Hell on Wheels, now that its Done

This is going to be a long track I'm going to lay today

Tonight I said goodbye to Hell on Wheels after what seems a short five years and I well dearly miss it.  I've had a strange relationship with westerns over the years.  I never really had a love with John Wayne movies, they always seemed a little propaganda-ish, to much flag waving (but perhaps that's because I'm Canadian), and oddly clean and sedate.  Its not that I don't respect the old era Westerns with their real stunts and tough shoots, but Wayne was never really my thing.   No, my poison was spaghetti westerns, in my mind as a kid that was how the west really was.  Dirty, violent, and bad dubbing on the back drop of Italy.   They also introduced to me the concepts that I really didn't have word for until much, much later in life.  The Anti-Hero and the sympathetic Villain (well not in every case).

And than it came..my biggest hook and my favorite western of all time and one of my all time favorite movies.  Which, I know is actually based on a Japanese movie that I've only ever sadly come across once...but that's a different tale for a different day.

If your not sure what Hell on Wheels
draws on...well even the promo pic...

And this why I love Hell on Wheels.  It feeds into the grittiness, yet with just enough levity and substance to keep you afloat.  Characters have clear motivations, but are mysterious enough to spark your curiosity.  You even find yourself rooting for the villains quite often, despite yourself.

But instead of step by step analysis of the series,  I'll highlight some of my favorite milestones and yes, some of its lows.   of course this is all from memory, so bear with me...whoops let that one slip.

The Good

Set/Design:  If ever someone tries to tell me just how wonderful the wild west was, were a man could be man and all that other gibberish, I'll show them this series.  I also gladly hold them down as we cauterize their wound with cheap liquor and gun powder before taking some dirty forceps and pulling the bullet out.  DAMN I love the look and feel of this series.  However, unlike that other AMC series, there is a sense of hope over the long horizon, you can just reach it...even smell it...just before it flies away.  But not far enough to give up.  When the final spike goes in (no that's not a spoiler that's history, albeit alternate history on the show) there was a sense of relief that washes over you that had been building up over nearly half a decade.   Real sets, real stunts, real dirt also gives it a strange connection to the Wayne and golden age era of westerns, making Hell on Wheels at times...a little romantic.   Bravo for finding the balance between grit and beauty.

Anson Mount  What's there to say about the man you weren't sure you should be rooting for in episode one to the man who cries at the grave of his dead friend that he....and I won't spoil it any further.  Anson has that southern, genuine (check is IMBD, its legit) charm and in the character of Cullen, the biggest puppy dog eyes you'll ever see on a bad ass.  When he cried. which was rare, I always had a manly tear in my eye as well.  And when he was brought to anger, the skies seemed to calm for the forthcoming storm.  My true hope is he doesn't get typed cast, though sadly that means he'll have to shave those wonderful chin whiskers.   Also Alberta might want to adopt him in real life to go kick some ass and promo our on again/off again movie industry as demonstrated in his wonderfully put together letter HERE  Also will hire him to kick the Calgary Herald's ass if they take down this link.

Christopher Heyerdahl  I have made the classical fan error watching this series and to the actor I apologize.  But it was kind of his fault doing his job too well.  I didn't know his real name (I think I kind of knew it, because credits, but always tried to ignore them).   I didn't know his filmography or his background.  I actively tried to avoid it.  I didn't want to know until last season.    I just wanted to figure out the enigma that was the Swede on my own.  Was he a deranged man  driven by obsession or perhaps he was he simply symbolic or perhaps he really was the devil.   At first I kind of found the character a little cartoony...not in a bad way, but in that spaghetti western "this will be your real villain to make sure you know to root for the anti-hero" kind of way.  But as the seasons passed, I was strangely drawn to him, letting my guard down to his smile and sarcastic wit.  Until he drew blood, time and time again....until the end.

Colm Meaney Must be careful that this doesn't turn into the Colm Meaney can rule the world and that would be just fine rant.  But I do find it strange that he came to my attention in a little show called Star Trek DS9 merely a year after Unforgiven came out.  Coincidence?  Yeah, of course it is.  Anyways, how do you make the underhanded proto-car salesman doomed to failure because of his own greed likable?  Well, make his motives clear and don't make him evil.  He's human like you and me, he's just driven.  He's the mold for American Capitalism, but with all its dirt intact rather than sanitized by time and myth.  And despite his drive and ambition he does have a heart, its just hidden behind a rough exterior and often poor judgement.

