While I was at my friend’s book signing for her new release UNDEAD FOR A DAY, another author friend pulled me aside in a corner of Mysterious Galaxy  and asked what was going on with Hell on Wheels. She though it might be over. My mother-in-law asked the same thing the next day seriously upset about it. So even two weeks later, people are still stunned and shocked by the season finale. Personally, I loved it. Before I go on, here is the obligatory sunset picture.

First off, I thought the two-hour finale of Season Two was the best episode of Hell on Wheels  yet. I adore this show for so many reasons, but I was confused about the characters as season two started out. I’m not going to give any spoilers but I loved how the season shook things out. Hopefully AMC is going forward with a Season Three, and I don’t want to ruin the great twists and turns for those of you who are not caught up.

I got bumped from the TV Sunday night of the HOW finale because the Chargers were playing. We have two old TVs upstairs with basic cable which means I’ll have to watch it later. I decided to watch it the next day so I can pause, rewind and watch with full concentration. When I first turned on the episode very early Monday morning, knowing I can’t watch it all, but wanting a dose of happy before my day got started, I was momentarily confused.  I must have missed an episode or something, though that couldn’t be possible. It was early Monday morning after all. I’m talking 6am.  Then I realized they were telling the story backwards or out-of-order mostly.  Love that!!!

I think they did a gripping and excellent execution of the edge-of-your-seat finale. For me, they started getting things rolling towards this finale in Episode 6, Purged Away with Blood, where Reverend Cole goes officially ape-sh*t nuts. We were all expecting it, but it didn’t play out how I thought it would at all. But huge hints were given, and in retrospect, you could see the clues. The distraction of his troubled relationship with Ruth led me to believe he’d revert to his pattern of domestic violence, but what he did do proved so much more interesting and globally relevent. I loved Joseph in this episode. His character amazes me and reflects Bohannon’s journey in many ways. Both have lost forever the only way of life they have known. But the new life is fraught with the same old human frailties and loss as the last. There were loads of great character revealing moments in Episode Six. Durant impressed me by being clever and tough enough to thwart Cole’s agenda, even though Durant might have been dying. I loved that Cullen asked the reverend Cole to pray on his declaration to shed so much blood. And I think Cullen meant it, which seems to be reinforced in the following episodes. Also this might give a little insight about Cullen’s single-minded motivation in Season One to kill the men who murdered his wife and son. Cullen goes to Cole’s funeral and is disappointed when Ruth believes that some men can’t be redeemed. I think The Bible and that redemption is Cullen’s backup plan which I think accurately reflects a man of his time.

So I said I was going to talk about the Season Two Finale, so here it is, without overt spoilers.

The episode could have been titled Fire and Brimstone. The writers didn’t hold back and I loved it. So like I said at first, it starts out-of-order. The town has been decimated and Cullen is obviously in shock and answering questions to the official who has come to investigate too late. It’s a mess, y’all. You don’t know who is living and who is dead. I’m thinking this better not be a finale, finale. The story unfolds almost punctuating the episode with Cullen’s recount to the officials. Guess what? I’m not going to say more. In detail, anyway. They did turn everything upside down and made way for an amazing Third Season. One more thing I think was revealing about Cullen was when he was questioned about the officials about why he didn’t protect the town better than he did the bridge. He said the town was replaceable. And when the official questioned him about the people he just says Replaceable. Or at least that’s how I remember it.

Despite the whole burning down the house motif of the season two finale, I think they have tons of interesting stuff for a third season. I’m anxious to see how Durant deals with having to face a trial or jail time. He’s a real person by the way. Found this interesting article comparing Durant’s railroad scam with Enron.  Cullen’s change in fortune is also ripe with possibilities. He’s in a vastly different place from the Season One opener, but I wonder if he’s not emotionally back to square one. I would like to see him be confronted with the sergeant from Season One who got away. Maybe not directly, but something to remind Cullen of the past that will make him a little nuts. The Swede may or may not be out of the picture, but I would like to see Cullen paired with a different enemy. The Swede’s just too much of a damn crazy psychopath for me to stay interested in him.  Someone mentioned to me that Joseph was set-up to be a villain, but I don’t think he has it in him. Either way, I think that would be interesting. Though Joseph told Cullen he’d never see him again, the writer in me just sees a place for an interesting reversal. What twist of fate is going to bring Joseph back into the story? The Elam and Eva relationship has been great from the start. Their future is so fraught with inherent conflict, I’m anxious to see what happens between them. My fingers are crossed for a Season Three Hell on Wheels.

Here is Burning Down the House by the Talking Heads.