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"Lately, I talk to this package"-- Al Swearengen
Even in a "light" episode like "Childish Things" there's loads to ponder and analyze.
The episode starts again with a conversation Al is having with someone else, this time it's Bullock, and about Bullock's connections in Montana and avoiding being either Hearst's or Yankon's prey. First Seth doesn't want to be part of Al's plan but when Al mention "we of Deadwood" and not being "target for ass-fucking" and that "To not grab ankle is to declare yourself interested." Seth then assumes the ...good posture. Is it me or is there some homoerotic subtext here? *points to icon*
And during the miner scene we can see a miner assuming the ass-fucking posture and being ass-probed for gold before being shot dead by one of Hearst's men, which makes Al's point and illustrates the dictatorship of the wealthy powerful ones, oppressing the weak.
Al also delivers a spot-on line about Bullock "are you a cunt-driven, near-maniac or a stalwart driven by principle? The many cannot tell for you yourself are so fucking confused"!
And of course Al keeps on talking to the Chief's head and sharing his assessment of others with it, which gives us the great line:
"Dead, without a body, you still outstrip him for intelligence." One of my favourites. :- )
We have another similar scene when Ellsworth talks to the dog, and later with Charlie on Hickock's grave. So many disguised monologues. It's one of Deadwood's trademarks, the soliloquies, but I wonder whether it wasn't also a way to play on Al's line about dictatorship "that silences the public voice, that eases the enemy's way". Ellsworth of course tells the dog "I'm taking that silence for fucking support"!
Cochran continues to be awesome when he confronts Tolliver about the Chinese whores. And Cy of course doesn't know what pro bono means, not only because he isn't educated enough to know Latin or even the phrase (unlike Wolcott, I bet) but above all, because the mere concept of doing something for good and for free is stranger to his frame of mind! I liked how Wolcott observed the conversation from the background (a recurring pattern in the show where characters are often observers and observees, like when Dan watches Al and Bullock's conversation).
Also his writing a letter to Hearst – apart from giving the needed excuse for the mine scene I mentioned above – was a nice touch, sorta echoing Wild Bill's letter to Agnes which Wolcott gave to Charlie at the end of the previous episode. Perhaps Hearst is a sort of spouse to Wolcott too? At least a partner in finding gold, being his geologist and all. In counterpoint to that old-fashioned way of communication, there's the telegraph and his newly arrived operator who is Russian and therefore doesn't undersatnd everything that is said to him when spoken in English. But ass All calls him, he is 'the master of the fucking code".
And of course there's the bicycle race (*inserts Freddie Mercury's voice here*) when Tom Nuttall rides his new velocipède (I'm French so I will use the word!) over a muddy area, against odds that he won’t be able to make it. ("Those that doubt me, suck cock by choice." is another great line which parallels Al's from the beginning of the episode about grabbing ankles!). Everybody, but Farnum (whom Richardson saved from gagging and who beated his saviour afterwards!), gathers to see the wonder. The community can be cemented by such moments of innocent entertainment.
It's really a joyful moment. Wolcott cracks a smile and it's ambiguous enough so we don't know for sure whether it's genuine or it's forced and he's just trying to behave like the others and fit in. Even Al is caught in the moment and ends up cheering for Tom "Go on my son!" he says from his balcony, then announcing "he made it, chief". It's a childish thing and it's good to reconnect to your inner child from time to time.
Meanwhile Mose (whose name should be Cain!) kills his brother, committing a biblical sin, blinded by his desire for money (the extreme opposite of Cochran's wanting to care for Chinese whores pro bono). In spite of Wolcott's coaching he feels guilty afterwards.
In the same area, Lee's little kingdom, Cochran is so upset after checking on the Chinese whores that he takes it out on Wolcott who says he doesn't speak Chinese: "However you accomplish communication with that son of a bitch, then the more the disgrace to your soul!" That's my Doc!
And even though Wolcott says "There are no remedies discovered yet sovereign against sentimental fucking remorse" he can't bear the sight of the poor starving Chinese whore in the cage and her eyes on him so he takes it out on her in a way of verbal abuse that reminded me Farnum's cruel behaviour with Richardson. But she can't understand what he says.
The lack of communication, the impossibility of communication may have been one of the episode's themes (and a recurring leitmotiv through mr Wu's scenes with Al and his men), hence the importance of the telegraph operator's arrival.
It's hard to decipher what the other think when they are dead, a severed Indian head, a dog or Chinese whores. Only Blazanov is the master of the fucking code.
Of course it's all about pretending to talk to someone, and in a way it's easier and less messier than having actual conversations with other people as the Alma/ Miss Isringhausen or Alma/Martha or the Seth/Sol or the Seth/Martha or Wolcott/Joanie scenes prove. You have to be an adult to deal with such adult conversations but sometimes it's easier to talk to an imaginary friend, the way children do. Here the imaginary friends are a rotten-head-in-a-box, a dead best friend who is now six-feet-under, a dog...or a bottle of whisky in Jane's case!...until she goes towards Chez Amis where she might end up having true conversations.
Childish things indeed. And because it's Deadwood, a smart show with clever and multi-layered writing, there's some talk about the need of teaching the camp's children!
