04x05 - Life's Mystery

[bunniefuu]

Previously on AMC’s Hell on Wheels…

Have you conquered Sherman Peak yet?

Working on it.

Get my railroad moving, Mr. Bohannon.

I'm closing your casino.

Don't resist, Mickey. I'll get you out.

Sign this paper giving me title to the casino.

Campbell is a bureaucrat.

He's a carpetbagger.

No carpetbagger will take my railroad.

You have deceived this entire community.

[Cage clatters] Tell me who you are!

I should have known that…
family life wasn’t for you.

[Chuckles]

[Horse chuffs]

[Speaking spanish]

I reckon he's asking for your last words, Sid.

Shucks, Jose, I never was much of a poet.

Your fancy tongue with these boys' sisters is about to get you hung.

[Scoffs]

[Speaking spanish]

He’s real twisted up, ain’t he?

He sure is.

What you thinking, amigo?

I'm thinking Virginia City.

There was only two in Virginia City.

Yeah, you let me figure that part.

When?

On my say-so.

[Speaking spanish]

Uno.

W-w-wait.

What about, uh...

"Life's a mystery."

You mean as your last words?

Yeah.

Dos.

[g*n cocks]

Maybe you do got some poetry in you after all, Sid.

You mean that, or are you just saying it?

I'm just saying it.

[Laughs]

Honest up to the end, Jose.

I'll give you that.

¡Tres!

[g*nsh*t]

[Spaghetti Western music]

♪ ♪

[Horse whinnies]

♪ I was a boy ♪
♪ who worshipped his mother ♪
♪ I was the faithful and dutiful son ♪
♪ forever drawn to the lure of a beautiful woman ♪
♪ I'm a disciple of passion like anyone ♪
♪ I lit the candles of white in the chapel ♪
♪ ♪
♪ sang in the choir on Sunday but what ♪
♪ heart understands ♪
♪ judges the soul ♪
♪ of a man ♪
♪ one day I'll ride to the glorious place ♪
♪ in the Heavens ♪
♪ narrow's the way for a mother's favorite son ♪

[Insect chirping quietly]

[Rope creaking]

[Rope snaps]

[Horses neighing]

[Coughing]

Sure enough, Jose.

Life sure is a mystery, amigo.

[Spaghetti Western music]

♪ ♪

[Coughs]

[Western folk music]

♪ ♪

[Thudding, woman cries out]

This was in our son's crib.

All right.

I'll get some sideboards.

This baby needs four walls and a door that locks.

I know he does.

He needs a home.

Workin' on it.

By order of the Governor, all firearms are banned from the casino floor and will be collected in a barrel outside.

[People yelling angrily]

Any man in violation will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Good luck, gentlemen.

Happy with your deal, Mr. McGinnes?

Gave it away for nothing.

Price of freedom.

Freedom from Campbell and freedom from you.

I had plans to secure your release.

We were in this together, Mickey.

You're in it alone, and now… so am I.

[Train whistle blows]

[Whistle blows]

[Imitates g*nsh*t]

[Chuckles]

[Thud, brakes squeal]

End of the line!

Cheyenne.

[Man shouting announcement indistinctly]

Last stop!

Let's get through the back here.

[Chatter, bell ringing]

How about you, sir?

[Overlapping chatter] Hey, there, darlin'.

[Women giggling]

[Thudding, men grunting]

Ohh! Uhh!

[Moaning]

Bohannon?

Colonel Bohannon!

Ha ha ha!

Naked man seem that know you.

Yeah.

Whoever he is... he don't know me now.

♪ Oh, I'm a good ol' rebel ♪
♪ now, that's just what I am ♪
♪ and for this yankee nation, I do not give a damn ♪
♪ I'm glad I fought agin' her ♪
♪ I only wish we'd won ♪
♪ ain't never asked for pardon for anything I done ♪

You are colonel Cullen Bohannon.

I'm Cullen Bohannon.

[Laughs]

Sid. Sid Snow.

18th Virginia?

Our companies came together back in '64.

Mm.

It was a long w*r a long time ago.

Longer than I come acrost you.

I never seen a meaner yankee k*ller on God's green earth.

Well...

I got a flatbed to load mister, now, so...

Reckon I got one to load likewise.

Well, stack 'em high and tight, then.

