Bohannon is particularly interested in working on the railroad because the remaining soldiers that are responsible for the death of his wife are near Hell on Wheels. Bohannon discovers that the man he was looking for is now his boss. Minutes before Bohannon plans to kill him, he pulls a gun on him. He is saved when his coworker, Elam Ferguson (Common, Date Night) kills him from behind. From then on, Bohannon and Ferguson establish a bond that defines the racial dynamic and keeps the complicated race relations afloat in Hell on Wheels. After the boss’s body is found, “Mr. Swede” (Christopher Heyerdahl), the sole police force and secondhand man to the project runner Thomas Durant (Colm Meaney, Get Him to the Greek) seeks Bohannon to have him hanged. Bohannon escapes to find Mr. Durant. On his way from his cell, he hides in the makeshift church where he meets the preacher (Tom Noonan, “Damages”) and his newly baptized assistant, Joseph Black Moon (Eddie Spears, Into the West). Once Bohannon finds Durant, Bohannon convinces him to make him the boss, telling Durant that he is willing to be as shady as he needs to be to make Durant the most money.
The underlying tensions are brought to a climactic end when Durant’s land surveyor is killed by one of the surrounding Indian tribes. His wife, Lily (Dominique McElligott, Moon), makes the dangerous trek back to Hell on Wheels and her beauty sparks a buzz in the town. Lily quickly befriends Mr. Durant, Mr. Bohannon, and the preacher, but has difficulty in trusting the Indian assistant, who is the brother of the man who murdered her husband. Between efforts to coerce the Indians to get out of the way of the railroad and efforts to “make peace”, Durant begins to fall for Lily. Unfortunately, Lily has her eye on the rugged Mr. Bohannon, marking the beginning of a dangerous love triangle. The finale leaves us with the dissapating glory of Bohannon’s mission and the continuation of the railroad.
Hell on Wheels writers Joe and Tony Gayton buy our sympathy for former Confederate soldier and slave owner Bohannon. Bohannan was a slave owner until he was enlightened by his angelic wife that told him to let them free. While ruthless, Bohannon’s quest for revenge comes from the immense heartbreak he still suffers. Elam Ferguson is the intense male lead at the center of the fight for racial equality in Hell on Wheels. The part is played so well and with such intensity, you look at Common and think, “Wait. You are not really Elam Ferguson?”
What is it that is so good about this revenge story? It contains all the human emotions we don’t want to admit we feel. By far one the most promising shows on television, and it is only the beginning.
The Blu-ray has an aspect ratio of 1080P and DTS-HD Master Audio. The sound and image do not disappoint. The Blu-ray comes with several bonus features including:
- Recreating the Past: The Making of Hell on Wheels
- Crashing a Train: From Concept to Camera
- Seven Making-of Featurettes
- Ten “Inside the Episode Featurettes
- Seven Character Featurettes
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
