Chapter One: A Head Weighs Less Than a Body – The show begins with a man who appears to be standing at a church altar. When he goes outside, he encounters Red Bill (Douglas Booth) who tosses him a sack. The men prepare for a duel, standing a short distance apart. While both men fire simultaneously, Red Bill knocks the man’s pistol out of his hand. He fires his pistol again before returning it to his holster. As the man tries to retrieve his weapon on the ground, Red Bill utilizes his boot to crush his hand. He explains how he is searching for a man who has a Bowie knife, with an eye carved into the handle. Refusing the answer, the man screams, “Fu** you, bounty hunter.” Red Bill hits the man in the back of the head with his ax. He compares the man to a man on a wanted poster before opening the bag to expose a head, with a blue eye.

Steve (Christian Cooke) kisses Michelle (Zoe Boyle) on the cheek. They are wringing water out of clothes when Michelle suggests it is enough to water the horses. She continues working while he enters the barn to discover the horses are missing. As he prepares to go search for the horses, she offers to accompany him. Refusing, he assures her it would be faster to go along. He promises Dorian (Lorenzo McGovern Zaini) Brownie will be back for him to ride by tonight.

Steve enters Greenvale, “The Gold City,” where he meets a man who swears there is still gold in Greenvale. He jerks his arm away and enters the Sheriff’s Office. He provides Sheriff Arthur McCoy (Dominic Cooper) a description of his horses. Stopping him mid-sentence, McCoy assures him he knows what the horses look like. He asks what he wants him to do. Steve suggests he go after the Wilson brothers who work for Mr. Thompson (Patterson Joseph). McCoy reminds him of the livestock shortage, suggesting anyone could be responsible. Steve assures him Thompson is after his land, not livestock. When he mentions needing the horses to play his land, McCoy questions why since it has been five years since it last rained. Steve says the weather will be different this year. McCoy says the money from the sale of the land can be utilized to get the “fu**” out of Greenvale.

Steve believes God is giving them another opportunity to revert Greenvale to what it was before the gold rush. Two men enter the Sheriff’s Office to alert McCoy of something important. He promises to investigate his complaint walking out. Steve refuses to leave.

McCoy meets a group of people outside. A man informs him of Quinn returning to Greenvale. McCoy asks the man if Quinn has messed with his daughter. The man says no. McCoy suggests they do their job, so he can do his. After the townspeople leave, McCoy tells Deputy Kurt (Ivan Shaw), Quinn has no more warnings. Kurt asks what’s his plan. McCoy suggests they earn their paycheck. Jesse (Justin Korovkin) asks if he can go with them. Laughing, McCoy says, “Nope.” When Jesse repeats what he says about obeying orders, McCoy says he will make a great sheriff one day.

Thompson inspects Francis’s (Joji Fortuna) collection of artillery. Francis explains how each weapon will blast between 10 and 20 feet into the ground. From there, the miners will pick up. Thompson reminds him of there being no more miners in Greenvale. He needs to reach the earth’s center without assistance. Smirking, Francis opens the door of his cart to show him a jar filled with a substance more stable than nitroglycerine. He claims the compound originates from Germany. Thompson questions the response if the chemical is mixed with benzene. Francis assures he will meet Satan if he mixes the two chemicals. Thompson purchases it all when he notices a pressure balancer. Francis gifts Thompson a vintage revolver. In return, he promises to decorate his cart in gold upon his return and Steve’s horses.

Cocking his pistol, McCoy asks Quinn if he is familiar with the tale about a snake. Quinn hides behind a rock pillar as McCoy takes a break. Kurt suggests they get it over with to avoid the heat. He reminds him which one of them is the sheriff. A door of the old ruins swings sharply open, prompting Kurt and McCoy to prepare their weapons. They gradually walk to the door to be met by Red Bill and his bag of human heads. McCoy demands to know Quinn’s whereabouts. Red Bill recognizes Quinn as the man wanted for murder and rape in three counties. McCoy asks where’s Quinn. He says inside the ruins. Laughing, McCoy asks him to identify himself.