[Laughs]

Cullen Bohannon.

Last time we worked a train together...

Must have been, what, Lufton's Crossing in Northern Virginia?

That's the one. I remember it like yesterday.

Load 'em up! [Bell dinging]

Well, train's pullin' out.

Hey, uh, you got room for another Johnny Reb?

Only job left's throwin' rock.

You got somethin' else?

I ain't got nothin'.

Hey, Psalms?

Yeah.

You got room for one more?

Name's Sid.

He's with me.

Know your way around a shovel, Sid?

I'm a quick study.

Ain't too many ways to study rock.

Welcome to Union Pacific.

Load 'em up!

We a long way from the South, ain't we?

Yeah.

Ain't but one direction left.

I know it don't make no sense, but we spend our days blowin' up this mountain in pieces, pick up the pieces, put 'em in wagons.

Damn. They got to blow up the whole mountain?

Yeah, all the way to Salt Lake City.

Utah?

We break for lunch on occasion.

Any good?

Boiled meat.

Come out here lookin' for glory, son, best look somewheres else.

I follow you into w*r.

Reckon I'll follow you into this.

What's the trouble, Monroe?

Slack work's the trouble.

Slack, you say?

I ain't stutter none.

Oh ho! Bohannon, listen to the way these n*gg*r*s talk to us.

Whoa, hey.

Let me to talk to you for a second.

This right here, hey, is my job.

Now, I work with these men.

That man right there, he my boss.

You got yourself a n*gg*r boss.

He's yours too, if you want to be here, all right?

Well, life is a mystery.

I'll give you that, Bohannon.

sh*t.

Citizens appear to be complying with the ban.

No one's discharged a firearm since this morning.

[Wood creaking]

You hear somethin'?

[Men shouting orders]

What the hell do you think you're doin'?

I'm reading the Cheyenne Leader.

We could have been k*lled!

Smallest of pities.

Permission from the commissioner of the General Land office to invoke the right of eminent domain for the construction of a roundhouse.

You can't tear down a Government building!

And you can't muscle into the casino business.

Yet here we are.

What we are building here, Mr. Campbell, is a roundtable.

A locomotive drives onto it, and with the turn of a lever, the train turns around and around until it is pointed in the opposite direction, ready to head back East...

Where some people belong.

g*ns off and in the barrel.

I thought I came West.

Thought wrong. New law now.

That ain't my law.

We just comin' for a quick drink, is all.

Why separate a man from his g*ns?

Come on.

Gamblers kept gettin' k*lled.

That’s why they call it gamblin’.

First one's on me.

Come on, come on!

[Background chatter, laughter]

That's the one, lads.

Come on, come on!

Ah!

Oh!

I'm out. No, no, no.

No, best of luck, lads.

Best of luck. I'm out.

Wallace, my boy! Hey.

Friend to friend?

60 hasn't hit in months.

Ah, you are a gentleman and a scholar, Mr. Mayor.

All right, I won't keep you.

Good luck.

Thank you.

Mayor's gonna buy you a drink, Marshal Jessup.

On the old house, as it were.

Oh, your money's no good here.

Ah, it's one drink.

I insist.

What I mean to say is, we no longer accept patronage from Irish scum the likes of you...

As it were.

Isn't wise to kick a man while he's down.

He’s liable to kick back.

Hmm.

Here. Here's somethin' for ya.

Fresh from a English dandy I met down in Juarez.

Mmm. Damn.

That is fresh.

It smells like home, don't it?

Well, go on! sh*t ain’t gonna chew itself.

You aim to make today regular, say the word.

I'll talk to Psalms.

No money. Rotten food.

16-hour days.

I can't think of a single reason why not.

I don't know why you toil like that dusk 'til dawn.

Started it.

So quit. We'll ride for Denver.

No. Left too much undone already.

You'd do well to help me finish.

[Spits]

I ain’t cut out for the work.

Find a better way to live down by the border?

I got by.

'Cause a train ticket to Cheyenne...

That can turn into a death certificate, you ain't careful.

I ain’t crossed no one I can’t handle yet.

Is that what you did down in Mexico?

Handle things?

I ain't never seen rope burns on a live man before.

I didn't do nothin' in Mexico...

Unless a misunderstandin’ with a señorita be a hangin’ offense.

