When the seller of the land tries to cheat him, David Melmont stands up for him and gets him to stay with the original deal. Melmont is there to manage Trafford’s finances, as he’s lost several fortunes before. But despite working for the man, Melmont doesn’t respect him–and Thin Kelly doesn’t like it. ..
The three troopers soon receive company on the newly bought land: Sergeant Jerome McClintock, Trooper Billy Myers, and Trooper Timothy Flynn. They say they’re looking to execute an Indian man named Running Hawk for the crime of killing Myers’ brother. ..
Melmont is excited to lead the soldiers in a massacre of a Native American camp in Chalk River. He knows this location because he has been spying on the tribe for months, and he wants to take advantage of their vulnerability. ..
When Trafford tries to stop McClintock, McClintock punches him and briefly knocks him out. Thin has to stop Trafford from protesting more and getting killed himself. They can do no more than report them for this senseless murder.
Eli comes across the soldiers and Melmont after the massacre. He tells them that what they’ve done is none of their business. The war is over, and he’s going home.
Eli, 15 years later, is living in a bootleg compound on the outskirts of Baghdad. He tells me that he and his family were killed by the murderers who took them there. Does he know what happened to the killers? Or is that none of his business too?
David Melmont visits Cornelia in 1875 and tells her the sad news that Trafford is in jail. He then makes up a story in which Trafford was responsible for the massacre at Chalk River.
However, he wasn’t jailed (in a well, no less) for murder, but for sex with a prostitute. Melmont says Trafford’s awaiting the payment of a fine. That’s why he’s come to her, Trafford’s fiancée. ..
Cornelia corrects him. Trafford proposed to her, but she didn’t accept. She’s not sure Melmont deserves to be freed, but she did convince her father to invest in his venture. It would not be good for her family if the man didn’t survive. Wanting to process this information, she asks Melmont to return later.
She refuses to give the money to Melmont because he did all those things, and she learned it was him who did them.
Melmont needs the money to buy a stake in a gold mine in Colorado for himself and his companion. He shuts the door so they are alone. ..
Cornelia is lying on the floor, curled up in a ball. Melmont shows himself out and back in, he is cheerful and happy.
Cornelia’s letter to Trafford tells him of the horrors of America, how the devil followed him there. But he has no choice but to stay and work against the evils in the country. Still, he warns Cornelia to never come, but to stay in London to live “in perfect safety.”
Cornelia looks at the painting with a sense of awe. Months later, she has learned about the history and culture of the American West and is inspired by its beauty.
This episode was slow and meandering, but it still had some interesting twists. ..
The English did right in the way it only hinted at the existence of Melmont until this point. We knew him only as the owner of Melmont’s in Hoxem, and the person who purchased graves for the Flynns. ..
It has been revealed that the Flynns are behind the mysterious act of killing their opponents, and that their opponent may not be such a bad guy as they initially thought.
The episode could have used its protagonists more effectively. Eli is barely present at all, and Cornelia is more victimized ‘object’ than ‘subject’ in the time she’s featured (though the episode thankfully is sensitive in not dwelling on the sexual violence). Despite all this, the instalment largely does well to fill in gaps in the story while still leaving the most suspenseful questions unanswered.
