The House Next Door

In his weekly "Deadwood" recap "What's Alan Watching?", House contributor Alan Sepinwall offers a different interpretation of Ellsworth's 'conjugal' line:

"When Ellsworth said, 'As far as the conjugal enterprise, I'll admit feeling like a schoolboy,' I was taken aback, since I had assumed he and Alma didn't even kiss, much less make the beast with two backs," he writes. "Then I looked up 'conjugal' and was reminded that all it means is 'of or relating to marriage or to the relationship between a wife and husband.' Too many prison movies have corrupted the definition for me, I guess."

Good point, but I still think that when Ellworth said "conjugal," he wasn't referring to moving her ottoman.

Meanwhile, over at TV Squad, Jonathan Toomey calls this week's offering "a slow episode...the important points were far and few between. Hearst's storyline moved in a different direction. He announced to Al and Cy that he would be traveling and checking in on his interests in Deadwood only occasionally. This explains why he enlisted Tolliver last week; to watch over his claims. Al suspects something is up though, vows that he'll never speak to Hearst again, and will instead send someone in his place. That someone is Silas, with the understanding that Silas has to feign disloyalty to Swearengen in an effort to get full disclosure from Hearst. I'm not sure that will go as planned though. Let's not forget that Silas already turned on his boss Clagett way back in season one (he slit the guy's throat right in front of Swearengen). If Hearst should suspect anything and offer Silas an even better deal, do you think he might turn on Al?"

With all due respect, I don't think that Alma was going out to meet Leon for a bodice ripping session. He was already aupplying her with dope. Something about the way they interacted at the bank made me think that they may have already met and that she was already on her way to getting high. I couldn't quite figure out their interaction at the bank...it certainly was not flirting.

Of course, when Trixie tries to fill Seth in on these developments, he is about as dense as a rock. It has taken me this long to see it, but Seth's character isn't very sharp, is he?

Yes, I also agree that Alma wasn't going to meet Leon for sex. She wanted drugs.

And Al's speech at the end was just the latest in his speeches about his childhood. It doesn't mean that that one incident made him a pimp, but it was the beginning of a chain of events that led there, some of which we've heard of previously, with Mrs. Fat Bleeping Anderson.

Al's scenes weren't directly tied to the idea of language as emblem of civilization; they seemed a freestanding and too obvious attempt to explain the psychology of Al Swearengen.

Interesting this stood out for both you and Alan, Matt. We've seen this self analysis from Al before, so it isn't unprecedented - indeed we've seen it when he is confronted with significantly less of a threat to his power than George Hearst. Likewise, I didn't note the freestanding element of the scene(s) until you pointed it out.

This was interesting to me mainly due to the way the presence of Dolly (hope I'm getting the characters name right) came into play during the second monologue. For the first time, he noted the similarity of his abuses to those he suffered, and was sadened by it. Now, this was clear to viewers from when the first bits of his background were revealed in late Season 1 and Season 2. But here, Al recognizes it. We may be heading towards what you had previously mentioned during Deadweek, Matt, as the evolution of a thug. Or it may be a misdirect, we'll see.

My girlfriend also noted during watching Al's reactions to his realizations that he is intimidated by women he doesn't have control over. This was something I hadn't picked up on, before, though it matches up well with how he acted with Alma during their first meeting. Was this reveal subtle for anyone else, or have I just been dim on picking that up until hit over the head here?

Just want to point a line that Alan had that I love: And that's on top of Tim Olyphant, who always plays Bullock as one bad tech support voicemail session away from turning spree killer. No wonder I like the Seth character so much.

Jonathan Toomey's read as "a slow episode...the important points were far and few between." made me think of a point I've been meaning to raise for a while, and this seems like a good opportunity. Major battles were in lull this week, but it didn't bother me, it was still engorssing. That said, I'm looking forward to Dan's street fight with the Colonel next week. I've noticed that the show's approach to violence seems to differ from, say, the Sopranos.

That show really strikes me as using violence (and profanity and nudity, but violence predominantly) as both an audience lure and way of chiding the audience. That read fits amongst the fans of The Sopranos I think - I often hear them talk about "this was a week for all those viewers who just watch for a hit and trip to the bing." Deadwood, on the other hand, seems more at piece with the (screen) violence, accepting that yes, we get a visceral thrill from this, and not needing to moralize since the emotional truth of the violence is of a part with the larger tapestry of the show.

Cheers.

Anon: "With all due respect, I don't think that Alma was going out to meet Leon for a bodice ripping session."

That would make a lot more sense, though the presentation was pretty cryptic. (Remember this forum is read by people who don't get advance screeners.)

James: That show really strikes me as using violence (and profanity and nudity, but violence predominantly) as both an audience lure and way of chiding the audience. That read fits amongst the fans of The Sopranos I think - I often hear them talk about "this was a week for all those viewers who just watch for a hit and trip to the bing." Deadwood, on the other hand, seems more at piece with the (screen) violence, accepting that yes, we get a visceral thrill from this, and not needing to moralize since the emotional truth of the violence is of a part with the larger tapestry of the show.

Nicely put. "Sopranos" violence often foregrounds its attraction/repulsion aspect, a la Scorsese. Often the whole point of it is to test the viewer's ability to absorb graphic violence and then ask why he or she is willing to tolerate such painful imagery; in other words, it's screen violence that's about screen violence. The violence on "Deadwood," on the other hand, is just violence. It feels more real, like the violence in "The Proposition" (he said, plugging a current movie he wants everyone to see).

Anon" "...And Al's speech at the end was just the latest in his speeches about his childhood."

