"Welcome to fucking Deadwood! Can be combative!"
ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 6th/13th March 2005
EPISODE NUMBER: Season 2, Episode 1
WRITTEN BY: David Milch & Jody Worth
No disrespect to the rest of the brilliant Deadwood cast, but Ian McShane is in a league of his own. Al Swearengen is one of TV's all-time best villians. Seeing him finally go head-to-head with good guy Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) is a moment we'd been waiting for for a long time.
Al being beaten up by Bullock is the first time we've seen him humbled. He's such a dignified character, so for him to confront the reality that he's not untouchable is interesting. This later becomes a bigger theme with the storyline of Al's kidney stones over the next few episodes. It's also interesting how Al chooses not to kill Bullock when he had the choice after seeing a child and getting an attack of conscience.
The child belongs to Bullock's wife, and their arrival this episode is a game-changer for Bullock. It leads to him breaking off his relationship with Alma in order to take care of his family. Other storylines include Joanie Stubbs opening her own brothel (much to Cy Tolliver's dismay), Calamity Jane returning to camp (she begins the season with an amusing scene where she drunkenly yells "cocksuckers!" at the new arrivals), and Sol Star taking a bullet for Seth.
The final confrontation between Bullock and Swearengen, where Al finally swallows his pride and gives Bullock his badge back, is brilliantly tense. The intensifying of the rivalry between two great characters is what makes this particular two-parter worthy of representing the show on the list.
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