Since I was little, I've heard of the atrocities that went on when Canada's own rail roads were being built. Minorities were exploited, whole families were destroyed and uprooted, and lives were lost in pursuit of Canada's dream of being united from coast to coast. It isn't anything new or shocking any more. It has become something of an old wound; something that hasn't healed over yet, that we all know is there but, like so many others, we can't heal. We tread around it somewhat delicately.
AMC's "Hell On Wheels" is not delicate. It is gritty. It is abrasive. It is offensive. Above all, it is honest, and that was what drew me to it. The show is in it's third season now and it is only picking up steam, if you'll pardon the pun. Set after the Civil War and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the South's return to the Union, "Hell On Wheels" is rife with political tension, uncomfortable historical information, and an unflinching truth behind the motivations of the characters, the events that happen to and in spite of them, and the ways in which their reactions are impacted by the construction of the rail road.
A brief summary of some major characters.
Photo Credit: http://seriable.com/hell-on-wheels-1-01-pilot-promo-photos/)
The show focuses on former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon and his quest to find the Union soldiers who killed his wife and son during the American Civil War. When you watch the show, you realize that Cullen, despite his unfortunate first name, is not a hero. He is a protagonist, but he is no Prince Charming or White Knight. He is an anti-hero; he does not always do the right thing, he is not always a nice guy, and he has enough baggage to put Toronto International Airport under duress. Sometimes you will not like him, and that is part of what keeps him interesting.
At the beginning of the season, he is seen shooting a man in confessional with a very distinctive gun. After this, his journey brings him to "Hell On Wheels", a lawless town that follows the construction of the first transcontinental railroad , in search of the captain of the men who attacked his home. Over the course of his stay, he begins to become involved in the camp life and eventually falls head first into life as camp foreman. This puts him square in the middle of a camp filled with racism, prostitution, gunslinging, greed and ethically questionable lawmen, and all of the contempt that is bred by such a situation lands squarely on his shoulders.
(Elam Ferguson played by Common.
Photo credit: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hell-On-Wheels-The-Complete-Second-Season-Blu-ray/76254/)
Photo credit: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hell-On-Wheels-The-Complete-Second-Season-Blu-ray/76254/)
Elam Ferguson is another protagonist, and similar to Cullen, he is an anti-hero. Elam is an emancipated slave who came to work on the railroad because there was no other type of employment available for him. Right off the bat, he and Cullen butt heads over everything between Cullen's past as a plantation owner to Elam's desire for advancement and, fundamentally, respect at Hell On Wheels. Due to several circumstances, Elam and Cullen quickly become allies, though not happy ones. Their allegiance over the course of the show is one of the best examples of character and relationship growth to be seen on television today.
In later seasons, Elam's position in Hell On Wheels grows leaps and bounds, but as of the end of the first season, he advances dramatically and becomes something of a moral centre in later seasons.
Photo credit: http://blogs.amctv.com/hell-on-wheels/page/6/)
In Hell On Wheels, Thomas Durant is king. He is the principle administrator in the camp, and is responsible for the finances and upkeep of the camp. He has invested everything in the construction and throughout the first season, we learn that he is in an intense investor war with the Pacific Railway company to build the first transcontinental railway. If he wins, it will ensure that he goes down in history as the man who united the country. He is also lecherous and morally dubious, but his determination to succeed with the railway is his key character trait.
Admittedly, I admire Durant for his determination, but otherwise, he is my second least favourite character for a variety of reasons. In the second and third seasons he is knocked both down and out, but manages to manipulate Hell On Wheels in a way that is somewhat reminiscent of a Bond villain.
Photo Credit: http://blogs.amctv.com/hell-on-wheels/2013/08/qa-christopher-heyerdahl-the-swede/)
I mentioned earlier that Durant was my second least favourite character. The Swede takes the top prize in that particular category. Thor Gundersen is soldier from Norway who was taken captive by the Confederacy during the Civil War. He was kept in terrible conditions and those transformed him into a very unwell individual. After, he was employed by Durant to oversee operations at Hell On Wheels, as well as keep track of their finances. He is brutal, but efficient, in his work, and when Cullen arrives, the two immediately get off on the wrong foot, inspiring a long lasting enmity between them that lasts through the first season and onward.
The Swede is the major villain in the first and second seasons, and he becomes steadily more antagonistic as the season progresses.
