Episode Notes: Magnificent Seven "Pilot"
A newbie's notes on watching the Pilot.
The comments range from the sensible to the "OMG So pretty" with all stages in between. This is pretty much what I was thinking as I watched the episode--the written version of what watching the show with me might be like.
After-watching notes: ::flails:: OMG that was *awesome*!!
I should probably just be up front about the fact that while I'm willing to love all of the guys, I am going to be pretty squeeish about Chris/Vin because OMG it's just all over the screen. So I'm not against other pairings, but I'm not likely to be gushing about them. Sorry. But there are lots of pics of all the guys because they're all so awesome!
Lots of questions about the characters here, but that's always the case with a pilot. And dial-up users beware, there are over 100 screencaps behind the cut.
spikedluv has quotes from the pilot over here at her LJ. Go check them out, yeah, because she got lots of scrumptious dialogue and I only got a little.
Notes on watching The Pilot
--Okay, I'm trying to keep the comparisons with the movie to a minimum, but I love that the music picks up themes from the movie music. Nice!
--Okay, I rather like the vision of village life they give us here at the Indian village. Showing us what's at stake before the soldiers come in.
--Okay, I had the same question the first time I saw this episode. What the hell are Seminole doing in...hrm, where is this? Looks like New Mexico, maybe, or Utah. Anyway, way the hell away from where I'd expect to find Seminole.
--The leader of the Ghosts of the Confederacy is a genuine whack job isn't he? Way scarier than Calvera in the movie. Calvera is *sane* though bad; this guy's a total psychopath.
--Oh, man, I can already tell I'm going to love the credits for this show. Partly for the music, which makes me just giddy with glee. Partly for the overwelming dose of pretty.
--Drunks with guns is just *such* a bad combo.
--Oh, yeah!! So hot!
--Some men make smoking, normally a filthy habit, so *fucking* sexy and I don't know how they do it. Michael Biehn's as hot as Humphrey Bogart at it.
--Okay, so all the shooting and whooping and carrying on has gotten Chris's attention...but he doesn't step in and do anything right away? Why not?
--Okay, so he's new in town? Do they ever say what he came here for?
--I have to say that one of the immediate, visceral appeals of this show (in addition to the glee-ful music) is the smorgasbord of male beauty.
--Oh, now hey! She seems to be pretty cool doesn't she? Sweet! She's got a great voice too! (Though why has someone parked their steer on the side of the street?)
--Ooooo! I am curious about why they're *both* just watching now and neither of them doing anything. Maybe they're weighing the odds. There seem to be at least 8 or 9 men in the lynch mob (though I haven't counted) and that's some tough odds since they think they're going to be acting alone.
--God, I've *so* got to resist the temptation to screencap every shot of Chris and Vin.
--Oooo!! Chris has spotted Vin now. Nice!!
--Eeee! And vice versa. Eeee!! OMG!! This is just so *wonderful*!!
--Two against however many is much more satisfactory odds. I guess they just needed to know they had backup before they stepped in. ::swoons::
--Okay, scruffy, long hair, with the rifle and everything. How many buttons of mine can they push with one shot?
--All the luggage JD brought with him was a saddle?? What about clothes? People didn't have a *lot* back then, but they had more than one set of clothes.
--OMHFG!! ::swoons:: That's a nice package! Normally I don't notice things like that, well, okay, not *always*, but in this case the camera lovingly focused on it for a second or so, long enough for even me to notice. :)
--So Vin doesn't have his own gun? Why not?
--Chris: "You shot a lot of holes in the clouds back there. Anybody stop to reload?" And then the lynch mob realize they've been kind of, well, dumb actually. :D Chris's voice is so quiet and ... erm ... lighter than I'd have expected. Not bad, just not what I would have thought.
--I love the alert, watchful calm here. Vin's not missing a thing, but he's not giving anything away either. And the rifle's still over his shoulder all relaxed like. Nice!!
--Wait, the lynch mob didn't tie up Nathan's hands? Or they tied them in the front? Doofuses.
--Good horses. They're holding pretty steady for all that shooting going on around them. I know that's something that horses can be trained for but, still, impressive.
--Well, the training lasted longer than I thought it would. There they go! Poor Nathan!
--Nathan's doing his best to hold his muscles tense and prolong his life, but he can't hold on forever.
--Fortunately Vin's there. (Though on Mythbusters they established that you can't actually shoot through a rope in a single shot like that but it's so terribly narratively satisfying I feel bad about even mentioning it.)
--Ah, JD, you're such a puppy. All enthusiasm and balls and hardly any brains at all.
--Personal space?? OMG, I love this, because these so look like guys who keep people at arm's length, literally. Keep a little bubble of "don't come close" around them. And yet, here they are with each other. ::swoons::
--Hey, in their introductions, Vin gives his first and last name. Chris just gives his first name. Huh.
--So they're both new in town? Vin's just a little *less* new. Got it.
--Yay for Nathan saving the folks who saved him!! (And he throws knives!! ::squeal:: I love that!)
--It's very *very* rare that I pay much attention the women in a show (TV doesn't do women well, by and large), but she's *stunning*. I could spend ages looking at her eyes.
--Okay, so she works for the newspaper, that's cool. But does she really think she's going to be able to interview these guys?
--Love Vin giving the rifle back to the shopkeeper and pointing out that the sight's a little off. :) (Which explains why he missed his first shot at the rope. :) ) I wonder if he fixes it himself or if he just adapts to how off it is. And the shopkeeper giving him the rifle--that's a generous gift, I imagine.
--Okay, so Chris Larabee's got a reputation, at least around here. Cool.
--Oh, poor Nathan checking the bruising on his neck!! Well at least he can. :)
--And here we are again with the no personal space thing again. Eeee!
--Holy hannah he's pretty!!
--(As a little aside here, embarrassingly at this point in the episode I'm averaging more than one screencap per minute of air time. ::facepalm:: I really need to show more self-restraint.)
