Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

<img src="http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/8636/hellonwheels.jpg" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/><br/>By <a target="_new" href="http://profile.imageshack.us/user/djariya">djariya</a> at 2011-10-12

Synopsis:



Episode 9 of 10

Next week is the season finale

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

I was looking for this thread & was just about to start one. Thanks for keeping it going each week.

Awesome opening...looking forward to seeing it in HD On Demand later this week.

However, it does sort of diminish the idea of the Indians' battle-worthiness when they got wiped out in the hand-to-hand combat with minimal loss to our seriously outnumbered protagonists.

The show keeps getting better each week. Hope it doesn't get mired down the way Deadwood did in Seasons 2-3. Would like to see it reach a satisfying conclusion.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

what was the song at the start, during the fight with the Indians? sounded like Mumford and Sons.

EDIT: ROFL nevermind. Timshel.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

Wonder when they're going to do the Hell on Wheels/Walking Dead crossover? Would love to see Swede unleash Beauty on some zombies.

Of course, Durant would probably try to harness the dead to lay more track by dangling the tattooed girl out in front of them.

Seeing the thread title about the possible "Fall of Atlanta" WD prequel made me think of how awesome it would be if the famous scene in Gone With the Wind with all of the wounded soldiers in Atlanta morphed into the Walking Dead.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

Great opening and surprising ending scene.

I didn't care for Durant in the first episode as he seemed too over the top. I really enjoy the character now.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

Mired in what? Greatness?

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

:thumbsup: Good episode and awesome opening sequence.

Surprisingly the music worked for that battle sequence. There were some pretty intense kills, especially Elam stuffing that Indian's face in the mud.

-eek- And OMG, that ending. That was so unexpected. Full decapitation of that Union solider by Reverend Cole. That was R rated material.

Looking forward to the finale next week.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

Yeah this was great this week.

I too thought the approach with music in the opening combat really worked well, made it more than it would have been with mere sound and foley I think.

That move by the preacher was something, he's turning quite dark as the show progresses.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

Yeah...the ending caught me completely off guard. I was expecting the preacher to be predictably silenced...well played, that one. One of the only criticisms of the show has been its predictability...Bohannan saving what's-his-name from the hanging, preacher's daughter taking up with Charlie (anybody NOT see that coming from the first moment they met?), and the not-happened-yet-but-inevitable-hookup between Bohannan & Elizabeth). The final scene took a page from GOT.

The show's not perfect, but it's improving & starting to develop a better-rounded cast of characters (even though the protagonist still plays the strong, silent type with the cool hat like something straight outta Jonah Hex). I do hope they'll be careful about using modern music...I've liked the songs with lyrics, but a few times the electric guitar in instrumental "incidental" music has seen out of place. And please don't repeat that spaghetti western homage music (I think last used when they rode out to hunt the Indians in Ep. 8).

Love the theme song & opening. Even like the bumper music...never get tired of that steam engine blast

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

I heard due to AMC budget cuts, next season will be more indoor scene and less trains. :) This is the muddiest show I have seen.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

Didn't mean to derail (no pun intended) the thread into a discussion of Deadwood. As much as I loved Season One, I felt that it started losing its way somewhat when Gerald McRaney came to town. It just seemed to drag on with too many extraneous characters waxing in Shakespearean fashion over candlelight...Brian Cox and the theater troupe, the N-Word General, etc. Not to say that there weren't moments of greatness there, but I felt there was a lot of meandering without a lot of plot advancement. Hey, I loved it and truly miss the aborted fourth & final season, but Season One was perfection due to the tightness of its plotting. I'd compare Season 3 of Deadwood to Books 4-5 of Song of Fire & Ice...still head & shoulders above most shows, but not equal to earlier installments. I still own the complete saga on BD, so didn't mean to diss the show.

Another reason I mentioned Deadwood is the similarities between it and HOW. Colm Meany is no Ian McShane in terms of menacing, reptilian, complex evil, but he is a fine actor & the character is expanding. I agree with the poster above in that regard. Even Swearengen had his good points, but Durant seems more driven by ambition and leaving his mark than Swearengen, who seemed to be content to rule his little fiefdom and was more inspired by greed than lust for power (although that was obviously evident). Lots of other parallels: Bohannan/Elizabeth = Bullock/Ella(?); the sidekicks (for both protagonist & antagonist); the cultured lady & the whores; the preacher, the guys on the side trying to make a quick buck; the setting (Hell on Wheels is just a mobile Deadwood), etc.

Just sayin' that there hasn't been a western drama on tv for a while and that this one seems to be inspired quite a bit by Deadwood, and that was a big compliment.

Re: Hell on Wheels -- "Timshel" -- 1/08/12
 

Amen to the mud. Hope the cuts don't affect the scope of the show. Have you seen the On Demand featurette showing how they created the train engine using styrofoam & wood (with steel undercarriage)? It's a great little bit & demonstrates the ingenuity of filmmakers and their art departments. Hope they include all those bits on the DVD when it's released (including the historical pieces, the bit explaining the period weapons, etc.). I could really enjoy just watching a doc on the making of shows like this, with the costumes, the set dressing, historical background, etc.

And the mud, of course.