“Welcome to fucking Deadwood. Can be combative”: Thoughts on Season 2 of "Deadwood"

In which I talk A LOT  about the idea of "community" as depicted in Season 2 of Deadwood.

Spoilers on Season 2 of Deadwood Below:

“You can love your country but it can’t love you,” a professor of mine used to say. He was referring to modern nation states and their formation. Modern nation states are social, psychological constructs; in essence they’re (like the title of the first two episodes) “lies agreed upon”. The determined physical and abstract boundaries of the state and kinship and ties between people within the states aren’t real. They’re formations made out of self-interest, selfishness, and necessity. That might seem like an absolutely crazy thing to say, but it’s a point argued by a number of historians. And to me, it seems like Deadwood in its portrayal of the formation of societies (and a modern one at that) is depicting a fair amount of this truth. We lie to ourselves about how our nations are formed (through violence, deception, and more than a few evil deeds). We’re also oftentimes devout, to a fault, towards our nation when in all honesty the “nation” is an idea; an abstract concept that though we may fight for and fervently believe in, can’t love us.

However, it’s hard not to root for the denizens of Deadwood and the bonds they’ve formed. It’s also hard not to be nervous about Mr. Wolcott and Hearst’s encroachments on what Al and Seth and co. have created out of nothing. Watch in the 5^th episode as Bullock immediately sides with Al the moment he’s told that Wolcott and the Commissioner, along with Cy, have been stirring up trouble to threaten the community they’ve formed. Al and Seth have just had a fight that had them tumbling over the balcony of the Gem, but they put aside their differences for the greater good of Deadwood. The community may be merely an idea, but damn if it doesn’t feel like it’s one worth fighting for.  

And whenever people act out of self-interest or for selfish reasons rather than for the good of the community that is when things go seriously amiss in Deadwood. Seth, in trying to deal with the consequences of his wife’s arrival and his affair with Alma, is forced to think of himself and his family and ignores the issues emerging in the camp. Al’s failure to acknowledge his ailments, and later treating and recovering from them, sidelines him for the better part of three episodes. With both of them confronting their own problems, they’re heedless to the trouble brewing that, had they been attentive to it, may have been nipped in the bud. Cy, Wolcott, Commissioner Jarry, and Hearst’s intentions and actions in the interest of profit and power, ultimately, continually breed complications in the camp that threaten to fracture it. Deadwood seems to argue (and quite optimistically) that good things come of individuals working together for greater causes beyond themselves. Season 1 saw the camp splintered with various people at odds over their beliefs; but by the end of the First Season, we saw characters put aside their differences and accept their roles as part of the community. Al accepted his position as pseudo-mayor of Deadwood, and Seth accepted the need to be sheriff. Lo and behold when the two of them fail to be the bigger man and forgo their selfish anger at one another, not only does it lead to a nasty fight between the two of them, but it in turn threatens the very foundation of community they’ve helped construct.  

When external incursions arise and when our leading citizens fail to consider the greater good of the community, it feels as if it’s only a matter of time before everything explodes. Hearst isn’t the only outside force. Miss Isringhausen, working for the Pinkertons, has manipulated Silas Adams, and set her sights on taking down Alma. And if Al weren’t as bright as he is, she may have twisted him to her will as well. Instead, Al sees right through her and her scheme; he realizes the threat the Pinkertons hold against him and the community, and tells Alma (who he’s oddly enough never had an interaction with before). Alma reminds Al that he’s responsible for the death of her late husband, and the death of the family of Sofia, who’s in her care. However, at the moment, there are bigger problems than rightfully held grudges.

The 2^nd season is partially about outside forces upsetting the balance in Deadwood. Many shows use their second seasons to do this. Once the characters and world have been built up, it’s interesting to provide a conflict to put against them. In Deadwood, it isn’t just one though, but several. Hearst and the Pinkertons are catalyzing forces, but these create a rippling effect that create more and more problems. Doc Cochran sees the poorly mistreated Asian prostitutes brought in by an agent of Hearst, and is infuriated. He even begs Cy to let him treat them “pro bono”. Mr. Wu is also in the lurch; Hearst’s agent is an Asian fluent in English who threatens to displace Wu and his enterprises in the Asian part of Deadwood. Poor Merrick refuses to post a notice in his paper written by Wolcott, instead posting it outside his door in protest. In retaliation, Cy wrecks his newspaper building, destroying the equipment and even leaving dog crap in the corner. Even goodhearted Charlie Utter, who at times feels as if he could hardly hurt a fly, goes off the handle and relentlessly beats up Wolcott for killing 3 prostitutes in Joanie’s brothel. Joanie survives the attack on the Chez Ami, sending away her remaining employees for fear of their lives, but she’s now become emotionally devastated and constantly fears for her life. Steve the Drunk, pissed off by Merrick’s posted notice, takes out his anger on one of the two members of Deadwood’s African American community, Sam. If it weren’t for a last minute intervention by Seth, Sam may very well have been tarred and feathered. 

