I’ve seen the last two episodes together and as much as I wanted to review them as one, as they seemed so masterfully coalesced, I eventually decided on writing two separate reviews. I rated them however as one continuous episode and despite the great value they both have, I thought I would emphasise more on the last episode, for obvious reasons. However, it would not have been fair not to say at least a few words on „The Catbird Seat” alone, as it is almost undeniably the most important episode of the season (if not the series) and also, arguably the best.

There isn’t much to comment though, as its sheer excelence is quite transparent. Paula Malcomson did an outstanding job among an already outstanding cast. The whole scene when Ellsworth is carried through the camp is phenomenal. The music is subtle, ambiental, with a growing intensity and it matches the characters’ reactions brilliantly. It was a great surprise and shock to all of us to see Ellsworth go. Personally, I remained petrified for nearly 5 minutes after the gunshot, still trying to figure out what just transpired and unable to follow whatever was happening on screen. I liked the entire final scene with Ellsworth, remniniscent of old times, when he used to stand in his tent at the mine, talking to his fellow dog. In this familiar context, his untimely demise, is only more filled with sorrow.

And so, once Hearst lets „his dogs loose”, the camp elders all gather at their rampart, also known as the Gem, preparing the final encounter. Standing out among all the beautiful scenes that ensue, are the doctors conversation with Alma, and the refreshing moment when Jack tries to give an anxious Charlie a drink. As a matter of fact, ironically, the episode sports a number of hilarious moments, being at the same time probably the saddest and funniest episode this season. Be it Mr. Wu’s self description „Big man… Wu – big man”, or the ending when Al comments on one of his customers: „Rouse him to spend on *****, or rob the son of a *****”, while the girls decide which of them to go on a rock/paper/scissors game, the second half of the episode is filled with such moments. A lovely touch of „cinnamon” is added to the palette by Jewel, who in the middle of all the commotion announces that she’s making breakfast and later insists on carrying the tray to Mrs. Ellsworth herself, prompting Dan and Johnny to give her a hand up the stairs, while poor old E.B. finds himself carrying all the guns. In the end, I have to say that in my opinion, the season’s ending would have worked even better should the final two episodes had been joined in a two-hour finale. They flow nearly seamlessly from one to the other and this way the atmosphere wouldn’t have suffered a one-week rupture.

Season 3 is over, but at least it went out on the same high note on which it started, if not even more so. The episode picks up perfectly where the previous installment left off, with the tension still high aloft and the camp „galvanized” by recent events. And while there are no special effects, smoke and mirrors to wrap up the story, the writers chose a more dramatic, albeit quieter, but generally better alternative. The episode is a symphony of emotions and moral conflicts, a delight for the senses.

Truly, the concluding episode plays out as we least might have expected after the first 10 episodes, revolving around Hearst’s sudden decision to leave the camp and his demand to see Trixie dead. The moral antinomies that are triggered by his demand are incredibly well done and have the effect of a „rolling snow ball”, as they implicate every important character in the conundrum, giving us a better look at the evolution of all the characters. Needless to say, the directing and acting was spectacular, even when compared to an academy winning film. Sean Bridgers (Johnny Burns) did an excelent job himself, as he was faced with his first ever dramatic experience, lifting the character to a whole new level. Al’s own war with his conscience was dangerous territory to be tackled, considering his complex character, but the writers deserve all the respect for the fine job they did, and so does Ian McShane for the brilliant synergy between him and his character. Almost every line or glance seems to hide an untold feeling: from his affectionate, melancholic „loopy ****” in the previous episode, to his subtle impulse to delay the sepulchral act, (hoping that perhaps time will give him another solution, as Johnny suggested) when he asks Jen’s client: „You sure you’re done?”, there is not a single noticeable gap in his portrait.

When looking at the episode at the end, I came to realise that Hearst is merely a motif thrown in to better delve into the intricate tribulations of the main characters. His presence and their interaction with him is only the pretext for their inner drama. Without him, we wouldn’t have witnessed Sol’s and Trixie’s great act that shows the power and beauty of love in the face of death, or Johnny’s honest, moving affection for a girl. We wouldn’t have seen Al’s never-ending battle between cold reason and his heart. The ending itself is for the first time a bit tragical, as there is no escaping to the situation they are in. Al knows that no matter what he chooses, he will end up losing this fight, to either Hearst, or his conscience. Who best to confide these tumultuous feelings of his, if not to his longtime friend, the chief. He knows „this place is going to be a misery”. He also knows he can’t bring himself to kill „her that sat nights with” him „sick and taking slaps to her mug that were some less than fair”. Being the leader that he is though, he knows that the onus must be his and nobody else’s, thus sparing Johnny and the others of his actions, as he alone must „stand for virtue”, and alone wash the blood stain in his office. All of a sudden all of his ruthlesness so far seems but a small indulgence in the face of the sacrifices that he has to endure.

Dan himself seems more mature in this episode, starting to understand his boss better and agreeing with him more and more. As for the other characters, they were placed for the time being on hold, with not much happening outside of the Gem. Cy is truly losing his mind, tired of being „a cog in the Hearst machine”, as Al would say, and his actions at the end culminate in a grotesque, but extremely intense picture. If I haven't already mentioned it, another memorable moment is the one with Johnny and Jen as they talk about „the wall of life”, a truly moving conversation in its simplicity and honesty. As a matter of fact every scene had its own appeal, just that some were more relevant than others. We definetly couldn’t have asked more of the writers though. Perhaps the only thing that seems a bit rushed is Hearst’s decision to leave. But that too is not necessarily a flaw. He had no reason to announce his „trip”, as he wanted his adversaries to be alert and frightened. Also, his departure is merely physical, as he achieved most of what he came for and is leaving merely to calm things down. In retrospect, this outcome was hinted at in the previous episode, when he states: „I oughtn’t to work in these places. I was not born to crush my own kind”. Al’s light-hearted legacy as he prepares to meet Hearst is perhaps the most beautiful moment of all. In one phrase, surrounded by his friends, he brings all events to a conclusion, drawing a tear, at least from me if nobody else: „In the aftermath, play the lie as mine, knowing I speak of you in Heaven”.

Some might call the ending anti-climatic, and from an action-based point of view they have a point, but when seen as a drama, I’d say that it’s anything but that. Bullets whizzing by does not necessarily have the same emotional strength and tension, as the silence in Swearengen’s room, as he grasps his knife and the two titans exchange their final looks, ending their own silent war. As Hearst would say it, „they’re having a conversation” nobody can hear.

Doing nothing is sometimes harder than anything else, as Charlie remarks. And making such an intense episode without any gunplay is equally hard. Truly, we all wanted to see Wu's and Hawkeye's men engage Hearst's army, but in reality nobody is that fast to draw. Preparations for such encounters are often made, but rarely carried out, and as in real life, it's the thing we don't expect that finally happens, which only adds to the episode's value. Ellsworth isn't avenged, an innocent girl gets killed for a crime she did not commit and Al swallowed his pride, but all, more or less, for the good of the camp. His "entrenched ways" ultimately payed off, as blood-shed was avoided for the most part. It is this delicate juggle between keeping things peaceful and "breaking hell loose" that makes up the tension of the whole season, and as Bullock passes between the lines of gunsmen at the end, we see how closely the camp avoided catastrophe. There are so many „angles and dimensions” to the episode, that to say only half I’d have to write twice as much, and this would be only half of what I understood, which is probably less than a quarter :). I hope you enjoyed the episode as much as I did, and for those of you that I see have been dissapointed by it, please try to watch it again, only this time try not to see it from the perspective of an exterior conflict, but rather an interior one. It might make all the difference in the world on how you perceive it. Until the much anticipated movies arrive, „Huzzah!”.

