Plot: Brisco returns to his old hometown at the request of his friend, Annie (Jessica Luck). Her father, Sheriff Cavendish (John P. Ryan), rode with Brisco Sr. when they captured Bly, and was like a father to Brisco in Senior's frequent absences. Cavendish hasn't been doing so well since Senior's death, as he's responded to loss in the way real men in fiction have throughout the centuries: he drinks.
Brisco and Bowler step in to serve as the law for the town, which puts them in conflict with Mack Brackman (Richard Venture). Brackman's a rich cattle owner who doesn't believe the government can tell him where to run his cattle, and certainly doesn't believe the government can sell land it owns to farmers. Which is how his son, Bishop, ends up in jail . When his two sons prove incompetent at dealing with the settlers and our heroes, as well as staying out of jail, Mack calls in Utah Johnny Montana (along with his unnamed mouthpiece, played by John Hawkes) to remove the law from the equation.
Does Brisco use his gun? He puts a bullet down the barrel of Utah's gun.
Things Comet does: Nothing of note.
Kiss Count: 2, both with Annie. (11 overall)
John Bly Spreads His Arms Dramatically: N/A (5 overall).
Is Pete Hutter in this Episode? No.
Pete Hutter Quote: N/A
Non-Pete Hutter Quote: 'This town's so worthless it needs 2 sheriffs - a punk and a drunk.' - Mack Brackman.
Brisco's Coming Things: 'Flip me the bird!', field sobriety tests, Duncan's Doughnuts.
Bly Gang Count: 0 (4 overall).
Stuff the Orb Can Do: N/A.
Other: Brisco sold his parents' house to Mack Brackman, who outfitted the living room with awful wallpaper, which appropriately earns him a punch in the face from Brisco. Brackman named his two sons Bishop and Olaf. What'd they ever do to him? Besides being morons and complete disappointments, I mean. For the 2nd episode in a row, someone nearly gets run down in a stampede.
Prior to meeting Brisco, Utah Johnny Montana's record in gunfights was 37-0, except for the one where he was hit in throat, which is why he doesn't talk. He allows that one as a tie. He used to be Utah Johnny Cougar Montana, but dropped "Cougar" because he thought it pretentious. He did not kill Mort Cooper. Oh, and he's from Idaho.
There's a lot I like about this episode. Brisco finding out how hard it is being a sheriff, where there's always something to deal with. As a bounty hunter, he can be really busy tracking people down, but he doesn't have to be, and that works allows for a single-minded focus, whereas a sheriff has to be ready for any potential issue. Bowler gets in a few digs at Brisco, has to cope with the irritating fact nobody ever seems to have heard of Lord Bowler, manhunter, but in a lot of ways, he's the hero of the episode.
There's a scene that's highly reminiscnet of Rio Bravo, with a prisoner exchange where one prisoner objects to the other getting away. If not for Bowler, Brackman would have had the place surrounded with goons. Also, there's a sequence where Bishop escapes from jail, and Brisco calmly explains to Annie that it's no worry, Bowler's on it. Sure enough, Bowler shows up, Bishop in tow. It's treated as such a foregone conclusion we didn't even need to see Bowler tracking him, which is a nice nod to Bowler's skill.
At one point, Sheriff Cavendish wonders what Brisco Sr. was thinking as he opened the door to that train car. Brisco could have told him, since his father's ghost told him in "Senior Spirit". At this point, we're up to about 3 father figures for Brisco, between Cavendish, Wickwire, and Brisco Sr. Each emphasizes something different about Brisco Jr. Wickwire is Brisco's curiosity, his creativity. Brisco Sr. seems to be the strength of will, the determination to see something through, carry out one's duty. Cavendish has that as well, but adds the concern for loved ones. Brisco Senior cared about his wife and son, but he was frequently absent from their lives. Cavendish was a much bigger part of Annie's life, and probably Brisco Junior's, and we see that in how Brisco maintains close friendships with people. Old friends like Matt ("Brisco for the Defense") and Annie. New ones like Bowler and Socrates.
Also, U.S. Attorney Breakstone shows up for the first time since "Socrates' Sister". He'll be a more frequent recurring character from here on.
Oh, and I really like that we got to have a proper showdown in the street. The last time they set one up (Brisco vs. Pete in "Pilot"), it didn't really play out conventionally. Which is part of the charm of the series, true, but sometimes I want to see a quickdraw fight.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment