Ladywood

The Deadwood movie is finally here! Our final chance to visit the world of Al, Seth, Alma, Trixie and all our favorite characters held many surprising moments, some beautiful bits of closure, and a few opportunities that fell through the cracks. Join us for this final trip to Deadwood.

We've reached the series finale of Deadwood, so it's time to reflect upon all the things we've loved as well as all the things we would have done differently. (Hey, you know the drill by now...because we're writers. Writers in LA.) The movie is nigh, and we thank you for listening with us this far!

A moment of silence for a Ladywood favorite as we discuss Deadwood's penultimate episode. Hearst takes violent action, and we mourn along with the characters for the ensuing loss. From there, retaliation takes things to another level -- and as we move into the final episode of the show's run, it remains unclear who will come out on top.

It's a stunner of an episode as we head into the home stretch of season three. When someone shoots at Alma during her daily walk to the bank, our regulars band together to scheme and strategize, tension rising all the time. Oh, and also the actors have some nonsense going on? And Cy is being a dick for no reason? But we're not gonna let those distractions ruin an otherwise great episode.

It's a bad week for season three's new side characters, as the Earp brothers end their Deadwood adventure without much fanfare and Odell meets a sad fate off screen. As we ask ourselves what the point of all that was, another questionable event looms: the town's first Amateur Night! What talents hide in the crowd of hoopleheads? We shall see.

The Earp brothers arrive, a-shootin' and a-hollerin', and if you think it takes us long to start trying to fan fiction it up and make a gay love match....you're listening to the wrong show. On a less sexy note, Hearst may be riled up by Seth's letter in the newspaper, but he still lets himself get vulnerable with Jack during a creative treatment for his bad back. And by episode's end, a different band of men are shooting their way into town....

It's The Meeting of the Patriarchy Part Deux as once again the gang at the Gem busts out the peaches (and cinnamon) and gathers the troops to discuss a common problem. Hearst has more men coming to town, but Al's delaying the plan to fetch their own back-up guns from Cheyenne. Will publishing Seth's letter about a victim of Hearst's violence finally bring things to a boil? And speaking of hot water....Joanie and Jane's relationship takes a leap as an intimate bathing moment becomes something more. We ship it, obvs, but we'll see if they can keep hanging on.

Inscrutable plots abound this week as Lou's son Odell rides into town with big news for Hearst about a gold claim in Liberia, while Cy considers ways to turn Alma's backslide into drug use to his benefit. We're not 100% sure how everyone's going to make their plans come together, but we're along for the ride. Meanwhile, Lynn makes a bold claim about Best Male Feminist for the episode.

It's the battle of the (19th) century as Captain Turner challenges Dan Dority to hand-to-hand combat in the thoroughfare. Which fighter will emerge victorious, and what existential questions will be raised by the violence? While this moment is Deadwood at its most iconic, elsewhere in town, another death has us very frustrated about how it's handled. Meanwhile, Alma slides backwards, endangering the balance of the Ellsworth marriage.

The doors of the Deadwood bank are opening and the hoopleheads are ready to deposit that gold -- if they can wrap their minds around it. As this dovetails with the return of Hostetler and General Fields with the horse that killed William Bullock, Seth tries to broker a deal to keep Steve the Drunk from inciting violence over ownership of the livery. And in other horrors, Con Stapleton gets laid. (My god.)