Note: This article will contain major spoilers of the above mentioned episode.
Episode 2 picks up with Cullen falling down a mountain, along with the son of the man who took a beating for Cullen's actions in the first episode. We then see a pretty intense scene play out where Cullen is trying to save Fong's son from falling off the side of the mountain, only to fail after attaching a rope to himself and the boy. We see the frayed end of the rope, showing us that the boy has fallen, and then the opening credits come on. The episode then goes back to two days prior and we get to see the actions that led to this intense scene.
Cullen is trying to get a translator, but Chang is unwilling to help Cullen, who in turn tells Chang that if he wants to send a message, he can send it to him directly. We also see Fong telling his son to stay away from the "white man" Bohannon. We then cut to a scene in which Cullen is explaining that he can gain a few extra inches of track a day if they can transport an engine that has been deemed inoperable. To accomplish this, however, Cullen will need to get the Chinese men working on the railroad to build a sled to transport it. The Chinese men have no idea what Cullen is trying to say to them, so Fong's son chimes in and explains what needs done, and so Cullen takes the boy on to be his translator as they transport the engine over the mountain.
Meanwhile, Thor Gunderson and the Mormons are given the task of digging out snow, which their leader, the son of Brigham Young himself, is unhappy about. Thor plays the devil's advocate and tries to explain to him that this is a test from God and that he will be successful. After a few days, one of the Mormons gets frostbite and loses a few toes, and so Brigham's son sends a telegram asking for more supplies, which is denied. Once again, Thor weasels his way in and works out a way to get new boots for the other Mormons, so that he can gain the trust of Brigham's son.
Back on the mountain, the brake on the sled is shattered and Fong's son comes up with a solution, to tie chains to the nearby trees to work as the brake for the sled. This seems to impress Cullen, and the two seem to start to form a bond. During the ordeal, Fong's son also gets trampled by some horses, and Cullen points out how tough the boy is, and in a conversation they discuss being soldier's in their own separate wars. The next day, the boy is coughing up blood, and while Cullen tries to help him by redressing the wounds, we make a very interesting discovery. Fong's son is not a son after all, but is instead his daughter, who has been posing as a boy to continue working on the railroad. Cullen tells the girl to stay in the tent and take a sick day, and then leaves to try to sort out how he feels about this new discovery.
As Cullen continues to guide the sled, Fong's daughter comes out and sees that they have attached one of the chains to a dead tree, but before she can stop them from pushing the sled, the tree shatters and the sled is cruising down the mountain. Cullen and the girl try to stop the sled, but they both get thrown down the mountain, and then we see the opening scene play out a gain, with some differences to make things make more sense this time around. We also see that Fong's daughter realizes that they are both going to fall, so she cuts the rope and falls of her own accord instead of dragging Cullen down with her.
Cullen realizes what has happened, and so he goes looking for the girl. He finds her, and since the snow was so deep, she has only suffered minor wounds, and the two have another moment together, and we find out that the girl's name is Mae, but that Cullen must continue to call her Fong. He agrees, and then helps her back to town, where he tells Fong that his son saved his life today.
So, there was a lot going on in this episode, and I was very impressed with how it all played out. I thought they did a good job of fleshing out the Mae character, and letting us see how Cullen adjusted to finding out that he was a she, and then how he decided to keep their secret between them. I think that this is because he almost feels a fatherly connection with the girl, and is trying to protect her, like he feels that he couldn't protect his own wife and son, whom we do not see any mention of in this episode.
I also liked how they handled the Mormon story and we got to see a little more of what "The Swede" is doing. While gaining the trust of those around him so that he can personally benefit and (likely) later stab them in the back is nothing new, I don't know that anyone makes it as enjoyable as Thor Gunderson. We know what he is doing, but at the same time, if we were in the young boy's shoes, we would be doing the same thing. I'm very excited to see where the storylines will meet, and we will get to see (likely) a big face off between Cullen and Thor whenever he fully enacts whatever crazy plan he has in mind this time. It really makes me excited for the next episode, to see where they go next.
If the first episode of the season was just a warm up, this episode picked it up a couple of gears and really took the season in a good direction. We have lots of things up in the air, and only six more episodes to go before we get to the half way mark of the season, when the show will be off for another year. With the pacing of this episode, I feel like the next six episodes are going to clip along at a nice pace as well, and things are going to get exciting fast. We still didn't see what is going on with the other railroad, but as long as they continue to develop what is going on with the current railroad, I am okay with that until they get into the second leg of the season next year, when they will hopefully tie up all the loose ends and give everyone the endings they deserve.
My rating for the episode - 8/10
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