When he peeks into the bag, Red Bill says, “A head weighs less than a body.” Red Bill suggests he not disfigure the faces to ensure he receives the property bounties. McCoy asks if he is joking. Red Bill reminds him of the law. McCoy tells Red Bill Greenvale isn’t fond of bounty hunters. A whistle brings Red Bill’s horse. As he rides off, McCoy orders him to stay out of Greenvale. Red Bill rides away without looking back. They enter the ruins to find Quinn’s body. McCoy tells Deputy Nathan (Benjamin Stender) they are responsible for killing Quinn, not Red Bill. He designates the cleaning to his deputy, Henry (Daniel Caltagirone).

Steve meets Thompson to question how he feels about trying to destroy his farm. Thompson questions what he wants. He promises to never leave or sell him his land. Thompson reminds him of who already owns most of Greenvale. He assures him Hagen will give in soon and he will have all the gold while he dies of thirst. Raising his voice, Steve tells him the gold has been gone for five years. He reminds him of the bloody streets. Thompson says he has proof of a gold vein under Greenvale. Steve reminds him of a river diversion that brought the people of Greenvale drought. Thompson tells him about his father dying while digging for gold in the mines. Steve questions how he sleeps at night. Smiling, Thompson says, “Like a baby” while dreaming of his golden city.

McCoy loads his pistole while Kurt looks through his telescope at what is leftover from a bank robbery. Several bodies lay on the ground. Kurt asks if he ordered Jesse (Justin Korovkin) to remain in Greenvale. McCoy curses Jesse who is at the scene. He believes one of the men was shot from nearly 400 yards away. Kurt says it happened pretty quickly. He says a skilled shooter could do it in 3/10 of a second. Boasting, he says he could do it half the time. As he bends down to touch the body, someone cocks a gun. Both Kurt and McCoy fire at the cart. They approach to find Francis dead inside and a chest full of cash. Shocked, Jesse says, “Jesus Christ” as Kurt and McCoy look at each other. They take the chest of money with them.

McCoy approaches Eve (Niv Sultan) as she stares out at the city from the balcony of The Red Lantern. As she pours him a drink, he gives her a cut of the weekly taxes, plus a little extra. She questions why he is paying her extra. He admits to being in a good mood. She tells him about her experience with the gold rush. She explains how everyone was loaded in gold until it finally ran out. Snarky, he questions if she ever found gold. When she reminds him of her only being a “who**” back then, he assures her that was never her status. She tells him more water is needed for the convoys of settlers due to arrive any day. She informs him of her plan to convince the water suppliers to decrease their rates.

Red Bill strangles a man while demanding to know more about a Bowie knife, with an eye carved in the handle. The man denies knowing anything. He chops off his head with an ax. He gives his horse a drink of water as the moon rises above the mountain. Blood can be seen draining out the sides of the dirty black bag. Tears come to his eyes during a flashback of a screaming woman, with lacerations on her back. A man says, “The things you’ll do for money” while slipping his knife back into the case. Red Bill is startled back to reality.

Eve walks through the brothel to alert the girls it is time to work. She compliments Symone (Rose Williams).

McCoy and Kurt celebrate finding $200K. He asks Kurt why he chooses Italy. He says it is where his mom originates from.

Upon arriving in Greenvale, Red Bill heads into the saloon for water. The bartender (Tommaso Sacco) informs him of whiskey being cheaper than water. A patron admits to hearing rumors that McCoy killed Quinn. Red Bill tells the bartender he is looking for Ralph and Fred Willson. The bartender denies knowing anything about them. He tells him the bag will need to stay outside because it is leaving a mess. The blood seeps out of the bag onto the barstool. He refuses to take the bag outside.

Jesse tells McCoy about Red Bill who supposedly shot a man without moving his pistol. As McCoy enters the saloon, he tells Jesse to not believe everything he hears. Hurriedly approaching Red Bill, he cocks his pistol and points it directly at his head. He tells him he is already breaking the law. Red Bill congratulates him on killing Quinn. McCoy orders him to pay a fine for disobeying his order to stay out of his jurisdiction. After paying him, he says an empty coffer explains why he refused to pay his bounties. Cocking his gun, McCoy calls his name. When Red Bill turns, he says you forget your canteen. He utilizes his teeth to remove the cork before pouring the water on the floor, saying it is part of his punishment for violating the law. He forbids the bartender and patrons from doing business with Red Bill. He holds onto his gun until he is ready to leave town.

