Chapter Four: Genesis – The show goes back 15 years when Carlo/Bronson (Guido Caprino) tells his brother, Marco/Arthur McCoy (Dominic Cooper) they are finally wealthy. He scrapes the corrosion off an old cross to expose gold before washing the blood off his hands. Marco asks how much the cross weighs. He says 150 pounds before praying for his mother rot in hell. He orders Marco to have the boys uninstall the cross.

As the 150-pound cross is being taken down from the wall, Marco alerts Carlo of Blaine’s (Terry McMahon) arrival. Blaine informs them that he believes the rangers are on their tail. Carlo suggests killing half of the rangers will make the other half weak. Marco tells him there are too many of them. Carlo asks, what are their other options. He suggests they go to the desert, where the rangers won’t go. Two of the men agree with Marco while Blaine supports Carlo. Marco tells them they will do as he says for once before ordering Christian (Gbolahan Obisesan) to prepare the wagon. Outside, Blaine informs Carlo that he will remain behind to slow the rangers down.

A Few Years Earlier – Teen Red Bill (Francesco Piacentini-Smith) tells Isabelle (Alexia Murray) and Tara (Gaia Zampighi) they are lucky to have oil for the lamp. They play a game similar to Scrabble. He figures out that Phalus is the name of Alexander the Great’s horse. Shocked by Isabelle not knowing Alexander the Great, he informs her that he was the “King of Macedon.” She lays down a pile of money in front of him. Jokingly, he asks if she is giving him a reward for winning. She tells him the money is to be utilized to hire a man. He reminds her of his promise to take care of it. She agrees for him to do the negotiating. He promises her that the man is not needed.

He tries to convince her to not hire the man because his shooting skills have improved. She explains how they are unsure of the number of cattlemen who will come and when the last time they were with a woman.

Teen Red Bill is awakened by a bad dream of a woman pleading to a man who says, “The things we do for money.” Tara asks if he had another bad dream about his mother. He practices ax throwing.

In the desert, Marco and his crew take a break from riding. As the crew discusses their hunger, Ralph (Francesco Giordano) spooks the horses by cutting one of their ears. Marco yells to get their attention, but it is too late the horses gallop away. The 150-pound cross falls out of the wagon onto the ground. Marco beats Ralph. When one of the men asks what will happen, Marco says they will die of starvation and third. Refusing to die, Carlo says he is going to walk out of the desert. He orders Ralph to carry the cross.

Teen Red Bill arrives at a pub looking for James Anderson (Travis Fimmel). The Tavern Owner (Tommaso Sacco) points to the corner, where Anderson looks lifeless, holding a bottle of whiskey. He has to yell at Anderson to get him awake. Anderson asks what he wants. He tells him rumors claim he protects people, but by the looks of him, it doesn’t seem true. When he tries to pour himself another drink, Red Bill jerks the glass away. Anderson takes a swig out of the bottle. He makes a baaing noise when Red Bill calls him a “goat fu**er.” Giving up, Red Bill walks away but stops when Anderson asks if he is familiar with the screams of a woman being sexually assaulted. He gives him Isabelle’s money and offers to pay the rest later. Anderson reluctantly accepts it.

Carlo and his crew walk through the desert when they discover their wagon broken into shambles. Removing his shirt, Marco admits his decision to go to the desert was wrong. Carlo suggests they think about the future, not their hunger and thirst. He orders them to break the wagon up for firewood.

Anderson moans while eating his meal. He refuses to remove his hat at Red Bill’s request but agrees when Isabelle asks him. He explains how the Colorado government hired him to drive out the Indians after gold was discovered there. Jumping up, Red Bill calls him a “piece of shit.” Before he can answer Anderson’s question, Isabelle interrupts, telling them it is time to retire. She orders him to the barn when Red Bill tells him to return their money. He reluctantly goes. Red Bill follows him to the barn to ask him to leave. Anderson tells him the cattlemen may see his lantern and think women are there.

Carlo and his crew sit around a campfire. Carlo strangles Ralph to death while the other men sleep.

Teen Red Bill is awakened by horses. He goes outside to see a Cattleman (Nicolas Porcelli) approaching Tara. He jumps in front of Tara to protect her from the man. When he cocks his rifle, all the cattlemen point their rifles at him. Anderson arrives, with a bottle of liquor. As the man approaches, Anderson triggers a mechanism to release a platform in the back of his wagon. The cattleman asks what the platform is for. Popping the cork from the liquor bottle, he says it is to make loading their bodies easier. He recognizes Anderson as “the man who’s killed over 100 people.” Anderson admits to killing every member of the Johnson gang. The cattleman says his brother was one of the men. He tilts his hat before ordering the others to head out. Stunned, Red Bill stares at him.

