Deadwood Monday: Season Three, Ep. 35, “The Cat Bird Seat”

Deadwood Monday: Season Three, Ep. 35, “The Cat Bird Seat”

By Matt Zoller Seitz on August 21, 2006 in Television Jump to Comments (0)

By Matt Zoller Seitz

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To read the Star-Ledger review, click here.

TAGS: david milch, deadwood, hbo, matt zoller seitz, tv recap

Tom: As for the Earps, historically speaking, they did not stay in Deadwood very long, so I reckon they are gone for good. But who knows? If it serves his purpose, Milch may bring them back for the big showdown.

Just wanted to say what a heartbreaking episode this was. Poor fuckin' Ellsworth. And the reunion of Bullock and Alma with Sofia along for the ride was much more moving than I'd expected, as I wasn't really feeling the Garrett-Bullock affair while it lasted. Yet, because Ellsworth, who was a goddamned fine man, was the reason for their embrace, it felt earned and terribly poignant.

.
Posted by Dan Jardine on 2006-08-25 16:20:00 Matt: And Wire Mondays, of course. Looking forward to it. I didn't mean you, but come to think of it, your stamp of approval will probably be enough to get your premium cable-having readers watching.

tom e: The Earps were just passing through. Fine by me. Maybe there was more planned for them, but they are the least of my worries. And in terms of historical accuracy, I don't think it would be right to give them too big a role.

I don't even worship the ground Deadwood bleeds on like Matt does, but as the beginning of the end nears, I still can't get over the way HBO has done this. I pay so much money to Time-Warner every month precisely so I can continue to watch programs like Deadwood. And I keep thinking about how many years they let Arliss run...
Posted by Josh on 2006-08-24 08:08:00 Slightly off topic, but what exactly happened to the Earp brothers? They got such a build up and then just seemed to disappear.
Posted by Tom E on 2006-08-24 05:50:00 Matt, you've often written about the theatrical staging and conceits found within the show. I was curious to your thoughts about Trixie attempting her assassination bare-breasted. Sure, it served its purpose in not only causing a commotion downstairs at the Grand Central as well as a momentary distraction for Hearst but I thought I was picking up one something else there (aside from a reminder of just how good Paula Malcolmson looks nude). It struck me as an almost Amazonian image, Trixie throwing out her breasts with a weapon by her side marching off into battle (as it were). It felt incredibly primal to me, like an animal attempting to bring down a pillar of â€œcivilizationâ€ and â€œprogress.â€ All that was missing was for her to smear mud or blood on her face. Any thoughts?
Posted by Andrew Dignan on 2006-08-24 05:36:00 eires32: Thanks. I'll cross that off my list of things to be bummed about.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-24 02:28:00 One of good friends is (was) one of the two 2nd ADs on Deadwood for the last two seasons; she will be ADing on John from Cincinnati.
She has the highly informed opinion, due to many discussions and preliminary shooting schedules, that the Deadwood movies are going to happen.
Please take heart, my naturally melancholy friend.
Posted by Eires32 on 2006-08-23 23:56:00 I agree with you about the movies, Matt. I've come to think I'd be happier imagining what would have been in the lost Season Four of "Deadwood" than a scrunched up four-hour version. Although what I'm going to do for a fresh Al fix, I've no idea....
Posted by Anonymous on 2006-08-23 23:15:00 Patk: Yeah, I saw those reports, but being a naturally melancholy person, I will believe the movies are happening when I hear that production has begun.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-23 23:12:00 Well, in an interview at the end of July, McShane said that deals were being hammered out with the cast, and that the plan was to begin shooting the movies starting May of '07.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=15673
Posted by PatK on 2006-08-23 22:51:00 Josh: "...give the show a try"???? This is the home of Wire Week, my man.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-23 21:05:00 And I share your apprehension at what the movies might look like. For that matter, I am still unconvinced that the movies are actually going to happen. I think that was HBO boss Chris Albrecht insulating himself against fan wrath and giving himself an easy out. The movies are contingent upon getting the entire gigantic ensemble cast back together, at a price HBO is willing to pay. If it doesn't happen, Albrecht can say, "Oh, well, I tried." It puts the onus on Milch, his writers and his actors, which doesn't seem fair. As I was telling Alan Sepinwall the other day, it's as if HBO demolished a cathedral that was near completion, then told the architect, "Well, you're welcome to sift through the rubble and see if you can make a couple of nice little cottages out of this."
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-23 21:03:00 Bret: That's a good point. There's also an instinctive element to the characters' behavior -- they do whatever just feels right under the circumstances, even if they haven't thought it out rationally. For instance, the way Swearengen and Bullock have behaved like allies throughout the last several episodes without ever once having a conversation that specifically deals with how their relationship has changed since that fight. This is real characterization, not the typical TV kind, where people walk into rooms and announce how their mental state has shifted to accomodate the demands of that week's script. There are long monologues on Deadwood, but they are rarely about present-tense moments or events; they're more often about the buildup to something that hasn't happened yet, the past's effect on the present, or what it means, in a broad sense, to be a human living among other humans.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-23 21:00:00 It's true about The Wire. Quite amazing that such a serious, intricate show has managed to survive to a fourth season. I hope all you "Dead"heads, once you've ceased your weeping, will give the show a try. I am currently re-watching Season 3 on DVD, and it's inspiring how David Simon keeps finding new things to say within his essential themes.
Posted by Josh on 2006-08-23 20:49:00 Matt, one thing that I can never seem to keep foremost in my thoughts regarding character behavior with this show is the compressed time-frame of its events relative to the time period over which I've watched the show. That I'm used to Al being more community-minded since he was ill in Season 2 doesn't mean that he or anyone else in Deadwood is used to it. That Milch and company continue to hew to the reality of the world they've created so well makes the show's demise all the worse. I lack confidence that the two movies, should they be produced, will be free from compromises wrought by actors' availability, lack thereof, or other matters practical and budgetary.
Posted by Bret LaGree on 2006-08-23 17:35:00 It's telling that we can unpack Al's motivations and feelings in this one scene over the course of several days. Not too many shows withstand this sort of scrutiny. Luckily, "The Wire" is among them, and it's coming back in a couple of weeks.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-22 22:43:00 It is a shame to see Deadwood end (?) this way. What a waste.

