she went back and loaded up on possessions and all and developed some sort of plane. Maybe the nation's first tattoo removal service? Cullen going to China to join Mei was a good ending for him. The Government wanted too much more from him than  he was willing to give, and Mei offers a peaceful, or at least, an interesting life. I was glad the Swede did not emerge from the water at the end.

[canthaltilt]

http://www.amc.com/shows/hell-on-wheels/video-extras/season-05/episode-14/inside-hell-on-wheels-episode-514

[juniemoon]

8 hours ago, nodorothyparker said:

I did wonder how naive we were supposed to think Cullen was in all the Washington scenes of him with the Army officers and temporarily accepting the commission...Maybe I should just take this as confirmation of my theory that he left his better judgment in the barn with the future Mrs. Snitty Mormon Wife and that's why so little has been coherent or made sense since then and leave it at that.

Along similar lines, NoDorothyParker, I found this ending to be OK for S3 - S5 Cullen Bohannon, but I find myself wishing the Gayton Brothers and the original writers would go back to Original Recipe S1 - S2 Cullen Bohannon and tell us what kind of ending HE got. Because I just don't see "Cullen Gets the Girl" as that Cullen Bohannon's most satisfying ending. At least the girl is in faraway China, so I can tell myself  he's going as much for the adventure as the girl.

Also, it seems sailing into the sunset is the new cliche ending across a lot of shows (Outlander S1, Game of Thrones). Some do it better than others.

[Ohwell]

I can definitely see Cullen sailing off into the sunset to get the girl.  The scene in the confessional was his epiphany, and he just took it from there.  As much as I've criticized the writers for laying so much suffering on his shoulders, I'm not going to criticize them for finally giving him some peace and, hopefully, happiness.  I do think he was finally ready to settle down. 

I'm just going to believe that he found Mei and they made beautiful Chinese-American babies. :)

[Dowel Jones]

China needed railroads too.

[canthaltilt]

21 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I'm just going to believe that he found Mei and they made beautiful Chinese-American babies. :)

how on earth would he not find her...  He had her address for christs sake and she would be waiting since she left it.  And barely any time passed since she left ... Maybe 2 weeks at most...  which means she probably did not even arrive in China yet when he set sail.. It would take 3 weeks to sail to China back than..  and he would not have to travel far after getting there because she was in Ningbo.. Ningbo is a port city right on the coast line.

Edited July 25, 2016 by canthaltilt

[canthaltilt]

19 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

China needed railroads too.

The first railroad to operate commercially in China opened in Shanghai in July 1876.  So I suppose they could do a show with Cullen and Mei building that railroad..

but don't bet on it. :P

[Ohwell]

41 minutes ago, canthaltilt said:

how on earth would he not find her...  He had her address for christs sake and she would be waiting since she left it.  And barely any time passed since she left ... Maybe 2 weeks at most...  which means she probably did not even arrive in China yet when he set sail.. It would take 3 weeks to sail to China back than..  and he would not have to travel far after getting there because she was in Ningbo.. Ningbo is a port city right on the coast line.

Relax.  You missed my point, which is that I hope they made beautiful Chinese-American babies.  Obviously, he had to find her first.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Ohwell

[paigow]

Mei: Why you late?

Cullen: Some jackass - Yahoogle - gave the Captain a new map. I've been to Hong Kong and Tokyo already...

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, canthaltilt said:

how on earth would he not find her..

Halfway across the ocean a sudden breeze comes up, blowing the fabric out to sea...

[Raja]

34 minutes ago, Dowel Jones said:

Halfway across the ocean a sudden breeze comes up, blowing the fabric out to sea...

A street  address while helpful isn't necessary. He just had to find the Christian missionaries working that area.

[Skyfall]

I wonder if the transatlantic railroad could've been built without Thomas Durant... :D

[juniemoon]

I re-watched last night since I missed parts of it the first time through. I thought this was actually one of the best episodes in a long while. Before I get to what I liked, I will say I could have done without Louise, whom I've always thought was a waste of time, and Campbell, who has just always bugged me. Giving them so much more air time in the finale reminded me how many good characters were killed off. There was just nobody left.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the original "golden spike" historical photograph, and I love that they recreated it so faithfully, except for including the women (who weren't in the original). I also noticed that everyone was trying to label Bohannon -- "You're a railroad man!" "You're a soldier!" -- and that he chafed under those simple summaries of who he was, including his own suspicion that he's just a "killer." Sailing off to China without any labels or ranks or expectations heaped upon him was a good way to reject all that baggage.

I liked how Bohannon's train ride west took him back through some of the show's most significant settings -- Cheyenne, the river bridge -- so we could recall the journey with him. I wish they would have done more with that, shown a remnant of a Hell on Wheels encampment, a graveyard, an Indian on a distant rise, maybe something symbolic of Lily -- taken us on a more complete journey. I wondered if he was thinking specifically of Elam while passing Cheyenne. I do wish there had been some nod to Elam in the ep. I didn't expect Eva to go looking for her child -- there seemed way too much water under that bridge by now -- but I did wonder if they might have her visit Elam's grave. Guess not.

I liked that they had Bohannon return to the site of his first (I think) revenge killing in the DC church confessional and ponder what it meant to be "saved." I've read Anson Mount's remarks about how that scene affected him, resulting in the laugh-crying, but I'm still not entirely clear on what Bohannon was thinking. Mount says he realizes the railroad saved him, and I get that, but for me, there was still some ambiguity there I think could have been made more satisfying. It was the turning point for him, and I'd like to have a clear understanding of the message.

Durant is a reliable blowhard, but I thought his speech over the ending was appropriate. His words were describing the grander vision that so deeply shaped the very personal experiences of the characters being shown. Its message was that the ends justify the means, but as we watched the people we came to care about picking up the pieces and moving toward their individual fates, it was hard -- bittersweet -- to embrace that truth.

One odd moment during the party at the White House was Durant telling Bohannon he never expected to see such an uncouth Southerner at the White House (I forget the exact words he used), when in fact, he learned in S2 that Bohannon was an educated, cultured man who'd married a "high society" woman, and that he hid his breeding to relate better to his workers. (One of my favorite lines of the whole series is Bohannon asking a peeved Lily afterward, "Did ya' like me better when I was stupid?")

All in all, I thought the tone was right -- I read that the director was the same who'd directed the very first episode -- and the story stronger than in recent seasons. Still wish I could have followed the much-different story of Original Recipe Bohannon, but given my abysmal expectations for this finale, I was surprisingly satisfied.

[JWalker]

Ive been reading Anson Mount apparently wanted a different ending to the story. I wonder what that was.

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, juniemoon said:

Before I get to what I liked, I will say I could have done without Louise, whom I've always thought was a waste of time, and Campbell, who has just always bugged me. Giving them so much more air time in the finale reminded me how many good characters were killed off. There was just nobody left.

I just wanted to quote this because I've been vexed by these two ever since their faces showed up on the screen.