Deadwood Episode Guide: Amalgamation and Capital

Written by Elisabeth Sarnoff

Directed by Ed Bianchi

In essence the reference in the title makes perfect sense pertaining to Deadwood. Charlie Utter repeatedly uses the phrase in relation to Wolcott, which he considers a symbol for everything that is going wrong in the camp. He freely admits he got the term from ‘an Eastern fella’ who was writing an article about Wild Bill, and that he has no clear idea what it even means. Yet in a way it sums up exactly what is going on in the camp. Some dark encroaching force – civilization – is coming, and despite the efforts of those like Swearengen and Bullock, they are rowing against the tide.

What brings the terms to mind is the murder of Charlie Manuel, which Tom Nutall has passed on. Mose is in the middle of gorging himself on food and drink, gambling, and arguably the most expensive whores in the Bella Union. When Bullock and Utter try in vain to get answers from him about the death in his brother, he repeatedly tells them to fuck off. When Utter invokes the title reference, Wolcott responds with the patronizing tone of the well-educated: “Mr. Utter, are you a student of Hume? Smith? A disciple of Karl Marx?” Wolcott appears to have regained the balance that he momentarily lost after the murders at the Chez Ami, and seems to be back to toying with people.

What he doesn’t know when he dismisses Utter, is that Charlie has rightly predicted that Mose will begin to ‘judge himself’ for his actions. Near the end of the episode, after judging himself cheated, Mose says: “I want it back! All of it!” This is exactly the situation where you’d think Tolliver could actually handle, but Wolcott lashes out, albeit in one of the most brilliant passages in the entire series:

“Including youth, Mister Manuel? And why not beauty? Not credibly restored, perhaps, but as a new non-negotiable term? Would you not have too, your brother Charlie resurrected? Would you stipulate your envy of him be purged? Surely you’ll insist that Charlie retain certain defects – his ineffable self-deceptions , for example, which were your joy in life to rebuke, and purpose, so far as you had one? I suppose you would see removed those qualities which caused you to love him, and the obliviousness to danger which allowed you to spill his blood.”

This is too much for Mose, but before he can turn his pistol on Wolcott, one of Tolliver’s gunmen is forced to shoot him. Wolcott then dismisses him, and by extension, Tolliver, demanding the Sheriff’s presence before Cochran should be called. In this series, this would be a fitting end to the fratricidal Mose, but even Deadwood allows for the occasional miracle.

Al can’t be bothered with such tension. He has other things to concern him. In the previous episode, he tried to use Bullock’s position with Montana to try and negotiate a better position for the camp. Of course, he had his own terms:

‘Our cause is surviving, not being allied with Yankton or cogs in the Hearst machine, to show it don’t fate us as runts, or two-headed calves or pigs with excess legs, to a good fuckin’ grinding up.

To that end, he went to Merrick at the conclusion of the previous episode, and planted a story with him trying to muddy the waters. When Merrick prints his rumors verbatim, he actually a little irked at this, and Merrick, who is normally among the more docile of personalities, actually storms into his office rather pissed for him. In Al’s way, we gather this matters as a level of respect, for he shares a couple of drinks with him, and elaborates on his way of thinking.

He is also concerned with the arrival of Blazanov, the telegraph operator who arrived in the  last episode as well. As we recall from the opening episode, Al was set against the idea of any telegraph being set up at all. But in an effort to try and get ahead of progress, he begins the slow process of wooing the Russian, as well as covering his bets by having Farnum spy on him. Blazanov is another example of an immigrant – Russian – trying to make his fortune, and he too, will slowly be wooed into Swearengen’s fold.

He soon learns the level of involvement with the advance of the ongoing saga involving ‘Isringhausen’, who Alma, in her level of rage, revealed her hand rather swiftly. She returns to the telegraph today, and in a rare level of, tells Farnum to fuck off. Al soon realizes the level of duplicity, and uses the draft of the telegram to attempt to negotiate around her.

But all of these problems coincide around the critical story of the episode, which Milch and company slowly pull back on. Up until now, William Bullock has seemed more like an attachment to the story, a more vocal version of Sofia, if anything, the true obstacle between Seth and Alma’s happiness. Now, Seth tries for almost the first time since his wife and son have arrived to try and have a conversation with the child he calls his son. They have a slow, awkward conversation, where Seth tries to learn more about the brother he lost. It is not clear whether he is having this talk so that Martha can hear it, or whether the guilt he feels over her outright rejection of him the previous night has brought this forward. Whatever the reason, Martha hears this, and after a conversation with Will about seeds, she makes an overture about bringing lunch to Seth and Sol.

Trixie is present, and when Martha gently suggests that Alma appear at the hardware store for the symbolic opening of the bank, she reacts in a fury when Ellsworth goes to get her.  Trixie is still pressing Ellsworth to propose to Alma, and turns her wrath on Miss Garret in absence when she can’t understand why Alma won’t accept. For once, though, her worries don’t seem be valid. When Alma and Sofia come to the store, Martha engages her in a far more civil conversation, and agreement is made that she will teach the camp’s children. The deposit of funds for the bank goes rather well, and it seems things are heading a good direction.

In the midst of this action, Tom Nutall returns to discuss the murder in his saloon last night, and engages in a warm conversation with William about his bicycle ride. Tom then offers to take William on a ride on the boneshaker as well, and we are left with what appears to be another rare and pleasing moment. Tom is cheerful in discussion, and Steve, who has mainly been seen as a hostile interloper, emerges from the saloon remarkably sober and actually cheerful. Indeed, his action where he tries to lift William on to the bicycle is one of the most genuine gestures we’ve seen anybody on this series make.

All of this coincides with one final gesture – General Fields has come back with a wild horse that he hopes to sell for a nice profit to the cavalry. To that end, he needs Hostetler’s help to geld the horse, and they spent much of the episode trying to get him relaxed enough to do it.

In the last minute, everything comes together. The horse escapes from the livery, and runs down the thoroughfare. Nutall dodges to avoid it – and it runs into Steve and William. We’ve seen some truly horrible things this season, so its really telling that the most horrific event of this episode, we never see the blood, only the aftermath. When the final shot of the episode shows William lying unconscious in the alley, we know this is an incident nearly as horrific as the slaughter at the Chez Ami – only this one will cause far more anguish.