Al's discomfort accepting Alma's thanks was probably also aggravated by Sofia's presence, as Alma told him just yesterday that the girl might still be terrified of him since he considered murdering her in her bed not so long ago.
Posted by Josh on 2006-08-22 22:37:00 nspector: "Thank you. Now could you please just make a fourth season materialize?"

If only I had such power. In this situation, I wish I were Al or Hearst, but I'm afraid I am just Merrick, or maybe Blazanov.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-22 22:18:00 I had to rewatch the Trixie scene after reading how you folks were interprting it. I at first thought it was purely fear for herself that made her ask Sol to kill her. But, no, you guys are clearly right. She says, "kill me or he'll do for all of us."

Matt, your reviews, on the fly or not, have been insightful and helpful. What you said last week giving justification for the storylines that can seem less relevant was a real eye opener for me.

Thank you. Now could you please just make a fourth season materialize?
Posted by NSpector on 2006-08-22 20:49:00 Yes, good point. However, she may be grateful for that, too. Because she didn't want that life.
Posted by PatK on 2006-08-22 19:08:00 One thing I didn't think about until later is that not only is Al uncomfortable accepting thanks, deep down he may be harboring guilt since Alma's first husband was killed by Dan at his request.
Posted by Edward Copeland on 2006-08-22 17:19:00 toeknee...
Ahhh, yes, of course. That makes sense. Thank you!
Posted by Katester on 2006-08-22 16:45:00 katester:
I took that scene between Alma and Doc this way - Alma was not sure about how to handle Sofia's request about seeing Mr. Ellsworth. Alma probably thought seeing his dead body may jar repressed memories in Sofia's mind about her own dead family members. The Doc's theory of what Sofia saw that day (i.e., that she never actually saw any of her family after they'd been killed) caused Alma to believe it would be OK for Sofia to see Mr. Ellsworth.
Posted by toeknee on 2006-08-22 16:35:00 Really good reading, as always. The only thing I didn't quite get, and something I haven't seen mentioned anywhere, was the odd little scene between Doc and Alma, discussing Sofia's family's attack way back in the first ep. It seemed really out of context. Do you think this was a storyline they were setting up for the now non-existent fourth season or have I completely missed a thread?
Posted by Katester on 2006-08-22 13:54:00 Bret and Dan: Yeah, I think your interpretation of this scene is dead on. I had to write this one on the fly, and I made some wrong calls.

