They may or may not be in the vicinity of Deadwood, but I doubt
they’d investigate the family “incident” (gotta love those neutral words :) ) unless someone paid them to.
Brom may have been a few bricks shy of a load, but if his dad’s
connected with the Pinkertons, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t send them
to check into his son’s death. Forgot the $20k, this is a possible homicide.
Sure but what would make him think it was a possible homicide? What is there in this tale that’s suspicious to a New York elite in 1876? The word of his daughter-in-law? Maybe, but wimmin-folk weren’t to be trusted and generally thought to be hysterical during that wonderful time in history. (She’s also a laudenum addict.) The story is that Brom fell while surveying a ridge. Doesn’t that story sound plausible? I mean, especially if you knew Brom? (The guy’s last words were “Mommy!” and he didn’t even struggle.)
And don’t say Hickock’s involvement would be convincing. Hickock really was in Deadwood avoiding a warrant for vagrancy at that time. And the NY Elite did not truck with gunslingers as witnesses. Even a former Marshall like Bullock would be suspect to the upper crust of East Coast Americana of that time.
Also, we can’t really be sure that Brom wasn’t bluffing when he name dropped the Pinkertons.
All of this speculation is fun, well to me it is, but it doesn’t matter. Al was obviously more worried that Hickock was “comin’ at him” than he was about the Widow summoning the Pinkertons this past episode. That much is clear. Regardless, that sick guy in the rival casino indicates that even the Pinkertons will be avoiding Deadwood soon.
Remember that in episode one Swearington was already worried about the Pinkertons when EB and the Irish guy had pushed the sale of stake up to $20k to begin with; the concern was that the people that really had the money - Brom’s family - would immediately send the Pinkertons because it was much higher than what they had already agreed upon ($12k). Brom didn’t even think about it at the time, but brought it up to the missus as a way of forcing Swearington to give him his money back.
— Alan
Whether or not the wife can call the Pinkertons is irrelevant. What matters is what Al thinks, seeing as how he’s crazy paranoid. He’s been thinking since episode 1 that Bullock and Hickok were in cahoots, and then made the jump to thinking that they were tied in with the new saloon owners.
He sees knives everywhere, all aimed at him.
All this paranoia on Swearengen’s part – plus the historical fact that the Pinkertons were working all over the western frontier beginning right after the Civil War – indicates to me pretty strongly that the Pinkertons are in the neighborhood already. It’s not just Al, either. Everyone around Al obviously feels the same way about the Pinkertons, as he never has to even explain what the ramifications would be if they showed up.
I’m sure Al will get a visit at some point soon. Way too much foreshadowing. The Pinkertons will almost certainly play a major role, either this season or next. They’re not going to mention them over and over again without them eventually showing up. Plus, they’re just too damn cool to leave out.
Oh, and the Pinkertons are private, doing contract work for citizens and the government. So there’s no reason for them to come to Deadwood unless someone doles out some cash, and that doesn’t seem likely since there is no law there and all of the locals (even Seth and his partner) seem to prefer it that way. Only an outsider such as Brom and his wife would summon them.
And Andrew, come on. Your son dies in a mysterious accident in the wild west and loses $20K in the process, yet you don’t bother investigating because, well, the guy was a fop? $20K was a lot of money in 1876, too. So saying that Brom’s family had “nothing” has to be way off. That has to be a piddling sum to his parents, otherwise they wouldn’t be pissing that kind of money away by giving it to a son off on some crazy western adventure.
That guy has syphillis, right?
No I (and the show) said that Brom’s wife’s family had nothing (and now she has nothing but that land). Brom’s family is clearly very rich. And from what I’ve read about 1876, a NY fop dying from a fall in the wilderness would never have been considered “mysterious” circumstances. God Brett, city folk who went to the wilderness died suddenly and mysteriously all the time! Often families never even saw a body! Maybe you’re thinking about 1976?
Plus, the doctor couldn’t find any foul play. The Pinkertons could scout the land and find the gold and draw the conclusions from that, but there’s no rock solid case for murder here unless the scared prospector comes forward. The only reason Bullock, Hickock, and Jane believe Brom was murdered is because they know Al.
And Vegas, no, not syphilis. Historically it was…
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[color=white]smallpox[/color]
Didn’t read the highlights, so I’m just speculating…
Was thinking it might be smallpox, but he was sickly before the sores/scabs started showing up.
Don’t think it’s VD, as he hadn’t had a chance to have sex yet.
Plague?