--Umm, yeah, but not just yet is all.
--Hmmm...So Vin could make $5 a week at the store, which wasn't bad wages at all, really. But I wish I had a better idea of what he's thinking here. He knows he's not holding out for more money, because they made it pretty clear that's all they have. So what is he having to mull over? I suppose that pesky risk of death thing.
--Oh, I love Nathan standing up for the Seminoles. Nathan: "For five dollars, they can have a week of my life." Vin: "Or all of it."
--Okay, so Chris is looking to Vin here, like his decision hinges on Vin's or something. Nice!!
--So Vin decides he's in. (And I'm swooning on the inside here. :) )
--Chris is pleased. Probably to know the mettle of the man he's finding himself instantly drawn to he just worked with. Also that he'll get to keep working with Vin. Maybe because the smile was so damned cute. :)
--Ah, the gathering of the Seven. This is one of my favorite parts of the movie. Here's three.
--Vin: "Sorry, ma'am, wrong room." ::squeals::
--Damn!
--Heeee!! I think I'm going to seriously love Buck. He's so open. Hugging Chris in the street in nothing but his longjohns. Chris: "Easy, big dog, folks'll talk."
--And Buck's a cutie too!
--Oh, I love Chris's little nod when he asks if Vin's with Chris! Eeee!
--I *love* Vin's coat. And again they're so wonderfully close!
--Oh, man, Ezra's totally playing up how drunk he is here. Or is he? He must be. He wouldn't have lived long if he didn't know to do that. :)
--Hey, Vin's got a gun now! Maybe he just wasn't wearing it to work at the general store.
--So Ezra's not missing the chance to pick up his ill gotten winnings there. Knows his priorities anyway.
--Ezra carries three guns (hip, wrist and underarm)? And he looks like such a dandy. :D
--I love how Vin and Chris and Buck and Nathan are staying out of this situation. This is another man's scene to play and they're ready to keep things from getting out of hand, but they're not going to step in unnecessarily either. Maybe that's what they were doing with the lynching too--watching to make sure that intervention would be necessary. Hmmm...
--Oh, man, I *love* Chris calling Ezra on the fact that he had one bullet and five blanks in his gun. So not only was he faking how drunk he was, he was cheating to boot!! And Chris isn't letting that just pass.
--Ezra: "Well, sir, I abhor gambling and, as such, leave nothing to chance." Heee!! What a way to admit to cheating. :D
--And on the strength of *that* Chris decides to recruit him to protect the Indian village. :D Love it!
--But ook!! Ezra doesn't want to ride with Nathan because he's black. Okay, deep breath. Don't judge him by modern standards. In fact Chris and Vin and Buck are being almost unnaturally tolerant for men of their era.
--Okay, I've been trying to be moderate, truly I have but, just....how am I supposed to resist shots like this?
--Oh, heee!! Chris: "Meet us at the livery at dawn. If you live that long." Then he turns away. Ezra's problems are no longer of any concern to him. Ezra got himself into this situation and he's got to get out on his own. Or at least that's Chris's logic. Eee!
--Nathan: "Why would we want to use a cheater?" Chris: "Might need one." (And talk about your awesome voices, I *love* Nathan's voice!)
--Well, JD can ride even if he does have more balls than brains. I'm starting to get more of an idea of why he brought his saddle. Oooh, I missed this before, it's an English saddle, not Western. No wonder he wanted to bring it. He'd have had a devil of a time replacing it out West. (Though he's handling the reins like he's used to riding Western, which is a tad schizophrenic. I guess the horses are trained to Western-style reining though and he's having to adapt.) Oooh, and he does two-hands the reins when he needs to stop, so he hasn't adapted perfectly. Oh, that's *nice* attention to detail!!
--Buck's definitely amused by the kid. :)
--Now why didn't that horse hold still for the shooting? It should have been trained to deal with that.
--JD's obviously got some money, because he got off that coach with nothing but the saddle and now he has a horse too. And a nice one, really, though obviously a little green. :)
--A lot green. Poor kid. It's tough to be trying to be impressive and only getting laughed at.
--So apparently the Clarion News just makes shit up. Because where does the Beautiful-Eyed Lady get off saying that Chris turned the town into a shooting gallery. He *stopped* the lynching she wanted stopped. He didn't start anything. Sigh!! I suppose she just wanted to sell papers.
--Was Chris really planning on being a "new resident" or was he planning on passing on through?
--Oh, she's *tough*, and better than I thought. She doesn't want to sell papers. She wants to keep the town safe! I really do like her.
--Damn!! Chris: "You read second-hand trash and you think you know a man. You don't know me."
--But then he goes and gives the lie to the good he did by saving Nathan and he's about to do in the Seminole village by saying "Lady, I am the bad element." Hmmmm....he hasn't really given any sign of that though has he. He's really showing himself to be something of a protector. And by saying that he's also contradicting his statement that she doesn't know him, because he's totally playing into the prejudices she has about him.
--She looks like she's having about the same reaction to that little alpha display that I'm having.
--Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture of four, but here's five. :D
--Love Josiah kissing his horse on the forehead!!
--Ah, I think I'm going to like Josiah!
Vin: "We could use another good man." Josiah: "Not so good. But I can fight." Oh, I love that he's morally troubled by the path his life's taken.
--And now they're six.
--Oh, how cute is it that Buck's taking JD under his wing?! Buck: "If you're trying to stay hid, it's best to remove your hat." Heee!
--Elder: "Welcome. We greet you with hostility." Chris: "I think he means hospitality." Vin: "Nope, I think he means hostility."
--God, they're just so *hot* together!!
--Now why is Buck leading JD down all tied up? That's not right.
--Oooo!!
--I like that the villagers are, on their own, taking steps to defend themselves.
--Tennessee: "They don't give guns to slaves." Vin: "Well, you're not a slave anymore."
