Fail on Wheels
Y'all might have seen me cackle with glee over the AMC show Hell on Wheels before, but maybe not. It's one of those odd shows that I am into not through fandom but because my roommates and I saw a preview for it, decided to watch it, and are hooked together, and for which fandom does not really seem to exist (which is way okay because it's also one of those shows that I wouldn't want much of a creative fandom for. I just like squealing over it).
This is important, because my roommates and I NEVER all love a show this much. Sure, we watch things together, like the Borgias, New Girl, now the Mindy Project, but in this case we are all irrevocably obsessed. Like, incoherent flailing squeaking noises obsessed.
The finale was Sunday night, and in one of the most beautifully orchestrated scenes I've ever seen on tv, they killed off one of the leads, Lily. And the three of us sat on our couch in complete silence for the rest of the episode, then got up and all sat a bit away from each other, and did our homework. We couldn't even talk about it for half an hour. This is NOT a common occurrence, once again - a) for them to be as invested as me in a woman character specifically because of the fact that she's a strong complex woman character (and adorable and awesomely acted), b) for one of them to get this emotional at a tv show, and c) for us to literally not be able to talk about it.
But here's the thing - Hell on Wheels has been such an amazing show because while Cullen Bohannon, the rugged white man with a heart of gold and a need to get revenge on the Union soldiers who killed his wife and child, is the main character, Lily was just as much a main character (let's call her the white woman of society who loves the freedom of the West and who, after her husband died, has been learning how to find power and safety by standing up for herself and respecting other people), as was Elam Ferguson (Common!), the half-white railway worker who was once enslaved but now is going to use his brains and his mad gunslinging skills to take a piece of respect for himself, and is negotiating the murky waters of not-belonging and of railway politics. What I'm saying is - yeah, Bohannon's the lead around whose story the show turns. But all three of them have been joined together since the very first episode. All three of them have had parallel stories - the first season had Lily and Elam having to kill someone, and Lily lost her husband, and Elam fell in love and then lost her (emotionally, she didn't die, she is Eva and she is also a kickass almost-main character), so by the end of the first season all three main characters were on something of a level experientially and emotionally, and now the second season has been about railroad politics and power struggles and the divergence of their stories somewhat.
ANYWAY my point is - they killed Lily off to further Cullen's plotline. They killed Lily off so that The Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl! basically reprising his role as Alistair, only more awesome) could goad Cullen into killing him and thus 'consummating' their seasons-long hatred of each other. And then as Cullen carried her through town, in the aftermath of the Sioux attack that the railroad's been asking for all season by building through sacred ground, we get brief shots of all the other lead characters, so like, one or two frames of Eva and Elam, no wrap up of their stories for the season, nothing. Suddenly the white man's pain is central. And Lily is dead.
I don't think I've ever felt so betrayed by a show, and it's because up til now they have been so obviously good and careful story tellers. Once we were recovered enough to talk about it, my friends and I agreed that it was beautifully done, and the lead up was as amazing and slow as AMC always does, and that yes, for the story, it made sense. Of course the Swede would go for Lily to hurt and goad Cullen. But for all that it makes sense, we didn't see it coming, and it was still not okay. She did not have to die. And the only way I'm going to accept this ending is if there is no third season. This has to be the end. And I have never wished that on a show I love so much before, and I kind of hate them for it.
/rant
But seriously, if you haven't been irreparably spoiled, the show is worth a watch. They are very conscientious about portraying their problematic characters as such, and the mains all have great storylines, the acting is wonderful, the production value is awesome, and it's a lot of fun.
This is important, because my roommates and I NEVER all love a show this much. Sure, we watch things together, like the Borgias, New Girl, now the Mindy Project, but in this case we are all irrevocably obsessed. Like, incoherent flailing squeaking noises obsessed.
The finale was Sunday night, and in one of the most beautifully orchestrated scenes I've ever seen on tv, they killed off one of the leads, Lily. And the three of us sat on our couch in complete silence for the rest of the episode, then got up and all sat a bit away from each other, and did our homework. We couldn't even talk about it for half an hour. This is NOT a common occurrence, once again - a) for them to be as invested as me in a woman character specifically because of the fact that she's a strong complex woman character (and adorable and awesomely acted), b) for one of them to get this emotional at a tv show, and c) for us to literally not be able to talk about it.
But here's the thing - Hell on Wheels has been such an amazing show because while Cullen Bohannon, the rugged white man with a heart of gold and a need to get revenge on the Union soldiers who killed his wife and child, is the main character, Lily was just as much a main character (let's call her the white woman of society who loves the freedom of the West and who, after her husband died, has been learning how to find power and safety by standing up for herself and respecting other people), as was Elam Ferguson (Common!), the half-white railway worker who was once enslaved but now is going to use his brains and his mad gunslinging skills to take a piece of respect for himself, and is negotiating the murky waters of not-belonging and of railway politics. What I'm saying is - yeah, Bohannon's the lead around whose story the show turns. But all three of them have been joined together since the very first episode. All three of them have had parallel stories - the first season had Lily and Elam having to kill someone, and Lily lost her husband, and Elam fell in love and then lost her (emotionally, she didn't die, she is Eva and she is also a kickass almost-main character), so by the end of the first season all three main characters were on something of a level experientially and emotionally, and now the second season has been about railroad politics and power struggles and the divergence of their stories somewhat.
ANYWAY my point is - they killed Lily off to further Cullen's plotline. They killed Lily off so that The Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl! basically reprising his role as Alistair, only more awesome) could goad Cullen into killing him and thus 'consummating' their seasons-long hatred of each other. And then as Cullen carried her through town, in the aftermath of the Sioux attack that the railroad's been asking for all season by building through sacred ground, we get brief shots of all the other lead characters, so like, one or two frames of Eva and Elam, no wrap up of their stories for the season, nothing. Suddenly the white man's pain is central. And Lily is dead.
I don't think I've ever felt so betrayed by a show, and it's because up til now they have been so obviously good and careful story tellers. Once we were recovered enough to talk about it, my friends and I agreed that it was beautifully done, and the lead up was as amazing and slow as AMC always does, and that yes, for the story, it made sense. Of course the Swede would go for Lily to hurt and goad Cullen. But for all that it makes sense, we didn't see it coming, and it was still not okay. She did not have to die. And the only way I'm going to accept this ending is if there is no third season. This has to be the end. And I have never wished that on a show I love so much before, and I kind of hate them for it.
/rant
But seriously, if you haven't been irreparably spoiled, the show is worth a watch. They are very conscientious about portraying their problematic characters as such, and the mains all have great storylines, the acting is wonderful, the production value is awesome, and it's a lot of fun.