[Laughs]

Ain't no crime there, I guess.

Yeah, you know a little somethin' about them señoritas, don’t you?

Heard tell.

[Laughs]

Found a place to bunk yet?

Stable lets you sleep in the straw for a nickel a night.

You'll stay with me and my wife.

Ain't much. Roof and meal.

Well, I suppose it's worth meetin' the lion tamer done caged Cullen Bohannon.

[Spits]

Ah, damn.

Open the gate!

[Horn blowing]

Lord lion, Father Prophet, Brother Young.

Welcome to Fort Smith.

Yes.

I am brother Aaron Hatch, acting presiding elder, head of the militia.

The letter writer?

Yes. Thank you for gracing us.

The order to hang a Bishop is a serious matter.

I hope your indictment is beyond reproof and this is not a waste of my time.

Uh, while you are visiting us, the maidens of our community.

I've come to hand down judgment, not take up wives.

Name of the prophet Joseph bless you all.

Bless this bounty.

Show me the accused impostor.

You remember that beefsteak raid in Prince George County?

Stole 3,000 head under Grant's nose.

Rode with them boys from Texas.

Ate like kings for a month. You 'member?

Remember gettin' tired of beef.

[Laughs]

Yeah, but them first few steaks?

Mmm.

Don't hold a candle to this fine meal here, ma'am.

I apologize if we are boring you with old times.

It reminds me of home, actually.

Mm. Naomi's father heads a Mormon militia at a ward some ways North.

Father trained with the same men, bested the U.S. cavalry in Utah.

Bested the Yankees?

Reckon I'd like to meet that man and buy him a drink.

We're a sober people.

[Chuckles]

You mean besides your husband.

He ever spoke on Lufton's Crossing?

Mm-mm. My husband doesn't speak on the w*r.

Apologies. I only...
'Cause you said you were accustomed.

No need to stop on my account.

I can’t believe he ain’t told you this already.

It was the best day of our lives.

It was June of '64, and we come across this empty train at a whistle stop in backwoods Virginia.

It was the definition of a sitting duck.

But when we get inside... Now, you're gonna love this part...

When we get inside, it's a medical train.

And it's not empty. It's piled up with Yankees.

They all hobbled up on cots. They're cryin' to their mamas.

They ain’t got a g*n, nothin’.

We jump a couple sentries, and then it's just bam...

Bam... bam...

Bam...

All dead.

That's finished. The w*r ended.

[Chuckles]

Damn, Bohannon, they had it comin'.

They did, right?

John...

Have a seat.

Um, whiskey?

I've been tasked to bring order to this city by the next President of the United States.

You say you bring order, yet men hang from saloon rafters and lampposts.

Lynch, burn, bludgeon, or bury...

I will do whatever's necessary to rid this city of corruption, then seize your railroad.

Seize my railroad?

Are you having headaches, John?

Huh?

T-t-that edema.

Forgive me, I have a degree in ophthalmology from Albany Medical College.

You see, ocular malformations can inhibit mental processes, clouding one's sight, leaving one delusional.

My vision is perfectly clear.

In fact, I can see into the future, Doctor.

You're not in it.

One moment, the world is as clear as day.

The next... [snaps fingers]

It flashes to black.

[Chuckles]

[Laughs]

First your city, then your railroad.

[Belches]

[Spits]

[Wood creaks]

[Screams]

On the old house, as it were.

[Knock at door]

I know you remember that train.

And I know you got hounds on your heels for somethin' you done over the border.

Hmm?

You keep a g*n within reach, your head on a swivel, and the only time I seen pistols plated in silver was on man tangled with Mexicans.

Then you spoke like you done at dinner in front of my wife?

All you need to know is, nobody findin' me here, Bohannon.

You got somebody after you.

They after the bounty, I reckon.

Ain't nobody findin' me.

You need money, I'll spare my last.

Somebody comes lookin' for ya, I'll keep a tight lip.

But as for a place to stay?

Got to be no.

Southern man don't open his home, then dishonor his word.

I got family inside. I won't risk it.

Risk what...

Your job chuckin' rocks with n*gg*r*s, this sh*t-splattered tent with rats?

Hell, I know what it is.

That little Mormon wench has got your balls pressed tight between the pages of her Bible.