I should also mention Robin McLeavy whose story as Eva could have easily been the focus of the series.  For the longest time I thought her acting was a little wooden, not because of her as an actor, but because her character writing seemed a little one note.  But it was a slow, very slow burn, for her arc to develop. And even if was a side story, it was natural, powerful and ultimately mirrored Cullen's own journey... and get this was actually based on a real person..though her story is mentioned in passing from time to time.  See the real Eva here, though additional fact checking is in order.   Her relationship with Colm's character was also a breath of fresh air, being completely Platonic and provided opportunity of humanization of both character.

I'll stop gushing over the cast here, not because the rest are bad because they are not, just getting time to mosey on. Okay just a few more.  Particularly the roles of Common and Dohn Norwood  come up a high water marks, and not wanting to spoil it, one leaves the series far too soon.

The Bad

Whiplash:  Again spoiler free, but season enders for the series always had issues of just ending with something completely out of the blue happening.  Season one was great, but a few seasons had my head spinning.

Mormons:  One of these whiplash moments came with the entrance of the Mormons through such a sudden change in tone and focus  I thought I had missed half a season somewhere.  Its not that they were present poorly, it kind of felt force and quite off the rails.  However, it did give us, what I swear is proof of magical resurrection, Brigham Young...shiver. 

African Americans:  I've seen some discussions of the black workers depicted in the series, that despite being freed slaves, where "too free" and had too much influence on the day to day operations.  Also seen complaints that the racism that they surely felt day to day, hour by hour was mitigated or overlooked in the series.   From TV scripting perspective I understand why they did this, but it does ruin quite a lot of the realism.  Also with the exception of Elam (Common) and Psalms (Norwood) we don't really get to know the black characters in detail, they are after all side characters, which was  disappointing. 

Women:  Okay, unlike the other series on HBO, women in Hell on Wheels certainly had a better presentation.  But I could see argument being made, that like the black characters, that the women's lot in life was lifted higher than what reality actually allowed.  And like in many male centered series and movies, women were also often used to give the males motive for action, particularly for our main character.  Its an old trope, and is getting a little worn in my mind.

Series End and Trimming:  Its odd that I wanted the series to end with the golden spike.  The wrap up episode was okay, but it did too much of "everyone goes off to their new adventures" trope, leaving to many new threads, we know will go nowhere.  Its kind of bad of me to actually want a secured happy ending for Cullen...and yes I know this more John Wayne-less Clint Eastwood, but it would have been nice.   There was also a few episodes over its run that could have cut, a few story lines could have been trimmed to tighten up the overall story.  But, thus is the lot of TV.

The Ugly

Okay, happily there isn't much.

Season Delays:  Now, I'm no idiot, filming the series was more than likely quite tough for the crew.  Its something I really have put my tongue back and realize if I want real sets and stunts that it takes time and money.   But the delay between seasons did get a little frustrating.  Particularly between this last season and former two season, I was ever so thankful for its Netflix release because I had to go back and watch a couple of episodes to remember what happened.   However, Anson's letter (HERE again) might actually shed light of why some of the delays may have occurred.  Thus, I direct people to Netflix to watch it, and wonder if full sit will make the series better or bring out more of its flaws.

Native Americans:   They really tried hard to cover the native perspective here and there, but it was piecemeal and always returned to the mean.  Natives where the enemy, savage, unpredictable, and without characterization.  Decidedly too often the natives in Hell on Wheels come across like those during the golden era westerns.    A side story, which we will never see, from the native perspective would be great.

Bear:  I really don't want to spoil it.  But if you watch it or have watch, you know just how wince inducing "bear" is.  It is odd that the biggest whiplash led to the biggest emotional moment of the series.

The final Spike...its Done

So despite its bad and ugly, for me the good comes out on top and makes Hell on Wheels a must watch for any western fan, which is where maybe I should have stopped in the first place.  Now I'll go back to trying to figure out if I can get Cullen Bohannan and William Money to somehow cross paths in my alternative history in my head.   

So farewell to the cast and crew of Hell on Wheels, we'll see you down the tracks soon.