HELL ON WHEELS Stop Turning

Article first published as 'Hell on Wheels - Season 5, Volume 2' on Blogcritics.

AMC’s Hell on Wheels, often ignored, but worthy of the great network it aired on among peers like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Walking Dead, came to an end recently with its final seven episodes. Centered around the building of the transcontinental railroad, the series followed some really good characters, as well as a depiction of racial relations at the time, as the workers labored to connect America coast to coast following the Civil War. Now, those last installments are available on Blu-ray and DVD, along with some extras.

What strikes me about this final batch of episodes, which I eagerly devoured in two sittings, is that they are, on balance, more character-driven than most of the seasons. Don’t get me wrong, Hell on Wheels has done some beautiful and disturbing stories featuring its players over the years. But usually those are scenes intermixed with larger arcs and many moving plots. Here, four of the seven episodes really zero in on one or two faces, with much of the main cast sitting out multiple installments, and the finale serves pretty much all of those left standing. This leaves only two hours for the basic narrative about the railroad as a whole.

This works very well, even if it does depart from what most long-time viewers might expect from the show. The completion of the tracks still gets its due near the end, with one more really good story about pulling together and doing the impossible, the two companies racing one another to the finish line. However, by often focusing even more than ever on the central characters, it allows solid endings for a lot of the players we have come to deeply care about. And though many of them either die or leave before the end, each hour shedding another face or two, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to send the show off.

Among those who get an appropriate goodbye are: Fong (Angela Zhou), the woman disguised as a man; Maggie Palmer (Chelah Horsdal), the hotel owner who sees the best in people; Psalms (Dohn Norwood), the former slave with whom our once-slave-owner protagonist forms a bond; Naomi (MacKenzie Porter), the young Mormon wife of our hero, from whom he’s been physically separated; Chinese mob villain Chang (Byron Mann); and, of course, The Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl), the primary antagonist from Norway who has been permanently scarred by the horrors of war.

Then there’s our remaining central quartet, who have been through so much together on on their own, and whom get more than a single hour to wrap their own stories up. Cullen Bohannan (Anson Mount) is not just the central figure, but a man who learns a lot over these past years, and who finds himself at his most vulnerable as things come to a close. Bohannan says so much without words, and I continue to be impressed at Mount’s performance. Thomas Durant (Colm Meaney) is the crooked boss, through whom we begin to wonder if the ends might just justify the means. Eva (Robin McLeavy) is the girl who is perhaps the ultimate survivor, going from prisoner to whore to entrepreneur. Mickey McGinnes (Phil Burke) is the Irish immigrant pursuing the American dream, learning it costs a heck of a lot to achieve. Each of these have very touching moments as their threads tie off.

Hell on Wheels is not a happy ending type of a show. Many beloved characters have passed over the years, and happiness routinely eludes just about everyone. These people live a harsh life with a gritty reality, and that continues through the finale, with no artificial wrap up that’s too neat for their existence. That being said, there’s a full circle to be found, and the conclusions are satisfying in keeping with the series overall.

The extras in Season 5, Volume 2 are unfortunately thin. Three featurettes run less than five minutes each. A little more valuable are the “Inside the Episode” bits, which are about five minutes each, and there’s one for every hour in the set. Still, I wish the producers were a little less taciturn than the characters, and really examined what the show has accomplished over its six-year run.

In the end, though, I greatly enjoy Hell on Wheels, and will certainly miss it. If you didn’t catch it during its original airing, now is your chance, as all of the episodes have been released, ending with Hell on Wheels Season 5, Volume 2, on sale now. The Complete Series is also available. I definitely recommend it.

HELL ON WHEELS No Longer "Elusive"

Article first published as HELL ON WHEELS Review Season 4 on Seat42F.

AMC’s Western series about the construction of the railroad, HELL ON WHEELS, is back for a fourth season this weekend. Picking up four months after the events of season three, not every character shows up in the first episode, and for those that do, many have gone through some changes in circumstance. But as much as some things change, some stay the same, and the paths of several should land them, more or less, right back where we’re used to seeing them.

The biggest question on many fans minds is if Elam (Common) survived the bear attack that left him lying, bloody, on the ground. (YOU MAY WANT TO SKIP THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW.) I can confirm that Elam does not appear in the premiere episode, “The Elusive Eden,” nor is he in the big cast photo released or the opening credits. However, Entertainment Weekly has reported that Common will return and he has been spotted with the rest of the cast, so he’s likely to pop up sooner or later.

HELL ON WHEELS has an interesting way of storytelling in that it lets arc progress naturally, which often means characters sit out for episodes at a time. While some series may contract their principal players for only a certain number of episodes to save budget, it seems like HELL ON WHEELS limits screen time when the story warrants. For instance, “The Elusive Eden” has several threads to tug on and explore, but leaves out characters such as Ruth (Kasha Kropinski) and Louise (Jennifer Ferrin), who are said to still be with the show. I kind of dig that the writers don’t squeeze in people when they don’t fit, even if I’d like to know what they’re up to. As long as they are touched upon at a later point, we’re good, as neither woman’s tale feels complete.

The main character whom the entire show revolves around, and thus he has to appear every week, remains Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount). Awaiting the birth of his child by Naomi (unfortunately recast as a noticeably older-looking Mackenzie Porter), Bohannon tests the boundaries of his dynamic with The Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl), still posing as a Mormon bishop. While Bohannon’s usual foe, Durant (Colm Meaney), is selfish and despicable, there is something even more magnetic about The Swede, making for some truly excellent scenes between Mount and Heyerdahl as the nemesis they play dance around one another.

I don’t know if Bohannon will ever rid himself of The Swede entirely, and I kind of hope he doesn’t, but surely he’ll soon make his way back into the orbit of Durant. With Bohannon off the job, the railroad is struggling to keep going, missing deadlines and at the mercy of incompetent leadership. While Durant has his power, he is making enemies, including of former ally Maggie Palmer (Chelah Horsdal, now full-time), and as much as he might dislike Bohannon, he may need his help.

Eva (Robin McLeavy) also brings the pathos in “The Elusive Eden.” Still mourning Elam’s apparent death, she is having trouble moving on with her life. Perhaps if she hadn’t given up her child, the baby would provide her with motivation, but for now she seems content to scrub laundry. It’s Durant, of all people, who tries to light a spark in her, the writers once again striving for the unexpected, though not so much so that it feels unnatural, as Durant has taken an interest in her before, if only occasionally.

I like that the characters on HELL ON WHEELS often aren’t friends. The Wild West, mainly seen as Cheyenne currently, is a dangerous, unstable place. Alliances are struck, only to be broken and re-formed when convenient. This makes for unpredictable storytelling, keeping the plot engrossing. Conflict is rampant, and that can be even better than the heart-warming uniting of those coming together for a common purpose, which the program only occasionally shows.

Entering the fray this year is the new Governor of Wyoming, John Campbell (Jake Weber, Medium). Like General Grant, Campbell is a real person in history, though surely fictionalized enough to ratchet up the drama. Coming into town, he is likely to spur with Durant, Bohannon, and the now-mayor of Cheyenne, Mickey McGinnes (Phil Burke). I’m curious to see how fresh blood will shake up the chemistry this time, which has already been frequently changed over the course of the show’s run.

“The Elusive Eden” is a strong continuation of a solid show, and certainly up to the standards previously set. HELL ON WHEELS returns to AMC Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.