American Primeval Recap: Go Build Your Own Fort
When Dellinger penned a letter to his superiors describing his faith that the Mountain Meadows Massacre was committed by members of the LDS church and not Shoshone warriors, he hoped it would have consequences. In American Primeval’s fifth episode, we see that it did, just not the consequences Dellinger hoped for. Thanks to bribery and betrayal, the letter found its way to the perpetually angry Wild Bill Hickman, who decides to take his anger out on Wolsey by whipping him in front of the rest of the Nauvoo Legion. (Once again, American Primeval opens its episode with some heretofore-unseen unpleasantness.)
When Lt. Pepper returns to camp, Dellinger tells him they’ll wait for reinforcements and, failing their arrival, attack the Nauvoo anyway. That’s an iffy proposition made even iffier by the possibility Pepper will tell Wild Bill what’s going on, but the cover-up has another problem. Pepper soon learns of Abish’s disappearance, another loose end that will need to be tied up. Returning to the Shoshone camp, Abish immediately tells Winter Bird what’s going on. Winter Bird’s not terribly surprised to see Abish again, even when Abish tells her she’s learned Jacob is alive and still looking for her. As they did for Sara, Winter Bird’s place and people provide a sense of safety offered nowhere else. It’s doubtful that a glimpse of Jacob, who now looks more than a little unhinged, would change her mind.
Then again, everyone’s looking more than a little worse for wear in this episode. Devin remains in bed and in agony as his leg worsens. Isaac recognizes that drastic actions, like amputation, might have to be taken to save the boy’s life. Ultimately, that does not prove necessary, though it’s hard to imagine it being more painful than the cauterization Isaac performs, even if this does save Devin’s leg. Later, Sara gently tries to renegotiate their arrangement. Maybe, she asks, Isaac might want to take them to California? Crooks Springs might not be the best idea after all. Of Devin’s father, the best she can say is, “He’s a decent enough man. Well … I’ve known worse.” Isaac, however, she knows to be better than “decent enough.” What’s unspoken is her sense that he might want to come with them, an issue Isaac tables by leaving to check on the horses (but not without inspiring Two Moons to give Sara a knowing look).
Unlike Dellinger, Bridger has a pretty good sense of one of the consequences awaiting him after the events of the previous episode, namely a visit from Brigham Young. Young arrives, in Bridger’s description, “all smiles and Jesus,” ready to discuss the “misunderstanding” that led to Wild Bill’s grievous foot injury. To smooth things over, Young makes Bridger an offer for the fort he thinks is fair. Bridger disagrees. The stalemate continues, but the threatening undercurrent suggests this may not last.
Elsewhere, a different sort of apparent stalemate comes to an end when the Nauvoo Legion attacks Dellinger’s camp before Dellinger can attack them, a result, once again, of Pepper’s betrayal. The series’ most eloquent character, Dellinger doubles as the episode’s narrator, first with his intercepted letter and, as the attack unfolds, with a lyrical journal entry that attempts to capture the possibility and wonder beyond the West’s brutality.
“I am hopeful that the beauty I see in these lands has a power greater than darkness,” Dellinger writes, shortly before Pepper assassinates him. There are two ways to read this: as a testament left behind in hopes of a better future or misplaced optimism. Does Dellinger’s death suggest that Utah Territory, and by extension America itself, will always be driven by primeval conflict? That question might be too big for the series to answer.
There’s little cause for optimism in the aftermath of the attack. After Pepper takes a sack of coins for his betrayal, Wild Bill and Wolsey realize they still have to deal with Abish. But Pepper proves to be an easier loose end to tie up. A bullet to the head takes care of that.
The next day, Young shows up with a warrant for Bridger’s arrest (but only after confirming that he doesn’t want to sell the fort). The accusation: Bridger has sold guns to Native Americans. If there’s any validity to the accusation, it will have to be addressed at another time. Bridger has a lot of friends, at least locally, with guns of their own. As politely as possible, Bridger suggests Young find another location for a fort of his own. Crisis averted? “Not by a long shot, Sammy,” Bridger tells a companion.
At the hunting lodge, Sara and Isaac get real. When Sara expresses regrets for the hard choices she’s had to make (including murder), Isaac tells her, “We do what we have to do. Don’t we?” That’s another line that could almost double as the series’ tagline, but moments later, Sara challenges him to reassess what “what we have to do” means for him. She learns, as she suspected, that Isaac lost a son of his own. She also learns that this happened after Isaac went looking for a safer spot even after Winter Bird decided to keep her people in the same place. (And we learn, thanks to a flashback, that it happened violently, though the details remain unclear.) When Isaac admits he’s retreated from the world to avoid caring about anyone, and thus being hurt, ever again, Sara essentially tells him this is no way to live.
As this unfolds, Winter Bird learns her people face danger once again when Red Feather returns with Abish and explains that her enemies will stop at nothing to take her. Though Abish volunteers to leave, Winter Bird tells her to stay. What’s more, the development has tipped her over to Red Feather’s side of the fight-or-flight choice. They’ll stay and they’ll fight. Though the warriors seem genuinely excited by the possibility, Abish looks less sure.
It’s becoming increasingly clear Sara would like Isaac to consider starting a new life with her and Devin. But first they have to get away from the hunting lodge, which is being threatened by wolves and, not far behind them, Virgil and his men, who waste no time attacking. In turn, Isaac wastes no time laying into the first man he encounters. Then he kills the second, foiling his attempt to hold Devin and Two Moons hostage. Sara, however, isn’t so lucky. And with her kidnapping, we head into the credits, and what’s sure to be an intense series finale.
Bullets and Arrowheads
• It seemed inevitable that we’d get Isaac’s backstory at some point, but the brief glimpses we see of him as a younger (and less hairy) man are fairly elliptical. They’re also the only flashbacks the series has offered so far. It’s an interesting choice given that Sara’s story remains blurry and has felt like it was leading to a flashback revealing the full details. Maybe next episode? Not that the series needs it, but this flashback would seem to open the door for others.
• Things don’t look so good for many of our characters as we head into the finale, but it would be surprising if everyone came to an unhappy ending. For all the miserable developments, there are also sparks of hope. Of course, sometimes, like Dellinger and his journal, those sparks get snuffed out. It’s rough out there, and though everyone believes they’re doing what they have to do, sometimes doing what they have to do means hurting others who are also trying to survive.