--Ah, Nathan's a cutie! And he's thinking in terms of tending to the wounded. I love how gentle he is.
--Hey, I like that Ezra's got the kids making dummies, and getting them to work by giving them tricks. (And, incidentally, keeping the kids occupied, though that might not be part of his plan.)
--I love the attention to detail with the rifle shots in the background while Ezra's talking to the kids. And then the shot going through the card he's holding up. :)
--Oh, Nathan just found the girls. :D Good job.
--This chick feeling Nathan's muscles is just too cute!
--God, Buck's such a horn-dog with the ladies. But so cute about it. :D
--Now that's a hell of a cute smile!
--Heee! Love Tennessee watching over all the women, not just his daughter. :D
--Where did Rain get those scissors?
--Poor JD, wanting to help but not getting a good shot. Now why did Buck hit him?
--Hey is the Angry Indian played by the same guy who was the Inuit Hunter in the pilot of due South? From some angles he looks like he is, and from others he doesn't.
--Buck's pissed. And I can understand that. The Seven (well, still six now) are risking their lives to defend this village, and the villagers are being hostile with them. Kind of takes the bloom off the rose a bit. Though I can also understand the Seminole POV--the Indians have very little reason to trust Whites.
--Oh, my!!
--Buck and JD wrassling together are like brothers or something, or puppies in a litter. *So* cute!!
--And now we've got the *beautiful* sunset scene here. Chris and Vin are both just gorgeous, the scenery is gorgeous, the lighting is gorgeous. But even beyond gorgeous is the *trust*. ::swoons:: Vin has known Chris for just a couple of days, not as much as a week for sure, and he's basically putting his life in Chris's hands by telling him about the $500 bounty (a very fine sum).
--Vin: "I figure if a friend collects, I get the last laugh."
--EEee!! And Chris knows exactly how much trust Vin's placing in him and he *likes* it!! Eeee! Look at that shy smile!! Flirting much?! ::swoons::
--Josiah: "I was a priest once, but I had trouble turning the other cheek."
--I wonder where Vin picked up his spy glass? I mean that's a pretty pricey piece of equipment, isn't it and it doesn't seem like Vin's ever been *rich*.
--Colonel Psycho's back. Sigh.
--Oh, dear. Apparently the presence of the gunslingers is convincing Colonel Psycho that there really *is* gold here, because he can't imagine them working for free (and reasonably so on that). That's a little bit of a misfire, though the show of strength is a good thing.
--Damn he's so pretty!
--JD really is *green*! He was way more exposed than the others.
--Oook, Josiah just got shot!!
--Oh, I love Tennessee in the war paint!! That's nice!
--Ezra got shot?
--And the women are fighting! Awesome! And taking the guns from the fallen soldiers.
--Yay for Nathan saving Rain!!
--Colonel Psycho is not entirely with it, if he's so reluctant to call retreat when his men are getting totally cut down.
--Love Buck saving JD!!
--About when is this set? I'm getting a sort of 1870-ish vibe from it.
--And now Nate's other work begins patching up the wounded.
--Oh, man!!
--Oh, man, there's so much going on with this relationship with Buck and JD. I *love* him giving these lessons. "Don't fan your gun, it spoils your aim." I'm still trying to sort out if there's slashy subtext between those two, or just a lot of brotherly subtext.
--It seems like Nathan knows a bit of Seminole.
--Oh, Ezra doesn't want Nathan to help him. Probably because he's black and Ezra's a man of his time. Love Nate fixing his dislocated shoulder all of a sudden like. :)
--Oh, I love Josiah saying a very nicely generic blessing over the one who died. Angry Indian: "Leave him. We don't believe in your white man's religion." Josiah: "Nor do I my friend."
--Now why didn't Josiah go to Nathan for help with his wound?? He does seem to have a bit of a ... well, death wish is too strong, but he's not really avoiding it either is he?
--Elder: "Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?" Josiah: "You didn't ask." Huh.
--Oh, poor JD trying to drink himself into a stupor. It must be a hard thing facing the reality of being a gunslinger. He's worked at it, obviously developed skills, *practiced* and now he's actually killed a man, and it's not what he was expecting at all.
--I wonder if maybe Chris feels a little paternal toward JD. Ah, now there's Buck thinking the same thing. Though, really, why is he sharing Chris's story with JD? That's not his story to tell and I doubt Chris would be pleased with him telling it.
--I have this feeling that Ezra wouldn't be hanging with the kids if he didn't feel like he could get something from them. But I'm not sure what that is.
--Oh, I love Ezra lecturing the children on the nature of courage.
--Oh, and now we see what he wanted to learn from the kids. I was right that there was something.
--Oh, now Chris admiring the Angry Indian's baby is so sweet. Such a different side to the man, though sort of explained by Buck's story about him losing his wife and son.
--Chris: "Home, family. Things worth fighting for." ::hugs Chris::
--Ezra's supposed to be on watch, not exploring abandoned gold mines. Sigh!!
--So they missed the Ghosts coming back because Ezra wasn't really watching when he should have? I think that's what I'm supposed to be getting here....but surely it would take more than a couple of hours to cross that vast open plain around the village and get that cannon into position. Wouldn't it? Maybe not, I suppose it is a battle cannon and they're used to handling it.
--Oh, so nice!!
--Oh, Ezra, Ezra, honey!! I hate knowing what you're about to do.
--Okay Col. Psycho has snot running from his nose and he's spitting when he talks. He's *lost* it!! And he was scary enough before.
--So why is Tennessee saving his *organ*? I get that it's important to him, I do, but *damn*!!
--Okay, apparently they're blaming Ezra. I guess even if he missed them setting up the canon, he should be *doing* something about it.
--Oh, Ezra!! ::wince::
--Okay, so Chris threw out the suggestion of raising a white flag, but really didn't expect anyone to go for it, I guess. Because it got rejected without discussion and they've moved on to other options.
