Behind Us, A Cliff – The show begins with James Dutton (Tim McGraw) surviving “The Battle of Antietam.” He stands and looks around at the carnage. The Dunker Church stands in the background. General George Meade (Tom Hanks) greets James, “Captain” before taking a seat beside him. James tries to say something, but nothing comes out. General Meade says, “I know.”

In a narration, Elsa Dutton (Isabel May) talks about the difficulties her father faced after the war. He was held captive by the Union Army for three years.

James rides through the camp toward Captain Shea Brennan’s tent. He tells Shea (Sam Elliott) and Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) they will need a cook because the German immigrants are not rationing their food. Thomas says they are going to bring a herd of cattle along, so food will not be a problem. Shea disagrees and orders Thomas to add a cook to the hire list. They are going to round up some cattle.

Elsa and her brother, John Dutton (Audie Rick) are relaxing in their tent. John asks why he doesn’t have underarm hair. She says it makes tickling him easier. James informs Elsa about the cattle roundup later in the evening.

Thomas, James, and Shea visit the stockyard. A stockyard worker quotes $40 per head of cattle. When they refuse to pay the higher price, he tells them about wild cattle on the Brazos. They don’t have enough men to round up wild cattle. Shea convinces Ennis (Eric Nelsen) and Wade (James Landry Hebert) to accompany them on the cattle roundup.

Elsa explores the land, finding a few treasures along the way. While exploring, she discovers a damaged wagon, she discovers two corps lying on the ground. One of the corps has two arrows in the torso. Several people across the river are sick.

Margaret Dutton (Faith Hill) and Claire Dutton (Dawn Olivieri) are preparing food. Immigrants are drinking water directly from the river. Claire calls them “fools” and discourages Margaret from warning them about disease. Elsa runs to the camp and tells Claire about the sick people. Claire scolds her for crossing the river on a log and sandbar. Drinking river water boiling it will cause cholera. Mary Abel Dutton (Emma Malouff) hands Elsa a basket and says it is your turn to pick berries, mind the thorns.

The men return to camp. Ennis inspects the immigrants and says they are better off without them. James says he has someone who can ride. Elsa spots a German immigrant flinching in pain while picking berries. She tries to explain it is the water making them sick. James orders Elsa to saddle her horse, Lightning. He ignores the sick immigrants. Margaret isn’t happy with James’ decision to take Elsa to round up cattle. James puts a pistol in Elsa’s saddlebag. They come upon Grady (Alex Fine) and a group of men camping in tents. They agree to join them on the cattle roundup without pay.

 

The men camp out until morning. Thomas and Shea discuss their situation and inability to find men willing to work. Thomas wants to see the west one more time before it is ruined by settlers. James places a rope around Elsa’s bedroll to ward off snakes. She thanks him for bringing her along. He warns her about the dangers of rounding up bulls.

They head out in search of wild cattle. It is dark, Elsa is having trouble seeing. Grady provides instructions for rounding up wild cattle. Elsa follows Grady and his men while James says back with Thomas and Shea. She is ordered to wait until they call for her. A coyote is lurking around while waiting for the signal to start rounding up wild cattle. She pushes a white cow into the herd. They move the herd toward camp.

Back at the camp, Margaret sets by the fire as the German immigrants play music. John wants to know if they are going to play music all night. Margaret orders him to bed. Claire complains about the music. She doesn’t understand what James hopes to find in the mountains, but it won’t be civilization. Margaret responds to her pessimistic outlook on their journey, “I don’t recall anyone forcing you on the train.” Fate forced her when her husband died. She says it is not a dream, it is a nightmare.

Mary Abel questions Margaret about drinking coffee. Coffee is for men, not women. A group of men enters the camp, demanding to know about the wagon boss. Margaret calmly talks to the men when Claire becomes offensive. She tells the men they have nothing to offer them and to be gone. Josef (Marc Rissman) asks them what they want. They lead their horses to the river. Claire angrily begins to pelt the men with rocks. The men get off their horses. One of the men attacks Claire when the immigrants try to help, they pull their guns. Margaret grabs her rifle and points it at the man. The immigrants run the men off, but they do not go far. Within seconds they return with guns blazing. Mary Abel and several immigrants are killed during the shootout. Margaret begins to frantically scream for John. He runs into her arms. She scoops him up and gets a glimpse of Mary Abel lying dead on the ground.

Ennis says Elsa is pretty handy. He offers Elsa a drink of water and asks her to remove her hat. She asks why. He says I want to see if you are too pretty for me. He is stunned when she removes her hat. She is too pretty for him.

At the camp, everyone is mourning the death of their loved ones. Thomas, Shea, and James prepare to ride into town in search of the bandits. Elsa tries to console Claire with no luck. She asks, “What are you sorry about, you didn’t shoot her.” Margaret tells James that the men didn’t start the fight. James only believes in Margaret, John, and Elsa, nothing else matters. He orders Elsa to sleep with her gun.

They visit Fort Worth City Marshall Jim Courtright (Billy Bob Thornton). He gives James a badge to keep a rope off his neck. They enter The White Elephant Josef points out the bandits. Marshall Courtright, James, Thomas, and Shea kill the bandits. He asks Josef if there are any more. He points to a man who says, “I ain’t armed, the immigrants took my gun.” Marshall Courtright shoots the bandit and tells the crowd that he is the only killer in Fort Worth. Shea tells James he is going to head north in the morning because every man in the bar will be after them.

They arrive back at the camp. James tells Margaret they murdered the bandits. He climbs up in the wagon and goes to sleep. The next morning, they prepare to head north. Shea orders the immigrants to leave 20 feet between each wagon and not let their children ride on the buckboard. Gabe, Ennis, and Wade agree to join the wagon train up the Red. Margaret tries to console Claire, her hand is slapped away. Claire refuses to make the trip north because she has nothing waiting on her. She had seven children, all of which have died. She is ready to lay down.

Ennis catches up with Elsa. She says I thought I was too pretty for you. He agrees, but his common sense is short. A mental picture of her husband does not look like him. He says, “Well, I’m a cowboy, mam, we don’t look like nobody’s husband, but we’re the ones you think about when your husband ain’t around.” She giggles and blushes.

As the wagon train heads north, Claire puts her gun to her forehead, and fires. James and Thomas stay behind to dig her grave. Elsa provides a narration of their experience as the episode comes to an end.

 

1883 Review

The show continues at a painfully slow pace, with a few so-called exciting scenes tossed into the mix. I’m not going to go on a tirade about the poor representation of the Southern accent. But I will say, at times, it is so bad that focusing on the show is impossible.

Sam Elliott is perfect for the leading role, but his strong presence weakens the other members of the main cast. He needs a similar strong sidekick like Billy Bob Thornton. LaMonica Garrett’s on-screen relationship with Sam Elliott is frustrating at best. There is no visible on-screen character bonding.

The writers did a great job making Elsa look careless and selfish. In one scene, she is wandering off from camp to who knows where like a child. In this next scene, she is taking on the role of a man. Not saying women are incapable of rounding up wild cattle, but it seems the writers are confused about Elsa’s role. It will take more than beauty to pull this role off.

The episode deserves a 6.5.

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