• AMC.com
• I am the hero, and I have come to save the day

Last week, TV Guide mentioned "Hell on Wheels" in their year-end list of clunkers. While it might not make the Top 10 best of the year, I hardly think it deserves such derision. The gap between excellent TV and tripe has widened to such an engulfing chasm that it can be difficult to remember that quality is a continuum, not a duality. The short criticism of the show focused on it not being daring or original enough. I question whether this person has ever seen a Western, a genre made on our love of the cliché. But I would also argue that "Hell on Wheels" has offered, or at least suggested, a consideration of atypical narratives, particularly as the season moves on.

Last night's "Revelations" mixed in a few surprises with more derived fare. The show that has finally shown us evil Yankees could not help but cast a shadow upon some pretty nasty Confederates too it seems, with the young boy Elam being taught to read as more of a parlor trick than to give him a chance at a better life. But literacy is a powerful thing, and Elam is shown not only reading the Bible, but memorizing and orating from it to the fellow slaves while hiding his abilities and understanding from his Master/Father. Bohannon's difficult past was touched upon as well during the fireside scene, but in addition to hearing more details of his beloved wife's murder, we hear for the first time the mention of his son, engulfed in flames while hiding from the soldiers. Though the addition of Bethel, Bohannon's childhood nurse who raised his son and died protecting him, hit the "and the moral of the story is..." bell pretty hard, it was still an affecting moment. And in the end the show stayed true to its Western roots - the two men never mention the exchange, and get up the next morning to set about learning how to shoot and set up an ambush. Giddy-up!

Durant, too, was not without his own storytelling regarding an unfortunate past. But Lily's reaction to his tale was, refreshingly, "get over it." Durant did, almost instantly, and though every viewer knew that Durant would double-cross ths Senator, was it not satisfying? Durant is probably the most one-dimensional character in the cast, a dastardly mustache-twirler who seeks to conquer all he sees and would undoubtedly love nothing more than to retire like Scrooge McDuck, diving into a pool of gold. And while he seeks to keep the head-strong Lily at his side, there remains the constant distraction of who she is and why she remains. In "Deadwood," Alma Garett (the token head-strong female in proper dress) held on to important property in that gold-rush town, via her late husband. She could leave, despite her emotional ties, but she still had a tangible hold on the camp (and fair digs at the hotel). Lily wanting to live on "a farm or a ranch" (she says airily) seems unlikely for a woman with her background, and not often a choice someone made willingly in those days. Wanting to return to the moving cesspit of Hell on Wheels without anywhere to live or anything to do seems not only ill-advised but also completely unbelievable. It is, for me, one of the most glaring plot-holes of the show.

Still, what made "Revelations" better than the last few episodes was the return of the show's focus to Bohannon. Did anyone miss the McGinnes brothers? Or, honestly, the Reverend? Doubtful. I stand by the claim that their characters help to enrich the show, but the heart still lies with Bohannon. Like Durant's double-cross, there was not a single viewer last night who doubted that Bohannon would save Elam from hanging, but didn't you cheer anyway? When Bohannon and Elam rode off in the sunset (literally!) to a voice-over recitation of the 23rd Psalm, was that not a moment to shoot a fist into the air and say "hell yeah!" (I actually have written in my notes: "The hell yeah factor"). There is, of course, also (and always) something brewing with the Swede. He allowed the hanging (in a strange time gap, Elam was caught with Eva at night but it takes the mob into the morning to drag him to his hanging?), and after Bohannon's murder of one of the perpetrators, he sets the ill-fated band of rogues to hunt Bohannon and Elam down. In so many shows with guns, firearms are liberally deployed by our heroes, but not against them. I liked that meta-moment of acknowledgement after Bohannon kills one of the men where that troublemaker finally says, "well isn't anybody going to shoot him??" It was a nice turn, too, to see how the men then feared Bohannon and didn't want to pursue him further, but were pushed by the Swede. And then of course there was Bohannon, a morally gray character (but a light gray!) saying to Bolan who he had just shot through the chest and lay dying, "I hope you find peace." Maybe "Hell on Wheels" isn't the most original show of the season, or of its genre, but it's still just kind of fun to watch.

Next Week: The show is on hiatus for a week since Christmas Day falls on a Sunday, but will be back in action New Years Day following a marathon of all this season's episodes if you need to catch up! (Or encourage new viewers to tune in).

Musings and Miscellanea:

— "Indeed it ... don't" - Lily

— What is the deal with Eva's chin tattoo? The "Hell on Wheels" blog explains.

— "My name is Elam Ferguson. You can tell the devil that when he asks who killed you." (badass!)

— Even though I gave Lily two cursory "you go girl!"-s, l still find her character to be historically questionable at best.

— "You brought shovels to a gun fight" - that troublemaking Irishman.

— Elam: "I'm a free man." Boahnnon: "You ain't that free."

— Elam's "last words": I am going to kill your lily-white ass.

— New old slang term: spud munchers.

— "Life has a funny way of teaching you things" - Bohannon