--Okay, so Col. Psycho's injured, apparently. Is that supposed to make me sympathetic?
--Buck: "Fear keeps you sharp, kid." JD: "Buck, you're full of crap." Buck: "Hee, hee. You're just figuring that out now?" Yay for JD!
--I love Captain Conscience here trying to convince the Colonel to stop firing, even if he doesn't have a chance of talking sense into the man.
--Oook! The Angry Indian just got shot. I didn't remember that. Well poop! That's sad.
--Captain Conscience: "Surrender or die where you stand." Vin: "I'll take that five dollars now." :)
--Come on Ezra...your friends need you. Yay!!
--Oh so cool! They're all prisoners, armed men all around, and Vin's just lying there looking so *calm*. And gorgeous. And calm.
--Okay, so maybe I do feel a tiny little bit of sympathy for Colonel Psycho, because that whole Shiloh thing does sound really awful!
--I like hearing about JD's backstory there. If his mum was a chambermaid, he was quite possibly the son of the master of the house (otherwise the maid would have gotten sacked I imagine). So since he couldn't go to college, he came out West to see what he could make of himself. I kind of like that. He's definitely a scrappy kid.
--Josiah (to Buck): "Mind not leaning against my bad leg?" Poor Josiah! About to die, but he needn't be *uncomfortable*. :D
--Colonel Psycho drinks from a bottle of laudanum like other men drink from whiskey bottles. Oh, dear. It's amazing he manages to be as with it as he is.
--Captain Conscience is trying to reason with the Psycho. Trying to appeal to his sense of fair play that they can't kill men who surrendered. I admire you for trying honey, but he's not sane enough for logical argument to work.
--Captain Conscience: "I'll have you know Colonel Anderson was one of the finest soldiers in any man's army. I owe my life to him." Vin: "And soon your death."
--Oh, I like Chris trying to work his way out of the cuffs. That's gotta hurt, in fact it clearly does (his hand's bleeding and everything), but he's keeping his face from showing it. Nice!!
--Why isn't the Elder showing where the mine is if it's all played out? It's not going to be obvious to Col. Psycho that it's all played out at a simple glance, right? And it would buy them some time.
--Oh, dear and Ezra's learning the difference between an unconnected gang in a bar and an organized Army.
--Chris has an ankle holster? Alternatively, they didn't disarm the prisoners, maybe. Why was Vin tied up with a rifle right next to him?
--Chris: "Don't ever run out on me again."
--Captain Conscience is going to help them kill the Colonel. That's morally satisfying.
--Why is Chris taking the Angry Indian's knife? They're armed with their normal weapons, right?
--Why didn't the army in the village hear the gunshots up on the top of the bluff?
--Yay for Ezra blowing up their Confederate flag!!
--Wow, they're all just completely out in the open, no cover at all except a rapidly dissipating cloud of dust and smoke??? It's beautifully dramatic, but why don't they all die? (Apologies for the crappy screencap, BTW, but this was as good as it got for this.)
--Love that Vin's sticking with Chris, even though that means he's not finding cover as quickly as the others did.
--Oh, poor Captain Conscience...he did truly deserve to live. Though I don't think he's actually dead yet, just mortally wounded.
--::humina::
--Wow, Vin got a solid shot on the Colonel, though in the shoulder so probably not fatal, and he's just popping right back up. I suppose the Colonel's so drugged on laudanum that he barely felt it anyway, but it must have been creepy as all hell for poor Vin.
--He's like Rasputin. He just won't die. Even Josiah comments on it, "Bastard won't go down." And, hey, Nathan mentions the laudanum. Yay!
--Oh, JD, honey!! Didn't you hear Buck tell you never to break cover?? And Buck just got chopped in his place because of it!
--And Josiah's shot trying to save Buck! If they both die, JD's going to have such the survivor guilt.
--Yay!! I love that Nathan's knife is what finally got Col. Psycho off his horse.
--And Captain Conscience gets his redemption. Col. Psycho really isn't all that savvy about people, though I guess that's part of being a psychopath. But he saw the shaking of Capt. Conscience's gun as a sign of fear, and I saw it as a sign that the Captain really did care about him and really didn't want to have to shoot him. Not afraid, but hoping for a different solution.
--Nice!
--Hey, the flag survived the explosion.
--Oh, wait, Captain Conscience did survive.
--Buck's pretty much expecting that he's going to die here. And he's giving JD his hat as a parting gift. ::hugs Buck::
--Oh, that's why Chris took the knife, to give it to the Elder. Oh, he's definitely hurting for the old man here, having lost his son and so many of his tribe.
--::squeals and flails:: Chris is going to Tascosa with Vin to hlep him clear his name!! Eeeee!!
--I love them giving the Elder back the pendant he'd used to pay them. Vin: "We never could figure out how to split it seven ways."
--eeee!! I'm going a little overboard here because they're so close together and the smiles are so cute. :)
--Look how happy JD is to see Buck alive! It can't have been all that long since the end of the battle if he doesn't know Buck survived.
--Oh, and how sweet that Ezra's still playing with the kids of the village. That's so cute!
--Oh, and I do like that Ezra's the one to invite Nathan to ride with them. :D
--Jeeze Nathan's cute! (As is Rain, she's got *such* a sweet smile.) And *damn* Nathan's voice is nice.
--Okay, so are *all* of them (except Nathan) going to Tascosa to help Vin clear his name? I mean they're all riding off together, and there's a certain amount of feeling themselves a unit (Buck invites JD to ride with "us" for example). But only Chris and Vin talk about Tascosa. I bet the first stop's the town in any case.
--Oh, and I love Rain sending Nathan off after them. That's sweet! She really is awfully damned cute too. :D
--Eeee!! What a wonderful ending with them all riding off together!!
All screencaps are my own. Feel free to use them however you like. Unless you like to use screencaps by hotlinking. Please don't do that; it's not nice.