Granted. However, it wasn't the content that bugged me, it was the presentation; the way the scene linked Al's fear of being restrained to his need to be in control, and to control other people, just seemed too "Good Will Hunting" or "Ordinary People" to me. Prior to this, bits and pieces of Al's past were integrated into other conversations or monologues; I don't recall such a singleminded focus on it prior to this. The final scene in particular was too pat, I thought.

I don't like characters explaining and analyzing themselves, particularly if it leads to a "correct" answer about why they're dysfunctional. I'd rather imagine those details than have them laid out for me in the form of an anecdote. This is a personal preference, though, and your mileage may vary.

As I recall, Al's first monologue with Dolly in attendance mostly centered on his mother leaving him at the orphanage. I took this as an expansion. It may not have been necessary, but it sure was well-done.

Yeah, but then you had Al saying how horrible it was to be held back or restrained -- powerless -- and Dolly agreeing with him. That's the point where an already too on-the-nose scene turned "Good Will Hunting" on me.

I may have been too surprised by Dolly actually being allowed speech to notice!

I agree that Al's monologs were a little more obvious this time than usual; but I remember similar ones back when he used to be in bed with Trixie. And I think we can expect the character to evolve a little--as when he has a moment of realizing that Dolly doesn't like to be held down either.

Thank you Matt Zoller Seitz for this wonderful site.

I agree that Dolly's presence, and the way the Al actually hears her the third time she says, "I don't like it either" makes the scene work for me. That's where the dramatic tension of the scene was for me, wondering if Al would acknowledge her response.

I was also confused by Alma's assignation with Leon, but in the preview for next week's episode (spoiler?) they make it clear that she's back on the stuff.

As for her asking if Ellsworth had mistaken her for Mrs. Bullock, you could see (though it was typically subtle work by Molly Parker) in Alma's expression that she immediately regretted saying those words, as they have a double meaning that Ellsworth might not appreciate, if he were not too kind and polite to make note of it.

Josh: "I was also confused by Alma's assignation with Leon, but in the preview for next week's episode (spoiler?) they make it clear that she's back on the stuff."

I saw episode five a few weeks ago, via DVD screener, but when writing these recaps I try to be true to my reaction when I saw the episode for the first time. In retrospect it seems obvious what's about to happen, but I didn't get that the first time, so I figured I might as well cop to it.

I've noticed that the show's approach to violence seems to differ from, say, the Sopranos.

That show really strikes me as using violence (and profanity and nudity, but violence predominantly) as both an audience lure and way of chiding the audience. That read fits amongst the fans of The Sopranos I think - I often hear them talk about "this was a week for all those viewers who just watch for a hit and trip to the bing." Deadwood, on the other hand, seems more at piece with the (screen) violence, accepting that yes, we get a visceral thrill from this, and not needing to moralize since the emotional truth of the violence is of a part with the larger tapestry of the show

If I understand you, I feel the opposite. While there's a segment of Sopranos audience that may feel it's about the violence -- remember that show has a large audience and there's bound to be variance --I always feel it's integral to the story and never done gratuitously (even extreme violence against women). On Deadwood I don't always trust it. Even the first blow-job monologue struck me as exposition (admttedly a novel expositive ) and maybe "Emmy" bait, although McShane was solid as ever. As for the nauseatingly oppressive behavior toward the whore who had a stage to catch, eh. . .we'd already gotten that Al was a big Bully. For me it was icky for ickiness sake.

My thoughts:

Alma, previously reformed dope addict, plus Leon, relatively un-repentant dope addict, equals two people looking to get high together.

I was suprised that Bullock didn't kill, or severely beat, Steve the drunk, Hostetler, the N. General and the horse. I guess, though that Bullock hasn't really killed that many people in the show. The guy he hanged in the first episode, who was scheduled to hang anyway, and the road agent, but nobody was sure if Wild Bill, or Bullock got him, and the indian while on his way to find McCall. On the other hand, Bullock does have that aura of the psycho who may go off at anytime, and kill fifty men.

Swearingen's monologue, I was happy, was not directed to the indian's head, but to Dolly. A few weeks ago on the Flix channel they had a movie from the sixties with Ian McShane in it, and he looked so young, I couldn't tell it was him. The movie was called something pussycat. Ah, IMDB says it was 'Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You' written by Woody Allen, no less. Anyhow, my point is that McShane looked remarkebly younger in his monologue with Dolly. Maybe it is because I just watched this young McShane a few weeks ago, that I thought this. My thought was that the woman he wanted to change her mind on the boat to New Orleans, was not his mother, but someone he wanted when he was younger.

Just a couple thoughts from a brain addled worker off a sixteen hour shift, drinking his first whiskey, on this fine Independance day.

Happy birth of our nation, Nicanor. I'll hoist one in your honor.

MZS,

Thanks for the hoist.

So, I watched this episode a second time, and must say, you chaps are right that Al was talking about his mother. I must have missed something the first time around.

It happens to me, too. (See above.)

Again, apologies for arriving to the party so late, but for me the most interesting development here is the potential betrayal of Adams, who seems to me a fella most likely to be closely wedded to the person who is best able to improve his fiscal situation. It sets up the Dority-Adams battle royale that we've all be anticipating since season one.

As for Al's tear-stained monologue, while it certainly isn't the first time he's been give an explository (heh) blow job, they haven't generally hit the emotional spots so head on (heh heh). I prefer Milch's rule of thumb that a scene is usually about the exact opposite of what you (and the characters) think it is, and this scene, with Al's teary confession and Dolly's constant reiteration of her discomfort with being held down, is just a bit too on point. But McShane shines, as usual.

I don't think Adams will actually flip. Sure, he flipped on the Judge to come work for Al, but he seems to have a near-filial relationship with Swearingen now.

Anyway, I just wanted to post this truly terrifying link from YouTube of Deadwood with Lucky Louie's laugh track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rtBQAdPjtI. Watch it at your own risk.