Hell On Wheels Season 4 [Blu-ray]

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

Television shows and movies that depict history should make an attempt to be somewhat accurate, at least as far as actual events and people are concerned. In season 4 of this show the writers really screwed up. For example, there were very few, if any, Mormons who settled in the Cheyenne, Wyoming area (which is in the eastern edge of the state). Also, and this one is a real ‘stinker’, there were NO Commanche Native Americans in Wyoming! They lived in the lower Great Plains, getting no farther north than southern Colorado. In fact, Texas was where they were the most dominate. Good God!, my 11th grade U.S. history students would know that. The writers should be ashamed of themselves!-Rich Remkus

Three and a half stars really. The problem with HOW is it tends to be uneven. Some seasons are better than others and even within a particular season there can be great inconsistency between each episode. I’ll watch one show and think it was excellent but the next will be a muddled mess. Season 4 is a mixed bag. [Spoiler’s included in this review] We start with Cullen Bohannon still a virtual captive with his “child bride” Naomi and their child at the Mormon settlement of Ft Smith. The Swede continues his masquerade as the bishop he murdered and Bohannon somehow hypnotizes The Swede into publicly confessing his crime and thus securing his release. Back in Cheyenne, a provisional governor, John Campbell, appointed by U.S. Grant arrives with a team of marshals and a judge and attempts to take over operations. The governor and Durant are at odds and the railroad is stalled due to a seemingly impassable mountain. Bohannon returns and attempts to resume his work for the railroad and is committed to completing the project he started but must deal with the new cast of characters in town. Missing from all of this is freeman Elam Ferguson who we last saw in Season 3 in hand-to-hand combat with a bear. Turns out Elam kills the bear with his knife but is grievously wounded and is picked up by Indians who in awe of his feat nurse him back to health. While Elam recovers, all’s not right and it appears he’s suffered a brain injury and partial amnesia. Ultimately in two episodes we end Elam’s journey on HOW in a shocking way; this show’s never been shy about killing off main characters and many fans have not forgiven the loss of Lily Bell in Season 2.

As if killing Elam off isn’t enough for viewers to take; later on Ruth Cole (AKA “The Church Lady”) who’s been a regular since Season 1 shoots Sydney Snow, a former Confederate soldier from Bohannon’s past now turned outlaw. Snow shows up in Cheyenne on the run from Mexicans who tried to string him up when the audience first meets him for a “misunderstanding” with a senorita. At first he seems harmless enough but later while dodging the angry Mexicans he shoots up the general store, kills some bystanders and winds up in jail. Then, unbelievably the governor makes him Marshal and deputizes other jailbirds to replace the previously killed Marshal and deputy. This doesn’t go well and later after Bohannon’s run him out of town he returns and sets fire to the church with folks inside and the orphan boy Ezra whom Ruth’s adopted is killed. Bohannon goes through ridiculous lengths to save Snow to keep Ruth from being tried for murder but to no avail. This plot device plays out over two slow and painful episodes; Ruth confesses her true feelings for Bohannon and they spend a lot of time talking and not saying much. There’s a trial and although everyone understands her motives and a pardon is offered she refuses and is hung… scratch two more players from the cast. Unless your name is Bohannon or Durant you are not safe on HOW!

It’s a gory and seemingly more violent season as well; we’re treated to scalping, vicious beatings, knifings, and a very graphic below knee amputation of the aforementioned Mr. Snow, as well as an eye gouging. That said despite the savagery of attacks on Durant and Bohannon they are later hardly worse for the wear diluting any sense of reality. Maybe to lighten the mood we’re also witness to a silly mud wrestling brawl between Durant and Campbell that was completely unnecessary making it all somewhat cartoonish.

It’s become de rigueur for shows to have a character who is gay and last season we met crusading newspaper editor Louise Ellison (Jennifer Ferrin) who was pretty clearly a lesbian. For mysterious reasons she presents herself at Gov. Campbell’s hotel room and they sleep together (more than once) so I guess she’s bisexual. All this is fine but does nothing to advance the story line and offers no key plot development. Her sexual orientation seems to serve no purpose other than to pander to an increasingly vocal minority.

In addition, Mickey McGinnis is displaced from his casino by the governor under eminent domain. Mickey calls in reinforcements from his cousin and associates from the delightful Five Points area of New York to help him set things right. A group of Irish thug extras from the set of “Gangs of New York” show up and more mayhem ensues when it’s obvious Mickey can’t control them.

And then the good old Swede manages to dodge fate again and is enlisted by no less than Brigham Young for some nefarious plot to take control of the railroad. To top things off after all else that’s happened Bohannon quits the railroad for what has to be the third or fourth time in the series.
HOW is presently airing its two-part fifth and final season wrapping things up and it’s probably a good thing. While it will be sad to lose one of the few Western shows in production I think it’s time has come.

– Colonel D

Fantastic show, the best western in a very long time. Cullen Bohannon is the type of character that we haven’t seen since the likes of Clint Eastwood’s characters of his youth and some of “The Duke’s” characters. The writing cinema photography and all the rest that makes this a standout show, are beyond much of what we see today. At last, real men, have someone that they can identify with, not some Ceta male that we all see today. This man lives by his own terms and is as cunning as he his tough. The rest of the male and female leads and many of the secondary characters as written and directed just as strong. This is also a great “Period Piece” and is based on the westward move to explorer and conquer the elements and the obstacles brought forth by a new world. The shows give a prime example of what really made America what it is today. All involved should be commended. Colm Meany’s Durrant is a perfect foil for Cullen. Anson Mount plays to his strengths and always gives a stunning performance.-Joseph Melvin

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Anson Mount, Common, Jennifer Ferrin
Directors: David Von Ancken
Format: Multiple Formats, Blu-ray, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 4
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: July 1, 2016
Run Time: 559 minutes
ASIN: B00XWV8WNG