The comments range from the sensible to the "OMG So pretty" with all stages in between. This is pretty much what I was thinking as I watched the episode--the written version of what watching the show with me might be like.
After-watching notes: ::flails:: OMG that was *awesome*!!
I should probably just be up front about the fact that while I'm willing to love all of the guys, I am going to be pretty squeeish about Chris/Vin because OMG it's just all over the screen. So I'm not against other pairings, but I'm not likely to be gushing about them. Sorry. But there are lots of pics of all the guys because they're all so awesome!
Lots of questions about the characters here, but that's always the case with a pilot. And dial-up users beware, there are over 100 screencaps behind the cut.
spikedluv has quotes from the pilot over here at her LJ. Go check them out, yeah, because she got lots of scrumptious dialogue and I only got a little.
Notes on watching The Pilot
--Okay, I'm trying to keep the comparisons with the movie to a minimum, but I love that the music picks up themes from the movie music. Nice!
--Okay, I rather like the vision of village life they give us here at the Indian village. Showing us what's at stake before the soldiers come in.
--Okay, I had the same question the first time I saw this episode. What the hell are Seminole doing in...hrm, where is this? Looks like New Mexico, maybe, or Utah. Anyway, way the hell away from where I'd expect to find Seminole.
--The leader of the Ghosts of the Confederacy is a genuine whack job isn't he? Way scarier than Calvera in the movie. Calvera is *sane* though bad; this guy's a total psychopath.
--Oh, man, I can already tell I'm going to love the credits for this show. Partly for the music, which makes me just giddy with glee. Partly for the overwelming dose of pretty.
--Drunks with guns is just *such* a bad combo.
--Oh, yeah!! So hot!
--Some men make smoking, normally a filthy habit, so *fucking* sexy and I don't know how they do it. Michael Biehn's as hot as Humphrey Bogart at it.
--Okay, so all the shooting and whooping and carrying on has gotten Chris's attention...but he doesn't step in and do anything right away? Why not?
--Okay, so he's new in town? Do they ever say what he came here for?
--I have to say that one of the immediate, visceral appeals of this show (in addition to the glee-ful music) is the smorgasbord of male beauty.
--Oh, now hey! She seems to be pretty cool doesn't she? Sweet! She's got a great voice too! (Though why has someone parked their steer on the side of the street?)
--Ooooo! I am curious about why they're *both* just watching now and neither of them doing anything. Maybe they're weighing the odds. There seem to be at least 8 or 9 men in the lynch mob (though I haven't counted) and that's some tough odds since they think they're going to be acting alone.
--God, I've *so* got to resist the temptation to screencap every shot of Chris and Vin.
--Oooo!! Chris has spotted Vin now. Nice!!
--Eeee! And vice versa. Eeee!! OMG!! This is just so *wonderful*!!
--Two against however many is much more satisfactory odds. I guess they just needed to know they had backup before they stepped in. ::swoons::
--Okay, scruffy, long hair, with the rifle and everything. How many buttons of mine can they push with one shot?
--All the luggage JD brought with him was a saddle?? What about clothes? People didn't have a *lot* back then, but they had more than one set of clothes.
--OMHFG!! ::swoons:: That's a nice package! Normally I don't notice things like that, well, okay, not *always*, but in this case the camera lovingly focused on it for a second or so, long enough for even me to notice. :)
--So Vin doesn't have his own gun? Why not?
--Chris: "You shot a lot of holes in the clouds back there. Anybody stop to reload?" And then the lynch mob realize they've been kind of, well, dumb actually. :D Chris's voice is so quiet and ... erm ... lighter than I'd have expected. Not bad, just not what I would have thought.
--I love the alert, watchful calm here. Vin's not missing a thing, but he's not giving anything away either. And the rifle's still over his shoulder all relaxed like. Nice!!
--Wait, the lynch mob didn't tie up Nathan's hands? Or they tied them in the front? Doofuses.
--Good horses. They're holding pretty steady for all that shooting going on around them. I know that's something that horses can be trained for but, still, impressive.
--Well, the training lasted longer than I thought it would. There they go! Poor Nathan!
--Nathan's doing his best to hold his muscles tense and prolong his life, but he can't hold on forever.
--Fortunately Vin's there. (Though on Mythbusters they established that you can't actually shoot through a rope in a single shot like that but it's so terribly narratively satisfying I feel bad about even mentioning it.)
--Ah, JD, you're such a puppy. All enthusiasm and balls and hardly any brains at all.
--Personal space?? OMG, I love this, because these so look like guys who keep people at arm's length, literally. Keep a little bubble of "don't come close" around them. And yet, here they are with each other. ::swoons::
--Hey, in their introductions, Vin gives his first and last name. Chris just gives his first name. Huh.
--So they're both new in town? Vin's just a little *less* new. Got it.
--Yay for Nathan saving the folks who saved him!! (And he throws knives!! ::squeal:: I love that!)
--It's very *very* rare that I pay much attention the women in a show (TV doesn't do women well, by and large), but she's *stunning*. I could spend ages looking at her eyes.
--Okay, so she works for the newspaper, that's cool. But does she really think she's going to be able to interview these guys?
--Love Vin giving the rifle back to the shopkeeper and pointing out that the sight's a little off. :) (Which explains why he missed his first shot at the rope. :) ) I wonder if he fixes it himself or if he just adapts to how off it is. And the shopkeeper giving him the rifle--that's a generous gift, I imagine.
--Okay, so Chris Larabee's got a reputation, at least around here. Cool.
--Oh, poor Nathan checking the bruising on his neck!! Well at least he can. :)
--And here we are again with the no personal space thing again. Eeee!
--Holy hannah he's pretty!!
--(As a little aside here, embarrassingly at this point in the episode I'm averaging more than one screencap per minute of air time. ::facepalm:: I really need to show more self-restraint.)