M.A. Peel: You know, it's really strange, but every single time I sit down to write about "Deadwood" I catch myself wanting to write "Timothy Swearengen" instead of "Timothy Olyphant." You're right, it's probably a Freudian elision -- maybe compulsion -- and I am not sure quite what it says about either me or the series. Any psychologists or word detectives who might be reading this are welcome to suggest possible interpretations.

That Bullock closeup was the most powerful and meaningful yet concise closeup this whole year. There was resolve there, and horror, but also curiousity about what direction Bullock's life might take, and fear at the prospect of the emotions he was going to feel and the choices he was about to face.

Dan: "My oh my. I'd be nowhere without an editor." You and me both.
Posted by Matt Zoller Seitz on 2006-08-22 05:23:00 Holy Hannah, I now realize that I coined a neologism with "considated"
when I am pretty certain I intended to go with the tried and true "consolidated." My oh my. I'd be nowhere without an editor.
Posted by Dan Jardine on 2006-08-22 05:12:00 Matt--you have a lovely Freudian (?) ellision in your piece. Naming the actor of Bullock as Timothy Swearengen.

I like your point about Ellsworth's death throwing Bullock's entire domestic/romantic universe. That point also plays into the wider idea of the organism of the community. In season 2, Al and Seth came to blows because Al felt that Seth was ignoring the "business of the camp" with his head in a fog over Alma. Now what Milch has done is to equate Alma with the business of the camp--her safety, her property is the most important business of the organism. So where Seth kept his distance honorably since the arrival of Martha, now he is required to be near Alma. Interesting turn of events, which, as you say, could be compelling for a 12-episode season to play out.
Posted by M. A. Peel on 2006-08-22 00:27:00 Great article. I think a lot of the critics of this season - amazing there are any - fail to call into account that the side plots would have been further examined and explored in the now cancelled season four. Just reading your review, I can tell you have a real appreciation of the prose employed by Milch, so lyrical and lush. It amazes me that a television executive could serve out his contract after pulling the plug on such a marvelous achievement in the medium. Such a travesty.
Posted by Anthony Bosco on 2006-08-21 23:42:00 Make that a "community-minded set of beliefs" and I think you come closer to what I was shooting for.
Posted by Dan Jardine on 2006-08-21 22:35:00 Matt, I don't think Trixie's request was borne out of suicidal regret, but rather out of an altruistic desire to save the folks of Deadwood what is sure to be a grisly fate at the hands of a vengeance-seeking George Hearst. As a result, Trixie's request fits in with the movement of many of the characters from selfishly motivated behaviour to a more community-mindedness set of beliefs. At that moment, she hasn't lost faith in her convictions; she has considated it.
Posted by Dan Jardine on 2006-08-21 22:34:00 Well, they didn't know until Seth saw all the soldiers in Spearfish that the vote was going to be rigged. And the whole idea was to go about business as usual. So I suspect that that's why Seth went back to the campaign trail.
Posted by Anonymous on 2006-08-21 22:26:00 I thought Trixie, still fueled by the creative ambition of her anger, wanted someone to kill her as appeasement to Hearst so that he would then spare the camp as a whole. An irrational hope, to be sure, as people worth sacrificing yourself to save aren't likely to take you up on your offer.
Posted by Bret LaGree on 2006-08-21 22:08:00 I sure wish Trixie were a better shot -- historical accuracy be damned. I agree -- there is no way they can wrap everything up in a single hour next week. (Is Steve the drunk still lying around in a vegetable state somewhere?) As soon as Hearst mentioned a tent, I knew poor Ellsworth was doomed. Honestly though, I think Trixie and Sol were right -- with so much happening (and Hearst already planning to rig the vote), why would Seth waste his time going to Yankton to make a speech?
Posted by Edward Copeland on 2006-08-21 21:46:00

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