True Colors



A peculiar day in Deadwood began with the return of Wu and Blazanov by stagecoach, soon followed by the arrival of a new character, flamboyant showman Langrishe (Brian Cox). I have no idea what they’re going to do with this guy, but his presence accounted for some nice, unusual moments with Swearengen: a leisurely tour of the camp (a set that just gets better and better – it’s a shame they’ll ever have to tear it down) and some chummy banter. (Discussing Langrishe’s theatrical enterprises, Al marvels over a performer who “farted seemed near an hour.” (Could he have been witness to the great fartiste Le Petomane?)

Another new arrival: Hearst’s cook Aunt Lou. She and Richardson have the makings of another great comedy duo, and after spending most of the hour in Aunt Jemima mode right out of a ’30s movie, it was sweet to see her after hours, flashing her mad Mahjong skillz and her contempt for Hearst.

Speaking of the boy the earth talks to, Hearst was at the center of most of the hour’s most memorable encounters. I thought the “people as dogs” metaphor was a bit overplayed (although Maury enjoyed it), but I must admit, it does look like there’s a place for Cy this season. His motivations are still murky, but I’m willing to take it on faith at this point and it will be interesting to see if he allies with Hearst or Swearengen or just does his own thing.

Other stuff: the scene between Merrick and Blazanov was another Twin Peaks-y touch, but good for Merrick finally finding someone on his wavelength. I hope there aren’t going to be a lot more scenes of the Doc coughing up brown pus. And it looks like those of you who aren’t big fans of the li’l General are going to be unhappy next week. Overall, this one wasn’t the barn-burner last week’s episode was, but things are simmering along and judging from the previews, will soon come to a boil.