--Umm, yeah, but not just yet is all.
--Hmmm...So Vin could make $5 a week at the store, which wasn't bad wages at all, really. But I wish I had a better idea of what he's thinking here. He knows he's not holding out for more money, because they made it pretty clear that's all they have. So what is he having to mull over? I suppose that pesky risk of death thing.
--Oh, I love Nathan standing up for the Seminoles. Nathan: "For five dollars, they can have a week of my life." Vin: "Or all of it."
--Okay, so Chris is looking to Vin here, like his decision hinges on Vin's or something. Nice!!
--So Vin decides he's in. (And I'm swooning on the inside here. :) )
--Chris is pleased. Probably to know the mettle of the man he's finding himself instantly drawn to he just worked with. Also that he'll get to keep working with Vin. Maybe because the smile was so damned cute. :)
--Ah, the gathering of the Seven. This is one of my favorite parts of the movie. Here's three.
--Vin: "Sorry, ma'am, wrong room." ::squeals::
--Damn!
--Heeee!! I think I'm going to seriously love Buck. He's so open. Hugging Chris in the street in nothing but his longjohns. Chris: "Easy, big dog, folks'll talk."
--And Buck's a cutie too!
--Oh, I love Chris's little nod when he asks if Vin's with Chris! Eeee!
--I *love* Vin's coat. And again they're so wonderfully close!
--Oh, man, Ezra's totally playing up how drunk he is here. Or is he? He must be. He wouldn't have lived long if he didn't know to do that. :)
--Hey, Vin's got a gun now! Maybe he just wasn't wearing it to work at the general store.
--So Ezra's not missing the chance to pick up his ill gotten winnings there. Knows his priorities anyway.
--Ezra carries three guns (hip, wrist and underarm)? And he looks like such a dandy. :D
--I love how Vin and Chris and Buck and Nathan are staying out of this situation. This is another man's scene to play and they're ready to keep things from getting out of hand, but they're not going to step in unnecessarily either. Maybe that's what they were doing with the lynching too--watching to make sure that intervention would be necessary. Hmmm...
--Oh, man, I *love* Chris calling Ezra on the fact that he had one bullet and five blanks in his gun. So not only was he faking how drunk he was, he was cheating to boot!! And Chris isn't letting that just pass.
--Ezra: "Well, sir, I abhor gambling and, as such, leave nothing to chance." Heee!! What a way to admit to cheating. :D
--And on the strength of *that* Chris decides to recruit him to protect the Indian village. :D Love it!
--But ook!! Ezra doesn't want to ride with Nathan because he's black. Okay, deep breath. Don't judge him by modern standards. In fact Chris and Vin and Buck are being almost unnaturally tolerant for men of their era.
--Okay, I've been trying to be moderate, truly I have but, just....how am I supposed to resist shots like this?
--Oh, heee!! Chris: "Meet us at the livery at dawn. If you live that long." Then he turns away. Ezra's problems are no longer of any concern to him. Ezra got himself into this situation and he's got to get out on his own. Or at least that's Chris's logic. Eee!
--Nathan: "Why would we want to use a cheater?" Chris: "Might need one." (And talk about your awesome voices, I *love* Nathan's voice!)
--Well, JD can ride even if he does have more balls than brains. I'm starting to get more of an idea of why he brought his saddle. Oooh, I missed this before, it's an English saddle, not Western. No wonder he wanted to bring it. He'd have had a devil of a time replacing it out West. (Though he's handling the reins like he's used to riding Western, which is a tad schizophrenic. I guess the horses are trained to Western-style reining though and he's having to adapt.) Oooh, and he does two-hands the reins when he needs to stop, so he hasn't adapted perfectly. Oh, that's *nice* attention to detail!!
--Buck's definitely amused by the kid. :)
--Now why didn't that horse hold still for the shooting? It should have been trained to deal with that.
--JD's obviously got some money, because he got off that coach with nothing but the saddle and now he has a horse too. And a nice one, really, though obviously a little green. :)
--A lot green. Poor kid. It's tough to be trying to be impressive and only getting laughed at.
--So apparently the Clarion News just makes shit up. Because where does the Beautiful-Eyed Lady get off saying that Chris turned the town into a shooting gallery. He *stopped* the lynching she wanted stopped. He didn't start anything. Sigh!! I suppose she just wanted to sell papers.
--Was Chris really planning on being a "new resident" or was he planning on passing on through?
--Oh, she's *tough*, and better than I thought. She doesn't want to sell papers. She wants to keep the town safe! I really do like her.
--Damn!! Chris: "You read second-hand trash and you think you know a man. You don't know me."
--But then he goes and gives the lie to the good he did by saving Nathan and he's about to do in the Seminole village by saying "Lady, I am the bad element." Hmmmm....he hasn't really given any sign of that though has he. He's really showing himself to be something of a protector. And by saying that he's also contradicting his statement that she doesn't know him, because he's totally playing into the prejudices she has about him.
--She looks like she's having about the same reaction to that little alpha display that I'm having.
--Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good picture of four, but here's five. :D
--Love Josiah kissing his horse on the forehead!!
--Ah, I think I'm going to like Josiah!
Vin: "We could use another good man." Josiah: "Not so good. But I can fight." Oh, I love that he's morally troubled by the path his life's taken.
--And now they're six.
--Oh, how cute is it that Buck's taking JD under his wing?! Buck: "If you're trying to stay hid, it's best to remove your hat." Heee!
--Elder: "Welcome. We greet you with hostility." Chris: "I think he means hospitality." Vin: "Nope, I think he means hostility."
--God, they're just so *hot* together!!
--Now why is Buck leading JD down all tied up? That's not right.
--Oooo!!
--I like that the villagers are, on their own, taking steps to defend themselves.
--Tennessee: "They don't give guns to slaves." Vin: "Well, you're not a slave anymore."
--Ah, Nathan's a cutie! And he's thinking in terms of tending to the wounded. I love how gentle he is.
--Hey, I like that Ezra's got the kids making dummies, and getting them to work by giving them tricks. (And, incidentally, keeping the kids occupied, though that might not be part of his plan.)
--I love the attention to detail with the rifle shots in the background while Ezra's talking to the kids. And then the shot going through the card he's holding up. :)
--Oh, Nathan just found the girls. :D Good job.
--This chick feeling Nathan's muscles is just too cute!
--God, Buck's such a horn-dog with the ladies. But so cute about it. :D
--Now that's a hell of a cute smile!
--Heee! Love Tennessee watching over all the women, not just his daughter. :D
--Where did Rain get those scissors?
--Poor JD, wanting to help but not getting a good shot. Now why did Buck hit him?
--Hey is the Angry Indian played by the same guy who was the Inuit Hunter in the pilot of due South? From some angles he looks like he is, and from others he doesn't.
--Buck's pissed. And I can understand that. The Seven (well, still six now) are risking their lives to defend this village, and the villagers are being hostile with them. Kind of takes the bloom off the rose a bit. Though I can also understand the Seminole POV--the Indians have very little reason to trust Whites.
--Oh, my!!
--Buck and JD wrassling together are like brothers or something, or puppies in a litter. *So* cute!!
--And now we've got the *beautiful* sunset scene here. Chris and Vin are both just gorgeous, the scenery is gorgeous, the lighting is gorgeous. But even beyond gorgeous is the *trust*. ::swoons:: Vin has known Chris for just a couple of days, not as much as a week for sure, and he's basically putting his life in Chris's hands by telling him about the $500 bounty (a very fine sum).
--Vin: "I figure if a friend collects, I get the last laugh."
--EEee!! And Chris knows exactly how much trust Vin's placing in him and he *likes* it!! Eeee! Look at that shy smile!! Flirting much?! ::swoons::
--Josiah: "I was a priest once, but I had trouble turning the other cheek."
--I wonder where Vin picked up his spy glass? I mean that's a pretty pricey piece of equipment, isn't it and it doesn't seem like Vin's ever been *rich*.
--Colonel Psycho's back. Sigh.
--Oh, dear. Apparently the presence of the gunslingers is convincing Colonel Psycho that there really *is* gold here, because he can't imagine them working for free (and reasonably so on that). That's a little bit of a misfire, though the show of strength is a good thing.
--Damn he's so pretty!
--JD really is *green*! He was way more exposed than the others.
--Oook, Josiah just got shot!!
--Oh, I love Tennessee in the war paint!! That's nice!
--Ezra got shot?
--And the women are fighting! Awesome! And taking the guns from the fallen soldiers.
--Yay for Nathan saving Rain!!
--Colonel Psycho is not entirely with it, if he's so reluctant to call retreat when his men are getting totally cut down.
--Love Buck saving JD!!
--About when is this set? I'm getting a sort of 1870-ish vibe from it.
--And now Nate's other work begins patching up the wounded.
--Oh, man!!
--Oh, man, there's so much going on with this relationship with Buck and JD. I *love* him giving these lessons. "Don't fan your gun, it spoils your aim." I'm still trying to sort out if there's slashy subtext between those two, or just a lot of brotherly subtext.
--It seems like Nathan knows a bit of Seminole.
--Oh, Ezra doesn't want Nathan to help him. Probably because he's black and Ezra's a man of his time. Love Nate fixing his dislocated shoulder all of a sudden like. :)
--Oh, I love Josiah saying a very nicely generic blessing over the one who died. Angry Indian: "Leave him. We don't believe in your white man's religion." Josiah: "Nor do I my friend."
--Now why didn't Josiah go to Nathan for help with his wound?? He does seem to have a bit of a ... well, death wish is too strong, but he's not really avoiding it either is he?
--Elder: "Why didn't you tell us you were hurt?" Josiah: "You didn't ask." Huh.
--Oh, poor JD trying to drink himself into a stupor. It must be a hard thing facing the reality of being a gunslinger. He's worked at it, obviously developed skills, *practiced* and now he's actually killed a man, and it's not what he was expecting at all.
--I wonder if maybe Chris feels a little paternal toward JD. Ah, now there's Buck thinking the same thing. Though, really, why is he sharing Chris's story with JD? That's not his story to tell and I doubt Chris would be pleased with him telling it.
--I have this feeling that Ezra wouldn't be hanging with the kids if he didn't feel like he could get something from them. But I'm not sure what that is.
--Oh, I love Ezra lecturing the children on the nature of courage.
--Oh, and now we see what he wanted to learn from the kids. I was right that there was something.
--Oh, now Chris admiring the Angry Indian's baby is so sweet. Such a different side to the man, though sort of explained by Buck's story about him losing his wife and son.
--Chris: "Home, family. Things worth fighting for." ::hugs Chris::
--Ezra's supposed to be on watch, not exploring abandoned gold mines. Sigh!!
--So they missed the Ghosts coming back because Ezra wasn't really watching when he should have? I think that's what I'm supposed to be getting here....but surely it would take more than a couple of hours to cross that vast open plain around the village and get that cannon into position. Wouldn't it? Maybe not, I suppose it is a battle cannon and they're used to handling it.
--Oh, so nice!!
--Oh, Ezra, Ezra, honey!! I hate knowing what you're about to do.
--Okay Col. Psycho has snot running from his nose and he's spitting when he talks. He's *lost* it!! And he was scary enough before.
--So why is Tennessee saving his *organ*? I get that it's important to him, I do, but *damn*!!
--Okay, apparently they're blaming Ezra. I guess even if he missed them setting up the canon, he should be *doing* something about it.
--Oh, Ezra!! ::wince::
--Okay, so Chris threw out the suggestion of raising a white flag, but really didn't expect anyone to go for it, I guess. Because it got rejected without discussion and they've moved on to other options.
--Okay, so Col. Psycho's injured, apparently. Is that supposed to make me sympathetic?
--Buck: "Fear keeps you sharp, kid." JD: "Buck, you're full of crap." Buck: "Hee, hee. You're just figuring that out now?" Yay for JD!
--I love Captain Conscience here trying to convince the Colonel to stop firing, even if he doesn't have a chance of talking sense into the man.
--Oook! The Angry Indian just got shot. I didn't remember that. Well poop! That's sad.
--Captain Conscience: "Surrender or die where you stand." Vin: "I'll take that five dollars now." :)
--Come on Ezra...your friends need you. Yay!!
--Oh so cool! They're all prisoners, armed men all around, and Vin's just lying there looking so *calm*. And gorgeous. And calm.
--Okay, so maybe I do feel a tiny little bit of sympathy for Colonel Psycho, because that whole Shiloh thing does sound really awful!
--I like hearing about JD's backstory there. If his mum was a chambermaid, he was quite possibly the son of the master of the house (otherwise the maid would have gotten sacked I imagine). So since he couldn't go to college, he came out West to see what he could make of himself. I kind of like that. He's definitely a scrappy kid.
--Josiah (to Buck): "Mind not leaning against my bad leg?" Poor Josiah! About to die, but he needn't be *uncomfortable*. :D
--Colonel Psycho drinks from a bottle of laudanum like other men drink from whiskey bottles. Oh, dear. It's amazing he manages to be as with it as he is.
--Captain Conscience is trying to reason with the Psycho. Trying to appeal to his sense of fair play that they can't kill men who surrendered. I admire you for trying honey, but he's not sane enough for logical argument to work.
--Captain Conscience: "I'll have you know Colonel Anderson was one of the finest soldiers in any man's army. I owe my life to him." Vin: "And soon your death."
--Oh, I like Chris trying to work his way out of the cuffs. That's gotta hurt, in fact it clearly does (his hand's bleeding and everything), but he's keeping his face from showing it. Nice!!
--Why isn't the Elder showing where the mine is if it's all played out? It's not going to be obvious to Col. Psycho that it's all played out at a simple glance, right? And it would buy them some time.
--Oh, dear and Ezra's learning the difference between an unconnected gang in a bar and an organized Army.
--Chris has an ankle holster? Alternatively, they didn't disarm the prisoners, maybe. Why was Vin tied up with a rifle right next to him?
--Chris: "Don't ever run out on me again."
--Captain Conscience is going to help them kill the Colonel. That's morally satisfying.
--Why is Chris taking the Angry Indian's knife? They're armed with their normal weapons, right?
--Why didn't the army in the village hear the gunshots up on the top of the bluff?
--Yay for Ezra blowing up their Confederate flag!!
--Wow, they're all just completely out in the open, no cover at all except a rapidly dissipating cloud of dust and smoke??? It's beautifully dramatic, but why don't they all die? (Apologies for the crappy screencap, BTW, but this was as good as it got for this.)
--Love that Vin's sticking with Chris, even though that means he's not finding cover as quickly as the others did.
--Oh, poor Captain Conscience...he did truly deserve to live. Though I don't think he's actually dead yet, just mortally wounded.
--::humina::
--Wow, Vin got a solid shot on the Colonel, though in the shoulder so probably not fatal, and he's just popping right back up. I suppose the Colonel's so drugged on laudanum that he barely felt it anyway, but it must have been creepy as all hell for poor Vin.
--He's like Rasputin. He just won't die. Even Josiah comments on it, "Bastard won't go down." And, hey, Nathan mentions the laudanum. Yay!
--Oh, JD, honey!! Didn't you hear Buck tell you never to break cover?? And Buck just got chopped in his place because of it!
--And Josiah's shot trying to save Buck! If they both die, JD's going to have such the survivor guilt.
--Yay!! I love that Nathan's knife is what finally got Col. Psycho off his horse.
--And Captain Conscience gets his redemption. Col. Psycho really isn't all that savvy about people, though I guess that's part of being a psychopath. But he saw the shaking of Capt. Conscience's gun as a sign of fear, and I saw it as a sign that the Captain really did care about him and really didn't want to have to shoot him. Not afraid, but hoping for a different solution.
--Nice!
--Hey, the flag survived the explosion.
--Oh, wait, Captain Conscience did survive.
--Buck's pretty much expecting that he's going to die here. And he's giving JD his hat as a parting gift. ::hugs Buck::
--Oh, that's why Chris took the knife, to give it to the Elder. Oh, he's definitely hurting for the old man here, having lost his son and so many of his tribe.
--::squeals and flails:: Chris is going to Tascosa with Vin to hlep him clear his name!! Eeeee!!
--I love them giving the Elder back the pendant he'd used to pay them. Vin: "We never could figure out how to split it seven ways."
--eeee!! I'm going a little overboard here because they're so close together and the smiles are so cute. :)
--Look how happy JD is to see Buck alive! It can't have been all that long since the end of the battle if he doesn't know Buck survived.
--Oh, and how sweet that Ezra's still playing with the kids of the village. That's so cute!
--Oh, and I do like that Ezra's the one to invite Nathan to ride with them. :D
--Jeeze Nathan's cute! (As is Rain, she's got *such* a sweet smile.) And *damn* Nathan's voice is nice.
--Okay, so are *all* of them (except Nathan) going to Tascosa to help Vin clear his name? I mean they're all riding off together, and there's a certain amount of feeling themselves a unit (Buck invites JD to ride with "us" for example). But only Chris and Vin talk about Tascosa. I bet the first stop's the town in any case.
--Oh, and I love Rain sending Nathan off after them. That's sweet! She really is awfully damned cute too. :D
--Eeee!! What a wonderful ending with them all riding off together!!
All screencaps are my own. Feel free to use them however you like. Unless you like to use screencaps by hotlinking. Please don't do that; it's not nice.