Photo credit: http://www.amctv.com/shows/hell-on-wheels/photos-season-1)
Lily Bell is introduced as the wife of the surveyor hired by Durant to plan the route for the railroad development. After her husband is taken out of the picture, she takes up that role and becomes not only important for the railway, but for Hell On Wheels as a town. She is stubborn, intelligent, and not afraid to get her hands dirty if it means her husband's work is appreciated and that she gets the respect her work deserves.
Her character growth is somewhat slowed after season one, but overall, she is an example of women in media fulfilling roles that were not initially assigned to them. Lily is an interesting example because she was initially brought in as the wife of the surveyor, but she quickly becomes the linchpin for Durant's entire enterprise. By the end of season one, she learns more of the ins and outs of the railway business.
Photo credit to: http://hellonwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Eva_Toole).
Eva Toole is a prostitute who came to Hell On Wheels to begin working in a cathouse. She had been kidnapped and traded between two Native American tribes as a girl, and this experience leaves her with distinctive tattoos meant to indicate her "worth". She very quickly becomes a moral centre for the show; she is forced to take part in the world's oldest profession, but it is not all that she is. She becomes a nurse, a source of compassion and confidant to Lily, and something of a spokesperson to help Cullen put issues like resentment over slavery, conflicts with Native American tribes in the area, and even the working conditions of the prostitutes in Hell On Wheels into perspective.
She and Elam become involved in a complicated relationship that impacts both of them as well as the rest of the camp. Eva has been my favourite character since season one; she is blunt, honest, realistic, utterly unapologetic and she does not hesitate to call other characters out when they are doing something morally wrong. Her character is one of the most well written in the show.
For these blogs, I wanted to end each post with a brief bullet point of things I liked about what I was reviewing and what I did not like because I cannot cover everything in depth without going completely over my word/ page limit. So, for AMC's "Hell On Wheels":
Things I liked:
- The well rounded characters. They are not all the same, they are morally dubious, and they are beautifully written.
- The lack of a romantic subplot for the first season. This changes in later seasons but the first season is very focused on the motivation of the characters. They do not just leap in head first; they hint and slowly edge towards the romantic subplot, but it is not shoved in your face.
- The scenery and costume choices. The viewer is pulled in and made to think that yes, they are in fact in the middle of nowhere, or lost in a dense forest or trapped in the hills. Their clothing looks genuine and is very suited to the individual characters; in this show, you can tell a lot about the character by what they wear and how they wear it.
- The historical elements incorporated. Yes, it is a historically set, period show. I understand that. So are The Borgias and The Tudors, and look how those turned out. Hell On Wheels does not shy from historically uncomfortable topics; it relishes them, fleshes them out, puts a face to them, and deals with them. There is no, "Oh, the country is at war, my government is in tatters, but my biggest concern is which prostitute is going to entertain me tonight".
- The language. It is vulgar, blunt and realistic. There is nothing nice about what some of these characters say to one another, and it is something to be admired.
Things I did not like:
- The villains are almost painfully predictable. I knew in the first episode that I wasn't going to like Durant or The Swede. They are fascinating, but predictable if you've seen anything of the modern media for the past ten years.
- The use of love triangles. It was subtle, but it was there. I am the type of viewer who abhors love triangles, and they are present in Hell On Wheels, as discreet though they may be. They are well set up and established, but it still makes me cringe.
On the fence:
Through the first season, there is a heavy subplot involving Native Americans and their refusal of the railway going through their lands and interrupting their lives. It is an understandable plot point because it is real, it did happen, and the show does not shy away from these details. However, the show could have handled it better.
Photo credit: http://hellonwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Joseph_Black_Moon)
Instead of making Joseph, the representation of Native Americans being affected by the influx of Christianity, a dynamic character with real feelings and reactions, they do not sort out his issues completely until the end of season two. For season one, he flouders and cannot make up his mind as to where he belongs and which group he sympathizes with: The Native Americans who are being stolen from, or the citizens of Hell On Wheels who are doing the stealing). He is affected by the decisions of others and used as a display for the consequences of said actions, but it does not show him as a character. He comes across more as a puppet, a hypnotized individual who simply fumbles around without actually doing anything.
On the one hand, I appreciated this because it was a difficult issue, and he is an example of how someone who is caught in between would react. On the other, I found it annoying and found myself becoming disinterested when he came on screen. His character solidifies in later seasons but in season one, he leaves something to be desired.
So, that is AMC's "Hell On Wheels". Overall, I would rate it 9/10 because there is always room for improvement, and as much as I loved season one, it could have been slightly better. I would highly recommend it if you don't mind vulgarity and violence.
Thanks for reading! If you have any comments, questions or concerns, feel free to shoot me a message.
~ Erin.
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