Hell on Wheels Finale Recap: Decease past Train

At the end of Hell on Wheels' flavour ane finale, our hero Cullen Bohannon rides away from the grimy itinerant boondocks he'd made his abode after murdering a man he never should have. Just in that boondocks remains a job, a woman, and a life he wants. So as the episode fades to black and we remember the bear witness was renewed for a second season, we're left to wonder whether Bohannon will return to Hell on Wheels.

In much the same way, nosotros're left to wonder if we, the viewers, volition render to Hell on Wheels for a 2nd flavour of belabored dialogue, broody stares, and, if anyone at AMC knows what they're doing, more Tom Noonan.

The answers to those questions are months away. For now, let's talk near last night, which started with a flashback of Bohannon arriving habitation from the war to find a ransacked house and a dead married woman hanging from the porch. He also finds his charred son in the barn, merely nosotros're spared the sight of that. Later taking time to bury them and change into a menacing black coat, he sets off to practice bad things to the bad men who injure his family.

Back in the present, The Swede has establish his fashion out to Council Bluffs to bring back Sergeant Harper, the last man on Bohannon's kill list. The Swede wants Harper to testify to Marshals that Bohannon is responsible for a string of murders, including that of the camp'south one-time boss Johnson. Harper doesn't want to but The Swede warns him that unless he helps put Bohannon abroad, the vengeful bastard will somewhen find and impale him. And then he pours Harper another drink.

Meanwhile, dorsum in camp, Bohannon and Lily Bell share a tender moment over some floorboards. Like a lot of the moments they share, they speak cordially while a subtext of "I wanna hump" bubbles below the surface. Bohannon squashes any take chances of humping, though, past talking about his expressionless wife and bumming himself out. At least he gets a little rub on the chest as Lily tells him not to permit the tragedy that took his wife and son take his life every bit well.

Strangely, the bloodthirsty reb seems to be considering it. He pays a visit to Reverend Cole to talk it over. Unfortunately, the proficient Reverend is in a bad place right now. Specifically, he'south cleaning up the mess from chopping off Lieutenant Griggs's head last week. Bohannon asks the Reverend for guidance. He's called a dark path, he says, and is looking for encouragement to plough away from information technology.

Reverend Cole doesn't give him what he wants. Looking similar a deranged Doc Chocolate-brown, Cole launches into a monologue about how the devil cutting off God's artillery and legs, gouged out his eyes, and ripped out his tongue. All he left God were his ears, assuasive him to hear us simply ultimately remain unable to help. And so, in conclusion, Reverend Cole says to "choose hate; information technology's so much easier." Tom Noonan is then creepy, so deranged, then excellent in this scene. Like Bohannon, his graphic symbol is struggling between choosing expert and choosing evil. Unlike Bohannon, though, he's settled on one. And I, for one, will accept the unhinged Reverend over the pious one whatever mean solar day. Same with Bohannon. For the sake of the show, I'm hoping he makes the aforementioned choice.

Dislocated, Bohannon heads to the bar to clear his head. Only when he gets there he hears from Irish Sean that The Swede has just ridden into boondocks with a man wearing a Union coat. Bohannon knows who it is and takes off immediately to … clean his gun. Gotta appreciate someone who treats his weapons with respect, but get kill the human being! That'southward what y'all're hither for.

Equally Bohannon polishes his barrel (not a euphemism) and tells Elam his plans, Durant and The Swede take a picayune meeting. Durant tells The Swede that he told Bohannon nigh the Marshals who were on the way in hopes of getting the handsome bastard to skip town. He sees Bohannon moving on his lady and wants him and his greasy mane gone. Trying to relate to The Swede, he asks if he's e'er had his heart ripped out. He hasn't, but more horrifically, he says, "I was married once, sir, but she run off with a gypsy. My middle was not ripped out, just she did steal my cuckoo clock." It'due south a funny line. Ane of a scattering, about of which were delivered past The Swede, from the entire flavor. And it reminds me that of all my hopes about a second season of this show, No. ane is that The Swede gets to talk more.

Taking a intermission from the compelling stuff, nosotros check in on Elam and Eva, who engage in some PDA until Eva mentions getting "hitched" and Elam's like "Woahhhhh." Sure, he told her a few days ago that he wants her to be his. Only she wants to settle downward and he wants to run across what life is like equally a free human with money and overnice suits. Eva's not into that, then she goes to the big dance — by the way, there's a big dance — that Durant has generously invited the ladies of sick repute to nourish. At that place she grants a sympathy dance to Toole, the Irish gaelic racist who took Elam's bullet through the mouth and survived.

Speaking of the Irish, Sean and Mickey are finally getting an interesting story as they brainstorm to plough from terribly boring to slightly devious. With Bohannon unwilling to take out The Swede for them, they round upward their young man merchants and boom his meatballs with a stick before tarring and feathering him. It actually goes a long way toward helping them shake their position equally the characters I to the lowest degree wanted to meet onscreen.

While all this is going on, Bohannon is frantically searching for Harper. All he finds, though, are some dark, ominous clouds that portend a wicked final fifteen minutes to this episode and, if he takes a minute to dunk his caput in some shampoo, finally some clean pilus for Bohannon.

Dorsum at the dance, Elam spots Toole and Eva getting their freak on, 1860s fashion. He runs over and grabs Toole, but Eva separates them before Elam tin can non-fatally shoot him through the oral cavity once more. The lovebirds fight once more and this time decide to break upwards. The simply people I can imagine caring about this development are those who'll be bummed to go fewer topless Common scenes.

Outside the dance, Bohannon is yet looking for Harper. He pokes his head and gun into every tent, finding nil. Lucky for him, though, Harper can't stay put and runs right by Bohannon. Merely then, a railroad train arrives, presumably the ane with the Marshals on information technology. Harper runs for it; Bohannon chases him and eventually catches him. To make things more dramatic, though, he drops his gun, which he finds pointed at his face by Harper.

Harper begs Bohannon to spare him. He says he had nothing to practice with murdering his wife. Bohannon doesn't believe him, so he throws a pocketknife at Harper, slams his head against the train a few times, and strangles him. Mission accomplished. Wife murderer killed. Except … not. Bohannon reaches into Harper'due south pocket and pulls out a discharge gild, issued weeks earlier his wife was murdered. Now Bohannon feels similar crap. Both because he's just killed an innocent man and perhaps considering this means the Sergeant who did kill his wife is still out there. Any he'south thinking turns his brain to mush, considering instead of moving the trunk from the train tracks — perhaps the most visible spot in boondocks — he leaves it there where the Marshals find it the next morning.

In the final sequence, the table is set for season two. The Swede, battered and scarred, has been run out of town. But his quest to defeat Bohannon, who now has a bounty on his head, looks similar it volition continue. Bohannon himself has fled. Is he only running or is he off to find the man who actually killed his wife? Elam is now a crack shot and, presumably, Durant'due south new primary muscle. Lily and Durant accept fabricated their partnership on this railroad official, while Durant continues trying to make their partnership on his bed official. Sean and Mickey are now tough, Eva and Toole are a hot couple, and somewhere crazy Reverend Cole is trying to dispose of a caput. Simply some other day in Hell on Wheels.

Hell on Wheels Finale Recap: Decease by Train