The final complete season of HBO's remarkable
Deadwood series is full of surprises and devastating experiences
as the nascent, dangerous town prepares to join Dakota territory in
1877. As in the previous two seasons, the question of who will
control the town's resources, assets, and people drives much of the
drama, affecting all manner of relationships and alliances, often
between the most unlikely people. The dominant storyline in
Deadwood: The Complete Third Season concerns upcoming elections
for mayor and sheriff of the mucky, gold-mining town. The real
juice, however, is not so much between the individuals running for
office as between two power brokers each trying to steer the results
toward their own purposes. Saloon owner and Deadwood's puppetmaster,
Al Swearengen (Ian McShane sustaining his brilliant peformance in
the previous two seasons), works closely with incumbent lawman Seth
Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) on retaining the latter's seat. But
Bullock himself has difficulty surrendering his penchant for taking
unambiguous action and relying on few words, especially when he has
to act like a politician and deal with people such as George Hearst
(Gerald McRaney, playing the real-life father of William Randolph
Hearst). Swearengen's rival, Hearst--a self-made industrialist who
gained his fortune through mining--has every intention of overtaking
Deadwood, with his eye particularly on the lucrative mine owned by
Bullock's former lover, Alma (Molly Parker). (The violence Hearst
employs to get to Alma's claim will stun many Deadwood fans.)
Meanwhile, Bullock's old friend, Sol Starr (John Hawkes), runs
for mayor against the feckless E.B. Farnum (William Sanderson), and
tries to navigate through his difficult relationship with Trixie
(Paula Malcomson) as she grows enraged by former lover Swearengen's
manipulation of her and everyone else. Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert)
is encouraged to become a public speaker, telling of her
misadventures with General George Custer, and she commences a
lesbian relationship with Joanie (Kim Dickens), the saloon owner who
is becoming increasingly despondent and suicidal. Bullock's
relationship with his wife, Martha (Anna Gunn) continues to deepen
and become more of an influence on him, Wyatt Earp comes for a
visit, and a newcomer to town, Jack Langrishe (Brian Cox), an old
friend of Swearengen, attempts to open a theatre. As expected, the
season finale concludes with the long-awaited election, but HBO's
decision to bring Deadwood to an end required creator David
Milch to wrap everything up in a pair of two-hour movies. Still,
The Complete Third Season is very satisfying on every level, and
will always be, along with the rest of the series, a television
landmark. --Tom Keogh