My wife's name is Naomi.

That's what I like about you, Bohannon.

You carry the worrying share for the both of us.

Adiós.

Come on.

Sidney never came back?

He's probably halfway to Denver by now.

Part of you wishes you were ridin' with him.

Sidney spoke true about that train last night.

Sick and wounded...

k*lled 'em all...

The doctors too.

I can't make sense of it.

Can't.

We was tired of losin' the w*r.

Men like Sidney...

They like to think we won somethin' that day.

Me, I just...

All I can remember is, after it was over, how hot my g*n was.

Smelled like blood and honeysuckle.

So when we talk about Sidney...

Yeah.

I ain't no better than him.

No, that's your mistake.

All the people I could lose money to, beautiful woman tops my list.

Familiar with the term "Drawing dead"?

Honey, I'm always drawin' live.

If I were to die, I reckon I'd use my last breath on you.

I bet it all.

Ain't fair to take a man's money and run.

You ain’t positioned to be givin’
lessons on what’s fair, now, is you?

Is you?

Hey. Get out of here.

Watch yourself.

[g*nsh*t]

Señor Snow, manos arriba.

Sí, sí.

[g*n clicking] sh*t.

Suéltela.

¡Suéltela!

[g*n thuds]

Al suelo.

[Sighs]

Date la vuelta. Quiero ver tu cara.

Y ahora dime tus últimas palabras.

La vida es un misterio.

[Screams]

Any last words?

[Running footsteps]

[Thud]

[Clicks tongue, sighs]

You sh*t a kid.

Oh, no, he was caught in the crossfire.

No, he wasn't. You sh*t him.

[Baby fusses]

[Sighs]

You turn around real slow.

[Baby fusses] Shh.

Take him.

[Baby fusses]

Shh.

You all right? You all right?

We... we... we needed bread.

[Baby crying]

Now leave us.

[Door creaks closed]

Brother Brigham...

Lion of the Lord.

I bow down before Your glory.

Be advised...

My hand will fall with the might of God's fist should he reveal a necessary judgment today.

I accept your judgment...

As Heavenly Father's own.

Brother Hatch charges you presided over this ward as an impostor after murdering Bishop Joseph Dutson and his family.

How do you meet these charges?

I am a former immigrant...

A soldier, prisoner of w*r.

I was born and have remained to this day a pilgrim, a lone man on an... on an exodus West to the promised land, cast out.

But every home I have found as a... as a leper.

My time as father of this ward...

It's already fostered a miracle.

My miracle is Cullen Bohannon...

A man who cast me out, tried to k*ll me, was brought to this ward by the hand of God to be saved.

And after a winter of spiritual healing, this gentile, sinner, k*ller, slaver fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

If that is not divine Providence of God...

Then, brother...

Hang me.

I believe father's lips have not pursed at your ear, nor his hands laid on your shoulders.

You appear nothing more than a ravening wolf.

What you stand accused of, spilling the blood of a Saint, is a heinous, sinful crime whose just punishment must be of equal weight and measure.

Yes.

[Sighs]

And yet the spur line, which proves essential to the Saint's journey west to the promised land, has made twice the progress under your tenure than it did under your predecessor.

You worked on the Gentile's road?

Under Thomas Durant, head of...

I know who he is.

What did you think of the man?

I hated him with the fire of a thousand suns.

Perhaps Heavenly Father has a use for you yet.

That man sh*t a child.

He'll know justice.

Our son was next.

Hey.

Hey.

I wouldn’t let that happen.

I thought you would have k*lled him.

I wasn't gonna sh**t her, and you know it...

Same I knew you wasn't gonna sh**t me.

Hmm.

I wished I had.

That ain't so, Bohannon.

Truth is, you even wish you were in here with me, waitin' for someone like us to bust us out.

That’s it, ain’t it?

You miss it.

Nah.

I'll be glad to watch you hang.

I've been hung before.

Life sure is a mystery, ain’t it, Bohannon?

[Door opens, closes]

Oh.

Any business with the Governor will have to wait until morning.

Tell me why you did it.

Did what?

Jessup is dead.

I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about.

I loved him.

You... loved him?

Oh, I see.

Well, whatever it is you think I've done, I can assure you, you are wrong.

Stop lying.