The morning starts off quietly as Merrick and Blazaonv deliver the newspaper to all the eager parties of the camp, yet asleep and motionless. The silence before the storm has never been more evident perhaps. But it does not last long, as soon gunfires are heard in the street and Seth hurries to meet them with his usual firmness. Morgan and Wyatt Earp apparently make their appearence in this episode, at a totally unexpected time if you ask me, which is all the better. While the wild west legend (Wyatt) seems a little too young and green, he still retains the touchstones of a famous sheriff, similar in ways to the more experienced Bullock. Of course, Al hurries to invite Wyatt to a drink and test his story and standing in the current situation of the camp. However, he sighs relieved to find out that they are not "Hearst’s reply", simply two strangers who wanted to make a hero’s entrance and „kicked up dust, whooped and hollered and played all the parts themselves”.

Meanwhile Joanie Stubbs is apparently moving out of Shaunessey’s, while Jane comments that „she never moved in”. Steve’s story takes an unexpected arc when he is brought in a vegetation state by Field’s horse. It’s actually a very interesting change in their story’s evolution. The General taking care of Steve, even if he has an outburst at first when quoting Jane „that them that don’t eat, without exception, fail to survive”. He isn’t really upset on Steve, but rather pitties him. He sees that Steve isn’t truly a bad person at heart, as we already saw from his invitation for the General to stay. It’s his preconceptions that impede him from being himself, and the ones that are truly the cause for all his „bad luck”. Still, when he’ll wake up and see that he was cared for by the person he least would have had expected, he will be given two definitive choices: Mend his ways or continue with his self-destructive, irrational rage. I think both have an equal chance though.

Martha and Seth have come very close this season as the tension between them dissipates and they finally get accustomed with the idea of being married. That’s a welcome change as well, though they’re still not quite there yet :).

But despite everything that took place in this episode, nothing comes close to Chesterton's brilliant, final act. This is definetly one of the best written and acted deaths of a character ever seen on television, if not the best. Brian Cox and Aubrey Morris did an absolutely terrific job. I should say that as much as I would like to analyse this scene, its complexity overwhelms and my assertions as to its significance and symbols might be falacious; but still, I will try.

As they stand next to each other, holding hands, Chesterton makes the remark that comedy and tragedy are the same thing. It’s an interesting surmise for him to utter at the end of his life and not coincidental perhaps, as maybe before the end he sees the omogenity in all the incongruous elements of our existence, as how everything in the great stage that is life only bears different masks, but has similar essence. His friend is there for him and continues by setting the stage before his fading eyes. Reminiscent of old times and proof that the spirit is forever young, Chesteron enquires about the rake, to which Jack replies with the adequate, genial tone „18:1 old trooper”. After this begins the brilliant Shakespeare interpreatation from "King Lear". The utter silence in the theatre, accompanied only by the sound of a distant, yet not unconspicuous cricket, sets the perfect atmosphere for the scene. „Bring me but to the brim of it and from that place I shall no leading need”. This heavy line is followed by the light-hearted, humorous description of the fly tower: „If you mount up, take firm a rail in each hand… I’ll boost your bum darling”. I find this alternation interesting and in the context of Chesteron’s previous assertion, slightly ironic: Jack coalesces in the same phrase, a tragic quote, with a comic description. Then, Chesterton takes up his role as well saying „Here’s the place”, ensued by the climatic point of their prodigious interpretation: Jack: „How fearful and dizzy it is to cast one’s eyes so low…”. With a tear in his eye, Chesteron replies „Set me where you stand and let go my hand”. Jack untightens his firm grasp as his thespian friend approaches the „cliff” between this life and the next. „You are now within a foot” he says, to which Chesteron replies „Line… l-line…”. To the exact meaning of his last word I stand puzzled. Is he asking to hear another line of the play, or is he announcing that he has reached the line at the edge of the cliff. After his final breath, Jack says a prayer for his friend.

No matter what interpretation might be the actual one, far simpler or more complex than my humble, possibly off the point and delerious opinions, I hope we can all agree that this scene is truly outstanding.

Well we’re drawing close to the season’s finale and this episode reminds us of that perfectly. The atmosphere is really getting heated up in anticipation of the final clash and many old players have come back into play. On the one side Jarris is back in town, delivering Hearst a message, while Wu comes to Als aid. And as both sides get reinforcements, even if some greater than the others, the camp still goes about its daily life.

