A New Villain Entered the 'Lawmen: Bass Reeves' Chat
Bass Reeves was just picking up steam. Over the past couple of episodes, a new outlaw-of-the-week would demand the famous lawman's attention away from home, put him in the crosshairs of a gunfight, and threaten his patience with the law. The following week, he’d do it all over again. That’s the life of a deputy U.S. Marshal—and the making of a damn good television show. But when the Episode Five cliffhanger put Bass Reeves (David Oyelowo) in the path of an old adversary, everything went topsy-turvy.
Here's a real line that Esau Pierce (Barry Pepper)—the former Confederate Army regiment leader and this show's new main villain—says to Reeves this week. "Where I built my ranch, the land is littered with ancient bones of giants," he tells him. "Monsters. Thigh bones as big as a man... But I know a monster when I see one. Come pay me a visit one day. You’ll feel right at home."
What is this? Taylor Sheridan’s Lord of the Rings? Someone must have accidentally sent this man the scripts to House of the Dragon Season Two instead. Bass Reeves, please steer clear of this nut case. He might cast some powerful warlock spell on you that you’re not prepared for at your current level. The prisoner calls him... "Mr. Sundown." Eerie stuff!
So, Reeves heads to the bar, where he drinks whiskey and processes what that crazy man just said to him. He’s really going through it. The lawman sobs to another Texas Ranger—whom he just met over whiskey shots!—and muses about the weight of the badge. “Someone once told me there ain’t no law in the territory... starting to think there ain’t no god either,” he says. "Don’t despair, amigo," Reeves's new drinking buddy replies.
Stumbling around drunk in the dark—while Billy Crow sleeps with a prostitute, mind you—Reeves promptly gets into a big tussle with some of Jim Webb’s men from last week. I guess they’re looking for revenge. After beating up on Reeves, Crow ends up being his savior right in the nick of time. If the series isn’t going to have Reeves take on Pierce until the finale, I guess the lawman just needed something to do in the meantime?
After all of that, I wish I could tell you that more goes down this week, but this isn't a busy episode. Bass Reeves is in his sad boy era. When he comes home to find his wife Jennie (Lauren E. Banks) having dinner with Edwin Jones (Grantham Coleman) and Esme (Joaquina Kalukango), he immediately tells Jones that he’s “sitting in his chair." He’s tired from his night of drinking and madman monologues about giant bones buried in their yard. "Daddy just had a bad day," Reeves tells his daughter. Let the man sleep! Maybe next week will be better.
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