Isabell tells Anderson about how Red Bill stays with the Indians until they finally dropped him off at their place. He asks what age Red Bill was when his mother was killed. She says 8 before refilling his glass. She tells him about Red Bill’s nightmares. He asks her about how she sleeps. Red Bill looks through a bundle of wanted posters. Michael (Giampiero Judica) discovers Ralph dead. He questions what could have happened to him. Carlo says he probably died of starvation. Michael says they aren’t going to survive. He suggests they carve up Ralph. Christian isn’t keen on the idea. Carlo pulls out his knife, with an eye carved in the handle, and gives it to Marco. He refuses to do his bidding. Carlo tells him that it is for the others, not him. Christian tells him to do it. Grabbing the knife, Marco calls him a “piece of shit.”

As Marco slices into Ralph’s body, he holds back his vomit. After taking the first bite, Carlo asks the others why they are waiting. Marco watches a short distance away while Christian and Mike dig in. Carl warns them that it will get more difficult when they reach Red Rocks. Marco comes down for some of Ralph’s meat.

Tara and Teen Red Bill are milking a goat while Anderson flirts with Isabelle. Red Bill isn’t happy with what he sees. They go target shooting, with Red Bill taking the first shot, which he misses. Anderson tells him a “lie is more accurate.” He misses his second shot before asking Anderson if he ever saw a knife, with an eye carved in the handle. Anderson informs him of Isabelle telling him about his mother being tortured. Red Bill denies knowing what his mother’s killer looks like or his name. Anderson assures him it would be difficult to find him, with so little information.

Marco totes the cross through the desert when Michael vomits. Marco pulls a piece of Ralph’s meat out of Michael’s pocket. He tells him it is spoiled. Carlo suggests they leave him behind, but Marco refuses. When Michael asks for water, Carlo shoots him through the chest. Irate, Marco confronts Carlo who says it was necessary to keep him from killing them. Marco admits to knowing Carlo killed Ralph. Christian asks if he is telling the truth. Carlo admits he did kill Ralph.

Teen Red Bill takes Anderson a plate of food while he sits guard on the porch. He asks Anderson to give him a price for finding his mother’s killer. Anderson asks how much cash he has now. When Red Bill says nothing, Anderson says there is no reason to discuss it further. He suggests there may be a bounty for the man who killed his mother because she was “well-off.” When Anderson agrees to do it, Red Bill is elated.

While playing a word game, Isabelle catches Tara and Red Bill cheating. He convinces them to play again, so Isabelle can get even with them for cheating. Red Bill looks around to see Anderson sitting on the porch.

Carlo approaches Christian and shoots him. Marco hits Carlo across the face with his gun. He calls him a “crazy asshole.” Carlo promises him everything he did was for him. Marco asks about his scars. He accuses him of trying to turn his back on him. As Carlo approaches him, Marco shoots him in the stomach. Carlo beats him until they both fall to the ground. He looks down as his shirt to see it is filled with blood.

Anderson says his goodbyes. Red Bill comforts Isabelle as she weeps. He watches Tara gather their clothes before grabbing his bag. He runs down the road after Anderson who initially refuses to take him. Anderson warns him that leaving will be the worst decision he will ever make. He hops in the back of the wagon.

Carlo pulls the cross while carrying Marco across the desert until he finds a well. Laughing, he hugs Marco before placing him in the well. He pretends to shoot the sun. When he wakes up, Marco is nowhere to be found. He screams Marco as the episode comes to an end.

That Dirty Black Bag Review

A fantastic episode that showed the characters on a more personal level. I think fewer characters gave the cast more time to demonstrate their acting abilities. It also allowed viewers to get to know the characters better.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Travis Fimmel among the cast. His performance was outstanding, which was to be expected. After his role in Vikings as the heroic Viking Ragnar Lodbrok, I was a fan.

Francesco Piacentini-Smith had some big shoes to fill in his role as teen Red Bill. His performance was outstanding. I hope to see him more in the future.

It was nice to see the show void the bloody skulls. I do think it is worth mentioning that the violent killings were a bit overdone. I question the decision to make the characters resort to cannibalism for survival. There surely would have been a few desert animals to feast on, instead of another human.

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