Apr 06, 2015 19:29
Another episode I just re-watched and one of my favorites from the 1st season. After all it's a brother episode and I guess I agree with general consensus that two Maverick's are better than one. I also think this is the best episode of the series to deal with Holliday and Earp (and yes that includes the many appearances of Peter Breck as Holliday in later seasons)
That being said while this episode has a lot of wonderful scenes I do think the 2nd half doesn't quite live up to the promise of the 1st. The story starts off with Bret and Bart being mistaken as Holliday and Earp by a group of townspeople. The Maverick Brothers play it up a bit for a free meal but when things get serious and the sheriff tells some dangerous men he has Earp and Holliday, the Maverick brothers are not happy. I think this isn't a bad episode to show newcomers to the series. Because while it doesn't have a con it does show that the Maverick brothers certainly don't go looking for trouble and are not the best gunfighters (although I always felt the series was a bit inconsistent on just how good or bad they were depending on what the situation called for).
The second half is just your typical bank robbery. It's well told and still entertaining but I wish they played up the Earp and Holliday angle a bit more. However the ending is one of those perfect Maverick endings.
This of course is the episode where Bart gets shot and on one hand while I would have liked it to be a bit more serious I did love Bret and Bart's banter in these scenes. You can tell despite what they say they care about each other. It actually reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in Fullmetal Alchemist where Hughes tells Winry guys show their feelings in other ways than talking but later on Winry proves that sometimes you need to talk about your feelings (hmm there may be a story idea in there somewhere).
I do think the villains in the episode are a bit stupid though. They shoot Bart to shut him up but it does the opposite effect and gets Bret curious. I mean Bart can still talk so he can start thinking why?
Of course Bart getting shot also takes him out of most of the 2nd part of the episode and Bret gets to "save the day" so to speak but Bart is pretty cute lying in bed and being checked on by Bret so I am not complaining too much. And the scene with Bret and Bart bantering while Bart is lying wounded in bed are my favorite parts of the episode and really showcase Garner and Kelly's wonderful chemistry.
maverick