Note: Major spoilers for the episode of Hell on Wheels. You have been warned.
The railroad is finally finished. Five seasons in, and the railroad has been completed, with only one episode left in the series. The last couple of weeks have certainly been better for the show, but I'm still afraid the show is going to end more on a whimper than with a roar. Based on the previews for the final episode, I guess there will only be one last loose end to wrap up, and I can't say I'm that excited to see it.
We start the episode with both railroads making the final push to Ogden, where the first one to arrive will get control of the town. Early on in the episode, we see both sides trying to lay claim before the railroad has actually laid track, but Campbell puts up a post and says the first one to touch it gets the town.
Cullen arrives back at the railroad to see that half of his men are missing, and automatically assumes that Durant and Mickey are to blame. He goes to confront Mickey, who tells him the same thing happened to him. They both go off in search of a man calling himself The Pirate, who is running a mine nearby. When they arrive, it turns out to be Jim who is The Pirate, which is an interesting turn of events. Cullen tries to get Jim to leave his men alone, but he shuts Cullen down as it is clear his life has fallen apart a bit since the last time we saw him leaving the railroad with his family. Mickey is able to get some of his men to go back with him, and so it looks like Cullen may come up short in the race.
Mickey and Cullen meet at night to have a conversation, and Cullen says that he has ten miles to go. Mickey explains that he and Durant only have six miles to go, and they wish each other good luck. Cullen says that no one has ever laid ten miles of track in one day, and Mickey says he has learned to never bet against Cullen Bohannon. Cullen also runs into Psalms and buys him a drink, exchanging pleasantries between two railroad men. Cullen reassures him that no matter who ends up with the credit, it got there because of men like him.
As day breaks, both sides set out, with Cullen hammering spikes along with his men. They are making up ground, which causes Durant to get upset and give his men a "pep talk." This causes Psalms to get ticked off, and he leaves, taking several of the men with him. He goes to Cullen and he and his men begin to help with laying the track. In the closing moments, it is clear that Cullen is going to win, and Durant and Mickey look on in disbelief as Cullen and his men cross the line, winning the town. As they get to the last spike, everyone steps back and lets Cullen finish the job. I guess I was wrong about this part, Cullen did get to finish the railroad after all. I guess after all he has lost, it's the least that could happen to him.
At the evening festivities, Durant has one last trick up his sleeve. He says that the railroad will have to be inspected before a winner can be decided, knowing that Huntington has cheated and skimped his way to the finish line, much like Durant. Huntington goes to Durant and tries to pay him off, but Durant says he wants the town. Huntington gives in, knowing that an inspection will result in him being thrown in jail for mishandling government funds, and so it looks like Durant has won anyway. Durant goes to Cullen to rub it in, but Cullen isn't in the mood and just brushes him off, saying, "Yep, you won." He goes back to his train car, and then collapses, looking like he may be having a heart attack.
I liked the episode, as it had some closure, but there is still apparently one thing left up in the air. In the previews for the final episode, it looks like Durant is on trial, and Cullen is going to have to testify in the case. Will he sell out Durant, as he probably deserves? Will he feel bad for everything Durant has gone through and actually help him get off? I guess these are the things we are supposed to care about, but I just have a hard time doing so.
Cullen lost everything, but he got to finish the railroad. I thought that was the whole point, so to still have one more episode to go feels a little off to me. With the way this episode ended, I guess Cullen's health is up in the air as well. Will he have a bigger complication in the final episode and be killed off? Maybe, but I feel like it was a red herring of sorts. I have thought for quite some time that Cullen is going to die before the show is over, but now I'm thinking he just gets to live out the rest of his life with no purpose, no family, no friends, and just the knowledge that he built that railroad. It's not what he set out to do at the beginning of the show, but it turned into his purpose along the way, and maybe that is just all that he gets to have. I guess we will find out this Saturday on the series finale.
My rating for the episode is 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment