David Milch, master of the magnificent
Deadwood series, must've felt like a rock star trying to follow up a number one album when the time came to kick out season two. I don't even know that I'd want to be in the position of having to match such an excellent achievement; that kind of strain has driven more than one artist mad in the past. Other than
Sopranos creator David Chase, who managed to turn his "sophomore album anxiety" into a lucrative TV industry, there aren't too many of us who can understand the strain the guy was under.
Yet somehow, Milch pulled it off. Season two of
Deadwood proved that David's vision wasn't just a twelve episode fluke. The muse was still loudly roaring, and the story of a lawless little Black Hills camp attempting to claw its way into a community continued on with no seams showing on the second dozen episodes. And, like the stubborn visionary he is, Milch refused to omit a single "f word", despite the claims by some that the show was overloaded with profanity. After all, who'd expect gold miners, hookers, and tavern keepers to rely on anything other than the filthiest of language? Try to make a drama based on the lives of gangsta rappers and see how far you get trying not to use obscenities.
Picking up several months after the events that concluded episode twelve, season two opens with a bang and ends with a bigger one. You'd really need to have watched the first season to understand what's going on, since the complicated interpersonal politics developed there form the basis of season's two numerous storylines. As is typically the case, the general story centers around the attempts by saloon owner/unofficial town tyrant Al Swearengen (played with masterful aplomb by the magnificent Ian McShane) and temperamental sheriff Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) to come to terms with one another and form a community in which both can exist. Beneath that, you have a swirling stew of violence, hedonism, greed, passion, and some of the best dialogue ever written for the screen (detractors upset over the "f bomb" never mention how eloquent the rest of the language is much of the time- Milch and the other writers almost achieve Shakespearean standards on occasion).
Beginning with an incredible (and long-awaited) brawl between the two main forces in the camp, season two finds Deadwood caught in territorial bickering. As the place becomes a more valid location in which to enrich oneself, it attracts the attention of those who'd see it annexed to this state or that, those intent on pillaging its wealth (the coming of mining mogul George Hearst is one of the prominent threads of season two), and those who seek to bring the camp into the nineteenth century (we see, amongst other things, telegraph lines and the bicycle putting in an appearance). In other words, these twelve episodes find Deadwood becoming a real town, with developments both good (a bank, improved communications) and bad (racial friction, gruesome criminal acts) putting the characters to the test.
I'll try to not ruin the surprises that await you in season two, but highlights include a kidney stone laying one of the major characters low, the bittersweet arrival of Bullock's family, the appearance and ghastly actions of George Hearst's agent, and the surprising wedding that concludes this arm of the series. For those of you who found the first season as awesome as I did, look for the return and increased involvement of old stand-bys Calamity Jane, Charlie Utter, Cy Tolliver, Joanie Stubbs, Dan Dority, Mr. Wu, Trixie, Sol Star, Alma Garrett, and the always repulsive E.B. Farnum. And, as always, necks get slit, folks get shot, bodies get fed to pigs, and at least one unexpected death comes along to shock and sadden viewers (it was Wild Bill in season one, but I won't tell you whose troubling demise gave me the blues in the vicinity of episode eleven or thereabouts). Milch has a phenomenal ability to lend depth to his characters, not to mention his talent for creating bunches of engrossing sub-plots, none of which derail the pace of the overarching narrative.
Season two extras include a featurette that examines the horrendous existence of prostitutes in real-life Deadwood, as well as shorts that capture Milch and the crew in action. It's fascinating to watch the man work, and I would've loved to be part of a show that the creator obviously cared so much about. Keone Young, the actor who played Mr. Wu, talks a bit about the lot of the Chinese in the Old West, a part of the story that many know nothing about. There's also an entertaining look at the filming of the wedding scene, and I was hugely amused to see Robin Weigert, the actress who plays Calamity Jane, getting her boogie on. Great stuff.
If you watched and loved season one of
Deadwood, then waste no time in checking out season two. It continues and expands upon the initial storyline while playing on so many different emotional levels, from gritty to sentimental to humorous. The strength of the characters (and the acting abilities of the people portraying them), the richness of the dialogue, the obvious disregard for expense when it came to sets and clothing, Milch's extraordinary sense of pacing and tension- these factors all make season two of
Deadwood one of the only box sets I own that's completely worth the money I shelled out for it.
Deadwood: Season One http://www.epinions.com/content_352945802884
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