Plot: Brisco is wanted for the murder of banker Sherman Paulson, and with a $50,000 bounty, he'll have to dodge plenty of bounty hunters - including one Crystal Hawks (Sheena Easton) to track down the man he insists is responsible: Big Smith (M.C. Gainey)?!
Even as Bowler and Socrates try to find Brisco and help him, Brisco finds out he's not the only one on Big's trail. John Bly's reenters the picture, and when he's involved, you know the Orb must be somewhere nearby as well. But what does the federal government have to do with all of it? And why is Big playing at Robin Hood?
Does Brisco use his gun? He uses it to stop a falling piano, and he uses a different gun to get himself out of some chains.
Stuff Comet does: Follow Brisco surreptitiously, worry about whether there's a bounty on his head.
Kiss Count: 1, from Ms. Hawks (18 overall).
John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically Count: 2 (7 overall). I might be fudging a bit. One was while he was holding a gun, and the other while he was tossing his hat aside. But he doesn't need to spread both arms for that.
Is Pete Hutter in this Episode? No.
Pete Hutter Quote: N/A
Non-Pete Hutter Quote: 'Crystal, darling, hey there, baby, ma'am. Best of luck to you, honey.' - Brisco, as he makes his (first) escape from Hawks.
Brisco's Coming Things: The used horse salesman. Does a bank giving free branding irons to people who open new accounts qualify?
Bly Gang Count: Now let's see. It was 5, but Big isn't dead, so that makes it 4. But he and Bly both get arrested, so that's 6. But Bly killed Big and escaped, so we're right back where we started.
Stuff the Orb Can Do: Big has superhuman strength, but we knew about that already (see Pilot). He also has either mind control or telekinesis, as well as heightened senses (at one point he states he sensed County the moment he entered the building).
Other: Bly's back for the first time since "Senior Spirit", and Big for the first time since he fell in the river at the end of "Pilot". While Crystal's the bounty hunter who receives the most attention, Bowler identified several others to Socrates, including Gentleman Jim Conner, Mountain McClain, and El Gato, who only brings in the heads of his bounties.
The Unofficial Bowler says "Damn!" count is up to 6.
Crystal Hawks has at least 7 rules she follows. I won't list them all, but Rule #1 relates to all those names Brisco called her in the quote above. She will bend Rule #1 a little in the event someone is being helpful. She also can't cook, but she can dance.
Big tells Brisco he has a destiny with the Orbs, echoing Professor Coles's statement in "The Orb Scholar". Big also knows that Coles has one Orb, and the government the other. It's interesting what happens with Big, given some of the things we know about the Orb. It gave power to Coles and those Chinese laborers, seemingly without ill effect. But when the tycoon took it's power, he was killed by it. Bly said its power can destroy the one who uses it ("Senior Spirit"). Did the Orb change Big when it granted him power? He knows the truth about it, where it came from, and what it's purpose is, so maybe that knowledge is what did it. Or maybe it was the near-death experience. Or perhaps his heightened senses extend to empathy, and having senses others' fear and pain, tried alleviate those feelings.
In certain respects, this episode is structured like "Deep in the Heart of Dixie", only instead of everyone being after one person, it's more jumbled. Bly's after Big, and so is Brisco, though he's also after Bly once he realizes he's involved. Bowler and Soc are after Brisco, as is Crystal, not to mention all the other bounty hunters. Still, I like this episode a lot more than the previous one. John Bly's a much more interesting villain than Winston Smiles was. I particularly like how, as he interrogates Big's brother, who runs an outreach shelter, he somehow senses Brisco come in behind him. He gets this huge smiles and whirls, half-snarling, half shouting "County!" as he draws and fires. Brisco might be a nuisance, but he's one Bly is eager to kill, so in a way, he's happy to see him.
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