In one of the show’s more unsettling moments, the camera lingers on Seth as he bashes in the Sioux’s head with a rock, a rather disturbing release of the stress building up inside him since Bill’s death. But with the knowledge of the brewing smallpox situation back home, the opening shots of “Plague” feel much more sinister than reflective the more air and land is visible in the frame, the more oppressive and frightening those opening shots feel: part of being a “free” land means it is free from the protections of society, and everything from the plants, to the native inhabitants, to the fucking air could kill you unexpectedly there’s a certain fear (and in many ways, excitement) that comes from that knowledge too bad Seth barely has time to reflect on it before my point is being proved, and a Sioux comes out of nowhere and nearly kills him. “Plague” doesn’t begin in Deadwood, though: it begins in the mountains, where Seth is quietly making his way back to the camp after his attempt to hunt down (and mostly likely kill) Jack McCall. “Plague” may not be the most dynamic, moving hour of Deadwood – but with so many threats lurking just on the fringes of the camp, it is able to conjure the same kind of kinetic tension seen in the series’ best episodes. Regardless of the outcome, Deadwoodexplored the possibilities of bringing Deadwood’s many fragmented entities together for a shared cause – a dry run that would prove to be of prescient importance in “Plague,” when it becomes clear to everyone outside the Bella Union that small pox has arrived to the South Dakotan camp. The town assessed an internal conflict, made a plan, got some jurors, and even a magistrate but the corruption of a lawless land offered a particular type of democracy that left a bad taste in the mouth.
“The Trial of Jack McCall” was an interesting test run for Deadwood’s infantile civilization, though it proved ill equipped for the rigors and complexities of an advanced society.
In anticipation for the new film, Randy’s re-watching the entire series, in a new column titled One Vile Rewatch.)
(Deadwood: The Movie premieres on May 31st, nearly 13 years after the show’s original cancellation.