Speaking of true conversation, the sweetest moment belongs to Ellsworth's proposal to Alma; he is so digne d'elle indeed.
The episode starts again with a conversation Al is having with someone else, this time it's Bullock, and about Bullock's connections in Montana and avoiding being either Hearst's or Yankon's prey. First Seth doesn't want to be part of Al's plan but when Al mention "we of Deadwood" and not being "target for ass-fucking" and that "To not grab ankle is to declare yourself interested." Seth then assumes the ...good posture. Is it me or is there some homoerotic subtext here? *points to icon*
And during the miner scene we can see a miner assuming the ass-fucking posture and being ass-probed for gold before being shot dead by one of Hearst's men, which makes Al's point and illustrates the dictatorship of the wealthy powerful ones, oppressing the weak.
Al also delivers a spot-on line about Bullock "are you a cunt-driven, near-maniac or a stalwart driven by principle? The many cannot tell for you yourself are so fucking confused"!
And of course Al keeps on talking to the Chief's head and sharing his assessment of others with it, which gives us the great line:
"Dead, without a body, you still outstrip him for intelligence." One of my favourites. :- )
We have another similar scene when Ellsworth talks to the dog, and later with Charlie on Hickock's grave. So many disguised monologues. It's one of Deadwood's trademarks, the soliloquies, but I wonder whether it wasn't also a way to play on Al's line about dictatorship "that silences the public voice, that eases the enemy's way". Ellsworth of course tells the dog "I'm taking that silence for fucking support"!
Cochran continues to be awesome when he confronts Tolliver about the Chinese whores. And Cy of course doesn't know what pro bono means, not only because he isn't educated enough to know Latin or even the phrase (unlike Wolcott, I bet) but above all, because the mere concept of doing something for good and for free is stranger to his frame of mind! I liked how Wolcott observed the conversation from the background (a recurring pattern in the show where characters are often observers and observees, like when Dan watches Al and Bullock's conversation).
Also his writing a letter to Hearst – apart from giving the needed excuse for the mine scene I mentioned above – was a nice touch, sorta echoing Wild Bill's letter to Agnes which Wolcott gave to Charlie at the end of the previous episode. Perhaps Hearst is a sort of spouse to Wolcott too? At least a partner in finding gold, being his geologist and all. In counterpoint to that old-fashioned way of communication, there's the telegraph and his newly arrived operator who is Russian and therefore doesn't undersatnd everything that is said to him when spoken in English. But ass All calls him, he is 'the master of the fucking code".
And of course there's the bicycle race (*inserts Freddie Mercury's voice here*) when Tom Nuttall rides his new velocipède (I'm French so I will use the word!) over a muddy area, against odds that he won’t be able to make it. ("Those that doubt me, suck cock by choice." is another great line which parallels Al's from the beginning of the episode about grabbing ankles!). Everybody, but Farnum (whom Richardson saved from gagging and who beated his saviour afterwards!), gathers to see the wonder. The community can be cemented by such moments of innocent entertainment.
It's really a joyful moment. Wolcott cracks a smile and it's ambiguous enough so we don't know for sure whether it's genuine or it's forced and he's just trying to behave like the others and fit in. Even Al is caught in the moment and ends up cheering for Tom "Go on my son!" he says from his balcony, then announcing "he made it, chief". It's a childish thing and it's good to reconnect to your inner child from time to time.
Meanwhile Mose (whose name should be Cain!) kills his brother, committing a biblical sin, blinded by his desire for money (the extreme opposite of Cochran's wanting to care for Chinese whores pro bono). In spite of Wolcott's coaching he feels guilty afterwards.
In the same area, Lee's little kingdom, Cochran is so upset after checking on the Chinese whores that he takes it out on Wolcott who says he doesn't speak Chinese: "However you accomplish communication with that son of a bitch, then the more the disgrace to your soul!" That's my Doc!
And even though Wolcott says "There are no remedies discovered yet sovereign against sentimental fucking remorse" he can't bear the sight of the poor starving Chinese whore in the cage and her eyes on him so he takes it out on her in a way of verbal abuse that reminded me Farnum's cruel behaviour with Richardson. But she can't understand what he says.
The lack of communication, the impossibility of communication may have been one of the episode's themes (and a recurring leitmotiv through mr Wu's scenes with Al and his men), hence the importance of the telegraph operator's arrival.
It's hard to decipher what the other think when they are dead, a severed Indian head, a dog or Chinese whores. Only Blazanov is the master of the fucking code.
Of course it's all about pretending to talk to someone, and in a way it's easier and less messier than having actual conversations with other people as the Alma/ Miss Isringhausen or Alma/Martha or the Seth/Sol or the Seth/Martha or Wolcott/Joanie scenes prove. You have to be an adult to deal with such adult conversations but sometimes it's easier to talk to an imaginary friend, the way children do. Here the imaginary friends are a rotten-head-in-a-box, a dead best friend who is now six-feet-under, a dog...or a bottle of whisky in Jane's case!...until she goes towards Chez Amis where she might end up having true conversations.
Childish things indeed. And because it's Deadwood, a smart show with clever and multi-layered writing, there's some talk about the need of teaching the camp's children!
Speaking of true conversation, the sweetest moment belongs to Ellsworth's proposal to Alma; he is so digne d'elle indeed.