For the time being, until his own lines are greatly strengthened, Al is trying to „learn the way of church-mice”. Hearst on the other side has already started his assault. And how better to start it, if not by means of the newspaper :). In other words poor Merrick received the magnates harsh reply for his audacious act of publishing the Sheriff's letter. And while he will convalesce, the rest of the tribe will probably seek seclusion from Hearst's army that tramples everything in their way (including Wu :) ). The only ones who decide to remain unwavering to the new changes are of course, Bullock and the Earps. It was nice to see some gun play and as always it was a treat to see Bullock take someone by the ear into custody. Timothy truly plays his part excelently, his fearlessness being amazingly convincing: „You tell your men to interfere… Give me a reason to do what I want!”. – His severe gaze and his determined gestures truly give his character dimension. It’s sad to see the Earps leaving though. I was finally getting used to them and they would have made a nice team with Bullock in the upcoming campaign against Hearst. However, it was nice that Bullock took their side in „the fair fight”; if their ways do part so soon at least it is with a smile that they take their leave. It was also nice to see Johnny outsmart Al for once - his reward for it was of course a punch – whether it was the result of challenging Al’s authority, or simply because Johnny seemed ludicrous in his enthusiasm of fathoming Wu’s message, that I am not sure of. Either way, it was hilarious.

Among other key events of the episode, I would like to recall the moving of the school. I found their trip through the street really nicely filmed. A glint of innocence and peace surrounded by forces of destruction. The camp seemed peaceful for a brief moment, even as Hearst loomed from his high balcony.

Aunt Lou receives the dreadful news of her sons death and her reaction, as well as how Hearst handles the situation, are very interesting. For the first time Jane seems to truly relate to Joanie and perhaps she will finally give up on drinking. Though that’s wishful thinking.

Perhaps the highlight, or at least the most original moment, was the amateur night, throbbing with color and joy. Al on the other hand was busy working, which may or may not have been an excuse not to participate at an event that he sees as being beneath him. Nevertheless, there was an obvious desire for him to join those people outside, to let go of his pride and his worries, a desire that breaks through by means of his marvelous ballad at the end – one that however is witnessed only by an inanimate trophy. Or perhaps the ballad can signify more than simply this. Perhaps it is symbolic in the context that the towns people, for one of the first times, are not spending their evening in the Gem Salloon, but some place else. Civilization and order is slowly settling into the camp and Al's old ways are coming to an end. In this way of seeing things, the "unfortunate lad" in the ballad may very well be Al. A marvelous ending.

While the external conflict has simmered down since the last episode, the internal one is stronger than ever. In the aftermath of the recent battles the two sides sit down and plan the final grand fight. And while Hearst is "displeased with the camp" and is intent on taking "measures to bring it down", on the other side of the rampart the "camps elders" look for a way to avert this catastrophy.

The episode delivers some very strong lines and words interchanged between the characters as they deal with the camps endless tribulations and these dialogues are the key features of the episode. Surprisingly, the episode seemed far more tense than the previous, despite the lack of outer violence. The alliance between Seth and Al, banded together by the camps assailant, continues to gain new ground, much to our pleasure. The strong personalities of all the people caught in the crossfire shine beautifully once more. Each stout in their determination, unwilling to relinquish a single inch to the adversary.

Not lacking interest is the camps new resident, Odell, who appears at an unexpected time, possibly ruining Al's minute calculations all over again. Alma's secret is now quite officially out, though her fate is still uncertain. As for Jane, it's sad to see that after all this time she still hasn't found the will to give up drinking, but Joanie's care for her is touching. There is obviously a very strong bond between the two, which we can probably ascribe to their burdened pasts, which though different, left similar scars. It will be interesting to see how this side-story turns up as well.

At the middle of the season the silence before the storm is most evident. And it is this indirect conflict, this troubling uncertainty that is so brilliant. The motive and the act of reaching for the gun in the holster is sometimes more intense than the shooting itself. One thing is certain: there is a lot to look after in the following episodes. Al is sending for his own reinforcements and the main peers of the camp will finally meet to "be baffled among friends", as our beloved salloon owner elegantly said.