— Alan
Are you even watching the same show? Brom didn’t just fall from a cliff, he died under mysterious circumstances after apparently being scammed out of $20K in the company of one of the scammer’s thugs. The wife remains alive to confirm Brom’s suspicions. Why the hell would Brom’s family ignore all that? Why would the Pinkertons? All they’d have to do is ride into town and grill Al’s henchmen plus prospectors in the area until they got a lead or somebody fessed up. You think the hotel weasel (can’t think of his name – Larry from Newhart) would hold up for more than a few moments under questioning? Al’s left too many people alive who can rat him out. If the Pinkertons show up, they instantly become the people to fear the most in town, and Al loses his grip. Expect a lot of people to wind up with the hogs if Al gets wind of Pinkertons heading to Deadwood.
I think you’re confusing the show with CSI. Which is probably more your speed, honestly, since it spells everything out nice and slowly for you to more easily understand.
Wow Brett. I suppose you’re right. Tomorrow night we can all sit 'round the TV and watch as she heads for NYC to convince her father-in-law to call the Pinkertons. And then the series will end a few episodes from now as Al’s empire falls apart around him.
:wink:
Instead I think we’re going to watch her stick around in Deadwood and do this her own way. I’m just offering a few suggestions as to why she hasn’t, and I think won’t, do that. I know it’s only been one episode but she hasn’t even sent a telegram to dad-in-law thus far.
Also, from a fiction perspective, is anything I’ve suggested that outlandish? Maybe Brom wasn’t well liked by his family. Maybe they’ll greet the news as a fitting end to a foppish embarrassment. Maybe paw was agin it from the start and more inclined to believe he fell than he is to engaged a costly service like the world’s finest frontier detective agency.
PS: I’ve never seen CSI. Is it really that bad?
Edit to add PS, Edit again to add Edit note.
Remember Al is more greedy than fearfull. He could’ve paid Brom off and been done with the whole affair, but instead he opted to have him killed. He wouldn’t even be offering to buy back the claim from the wife if it wasn’t for the gold, and his offering to buy back the claim through Farnum just makes things look more suspicious, not less.
A rather weak episode this weak, as the cliffhangers from last week’s episode merely got fleshed-out rather than resolved. Hopefully next week will provide some closure.
Actually, I was impressed with last night’s episode- the writing didn’t
slack off after Bill’s death. We’ve seen a bit more of the Bella Luna
casino, some great dialogue (Ricky Jay and Powers Boothe spring to mind),
and finally some characters are dragging themselves out of the moral
muck and trying to do good things (Trixie).
Easily the best line of the night:
I dug it. You can’t go wrong with girls bathing and kissing, IMO.
I agree the episode did not have the bite that some of the others have, but there had to be some plot development without a climax eventually. It seemed as if they had to cut it a bit short, also, as there would have been too much material to cram into one episode carrying it past the hour limit.
Definitely, finished strong with everyone’s favorite, Olyphant, stalking around and quickly approaching his breaking point. Crime and injustice would seem to make him blind with anger. Mmmmm delicious, wholesome rage.
I liked it, but I really don’t understand Al’s motivation for trying to get Jack found not guilty. The whole fear of the US not wanting to annex them because they found a guy guilty seemed tenuous.
I liked it, but I really don’t understand Al’s motivation for trying to get Jack found not guilty. The whole fear of the US not wanting to annex them because they found a guy guilty seemed tenuous.
I thought they wanted to be annexed, but on good terms. Al seemed to fear that if the government thought they had enacted their own seperate laws and justice system that when the US finally annexed them they would see Deadwood as a rogue territory and wouldn’t be kindly disposed toward them. Consequently the government would invalidate all existing property claims as unlawful and all of the high rollers in the town would lose their sources of income.
Yeah, but why does Al think it’s just trials finding ‘guilty’ that are the problem?
Likely because a guilty verdict would mean that he would be executed. Al probably feels its better to let him go free and potentially face justice at a later date than have the blood on the town’s hands “officially.”
Definitely, finished strong with everyone’s favorite, Olyphant, stalking around and quickly approaching his breaking point
This was my favorite scene in the episode and quite perhaps the series… he’s walking and he rage builds within him. Just the way they did it was great. They used this in one of the first previews, at the end, while the rest was a montage and Sol Star giving the voice-over about how the mountains are laughing at them and they are giving the mountains a good show. Man that’s great stuff.
— Alan
I think I could watch his scenes over and over. In fact, I can’t wait to get The Girl Next Door video just to see him in those scenes again. As mentioned in that thread, a complete opposite character, but one brought off flawlessly. I must be getting a crush or something. I know I have heard of him before, but damned if I can remember a single thing he has been in. Off to IMDB.