The incursions are affecting nearly everyone in Deadwood. Most people, except  Alma, end up selling off their claims when Wolcott spreads rumors that titles may be taken away by the government (in a ploy to scoop up all the land claims for Hearst). Mose Manuel kills his brother when he refuses to sell over his share of their land claim, all for some money. When Mose gets a power trip off this, it ultimately leads to him getting shot in the following episode. 

Seth is also facing a newly arrived outside force on the homefront in the form of his wife Martha and son William. There’s little love between them, and the fact that Seth clearly had an affair with Alma only helps to make matters worse. The relationship strains to fall apart underneath all the feigned courtesies. There’s little love between them, and only a seemingly misplaced sense of obligation. Alma is also burdened by the consequences of her affair with Seth. Not only has the gossip been going around about their relationship, but now Alma finds herself pregnant with his child and uncertain as to whether she should get rid of it or not. This is made all the more tense when Mrs. Bullock seeks out Alma, and though they never speak of the affair, it’s clearly the subtext underwriting all the pleasantries.

Perhaps the most obvious outside encroachment is the advancement of civilization. The telegraph poles are slowly creeping towards the camp (and telegraph operator Blazanov eventually arrives in the camp). Deadwood may very well soon become absorbed into the U.S. (by season’s end, it will in fact have). Hearst’s mere interest in the town suggests that the camp has made significant strides towards unifying and civilizing. The citizens of Deadwood aren’t always fighting these encroachments (although they often do), but rather they would like to see them happen on their own terms. Al uses Seth's previous standing with contacts in Montana to convince Yankton officials that Montana intends to annex Deadwood (in order to get a better offer from Dakota).    

It’s ultimately when Al and Seth (ostensibly the series’s protagonists) are confronting these external problems, Mrs. Bullock (and Alma for that matter as well) and Ms. Isringhausen (and they seem to finally be alleviating these issues), that tragedy strikes and Bullock’s son is trampled by a horse. Perhaps if Seth hadn’t let the affair go as far he did or perhaps if Al had admitted to himself that his illness needed to be dealt with right away, events would have transpired differently and young William would still be alive. When the community fails to act together, bad things happen. When they act for individual gain (unless it serves the dual purpose of bettering Deadwood as well), the community and in turn themselves are put at risk.

It’s no coincidence that Alma and Ellesworth’s marriage is intercut with shots of Al negotiating Deadwood’s annexation. They’re both odd and hesitant mergers, but entirely necessary ones. They’re both needed for the bettering of the community. They both bring together people who for a long time were at odds with one another but now see the value of coming together.

So yes, Deadwood as a community is an abstract, intangible notion, much as are modern nation states might be. But by coming together (the series is constantly creating connections between various characters either through camerawork or writing), the people of Deadwood tend to better themselves, eachother, and the community as a whole.

Deadwood’s second season alleviated many of my problems with the first season. Better plotting of storylines led to stories that carried out throughout the season and that reached satisfying conclusions in the last few episodes. Even as its cast deepened and its writing and narrative became denser, Deadwood pulled off one of the best seasons of television in recent memory. After fighting Wolcott, Hearst, and Commissioner Jarry’s advances all season, Al finally gets the upper hand in the finale. Wolcott has been disgraced and committed suicide; Wu’s Asian rival has been killed; Deadwood is soon to be annexed and hold elections. Seth and Martha have patched up their marriage as best they can (albeit mostly sadly due to William's death). Miss Isringhausen has fled the camp and Al has given proof of her intentions to Alma to use against her scheming family. Problems obviously still exist (Hearst is finally in town and will probably stir up more trouble next season), but for now, our foulmouthed Western town is at peace.