Kurt and Henry are messing around with the scales. Nathan enters the Sheriff’s Office to inform McCoy of Red Bill leaving town. McCoy treats his deputies to a night at the brothel while he visits the old station. When he walks outside, he realizes his horse is missing. He orders Nathan to bring Red Bill back to town.

Steve visits Eve to plead with her to speak with McCoy. She assures him that McCoy cares less about his horses. He asks if McCoy cares about Thompson who he believes is destroying Greenvale. She says they need to give up their dream of Greenvale being revived. When she refuses to help him, he demands to know why. Reminding him of what pulled them apart, she refuses to help him save it now. She asks why he really came to see her while having a flashback of them making love. She suggests he can’t resist anymore and can no longer live his life without her. After they make love, she assures him nothing would change if he got his horses back. He forgets his cross necklace lying on the table when he leaves.

Nathan catches up with Red Bill who tells him he has one opportunity to return to town. The sight of his ax entices Nathan to leave the way he came. Eve washes up when Symone approaches. She refuses to answer questions about Steve. Symone assures her she can have Steve if she wants. She asks why to spend the rest of her days as a farmer’s wife. Symone is permitted to pick out a dress.

Jesse tells his friend about McCoy’s chest, with $200K.

As Red Bill approaches a building, he is being watched. He asks Butler (Aidan Gillen) if he knows where the Willson brothers are at. Butler says they are probably over the hill. Red Bill offers to pay him well for some water. He fills up his canteen. Red Bill asks how often he sees Fred and Ralph. He informs him of how they used to take his food, now his sheep. Red Bill assures him they won’t get buy with it much longer. He refuses to accept payment for the water as long as Ralph and Fred are gone. After drinking the whiskey, he begins to hallucinate. Grabbing his feet, the Butler pulls his body across the floor.

Nathan tells McCoy the man was Red Bill who demands to know where he is at. He claims to have lost him. McCoy calls him chicken shit before heading out the door to initiate his own search. Kurt follows him outside to try to convince him not to go. He tells him they have more important matters to take care of first. He suggests they get out of Greenvale before someone comes searching for the money.

Steve returns home to find Dorian outside by himself. He reminds him of what he said about it being dangerous. Dorian signs about the horses. He tells him they couldn’t be located. Dorian gives him a hug before heading back home. Steve enters a cave that appears to be filled with gold.

McCoy talks to Jesse about the money. He demands to know if he told anyone about it. As he walks away, McCoy shoots him in the back. McCoy says it wouldn’t have happened if Jesse had heeded his orders.

In a flashback – Young Bill (Tommaso Di Marco) watches as his mother (Maria Grazia Toccacelli) is being tortured. He comes through to discover his hands are tied. Butler enters the room to feed him raw horse meat. Red Bill screams, “Fu** you” over and over again.

Kurt and McCoy bury the chest of money. When McCoy removes his shirt, he has three large scars on his upper back. The scars are in the same position and shape as those on Red Bill’s mother’s back. McCoy suggests they go get Red Bill as the episode comes to an end.

 

That Dirty Black Bag Review

I am a fan of drama/western films, which is what I was hoping to get from this series. Like most western fans, I dived in headfirst. The show failed to impress right from the get-go. The plot is borderline cringeworthy. Who in their right mind would carry around a bag full of human heads?

I felt the killings were void of empathy, which some people may say is to be expected. However, the killing of young Jesse was a bit much. He was a young child who truly did nothing wrong except befriend a cold-hearted killer. It was truly unnecessary in all sense of the word. I’ve watched boatloads of western films, some of which were classic and others not so much. I can’t recall once where such a delicate topic – a child’s death – was approached so haphazardly.

The acting was not too bad except for Red Bill’s potential possession while recalling his mother’s brutal beating. The show got a bit better about three-quarters of the way into the episode. It has some potential and it is still early in the series. Will try another episode to see how things go from there.

The episode deserves 6. Get more That Dirty Black Bag recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link to learn.