Nez Perce 2.1 - Trail

Nez Perce : Trail
Genre : Historical
Showrunner: Scott Cooper
Writer : Dwight Gallo

Cast: Adam Beach, Matthew Rhys, Martin Sensmeier, Gil Birmingham, Forrest Goodluck, Julia Jones, Tatanka Means, Amber Midthunder, Zahn McClarnon, Ben Schnetzer, Grace Dove, Lily Gladstone, William Belleau, David Midthunder and Irene Bedard

Plot:1877. General Oliver O. Howard (Matthew Rhys) sits at his desk in his tent writing some correspondence when Captain David Perry (Ben Schnetzer) enters to tell him that some Bannock Indians have come to meet with him. Howard stands and follows Perry out the door. Howard walks with Perry through the camp to a group of six Bannock scouts waiting. Howard greets them and asks if they speak English. One Bannock Scout (David Midthunder) nods, so Howard addresses him. Howard explains to the Bannock scouts that they are in pursuit of a fugitive band of Nez Perce Indians. He tells them that he needs scouts who know the land and can serve as guides and interpreters. The English-speaking scout asks how much he is paying. Howard offers ten dollars a day to each of them. The scout asks for whiskey and guns as well, but Howard tells them he won't do that. Howard goes on to tell the Bannock scouts that there is to be no scalping either. If they engage in battle, the Bannock scouts are not to take hair from the bodies of the dead, take it or leave it. The Bannock scout reluctantly nods yes. Howard tells Perry to get the scouts some food as the army moves out in one hour. One hour later, General Howard's giant army comes charging over a ridge in the Snake River Plains. Every man on a horse, in hot pursuit.

The Nez Perce continue their flight, trekking through the Weippe Prairie. Chief Joseph (Adam Beach) see two Nez Perce scouts approaching. He rides over to meet them. Ollokot (Martin Sensmeier) and Looking Glass (Zahn McClarnon) follow close behind. Joseph asks them what news they bring. They tell him they saw General Howard. They tell him he's a day's ride away, maybe less, and that Howard's numbers have increased. Joseph turns to Ollokot and Looking Glass and tells them they need to ride through the night. Looking Glass and Ollokot nod in agreement, then kick their horses and follow Joseph back towards the fleeing tribe.

That night the Nez Perce hear a coyote howl as they enter the thick timber of the Lolo Trail. Tired from walking all day, they keep going deeper into the trees. Oyema (Lily Gladstone) brings her hand to her chest. She's sore. Ollokot and his wife Fairland (Grace Dove) ride together. Both look tired. Little Bird's mother (Irene Bedard) begins drifting to sleep. Toohoolhoolzote (Gil Birmingham) rides up and gives her a little nudge. She snaps awake. Little Bird (Amber Midthunder) thanks him. Toohoolhoolzote gives her a nod and rides ahead. Nearby, Wahlitits (Forrest Goodluck) rides alone. He stares at Little Bird. In his hands he holds the necklace she returned to him. Yellow Wolf (William Belleau) rides, staring at Red Grizzly (Tatanka Means), riding awake and alert like a predator. Near the front, Springtime (Julia Jones) holds her sleeping daughter and struggles to stay awake. Joseph rides up beside her and tells her to give him the child. Joseph lifts his young daughter into his arms. Springtime rubs her tired eyes. The tribe presses forward. Everyone struggles to stay awake. Near the back of the line, Yellow Wolf sees something strange: a riderless horse walking alone through the trees.

In the morning, the sun beats down on the face of a young Nez Perce boy, still asleep on the ground where he fells off his horse. The boy opens his eyes. The Bannock scouts are standing over him. They grab his hair and lift the boy to his feet. Howard arrives at the Weippe Prairie with the rest of this men. Captain Perry rides over to greet him and tell him that the scouts captured a prisoner. Howard enters a tent to find that the young Nez Perce boy has been beaten badly. His face is swollen and bleeding. Howard looks to Perry for an explanation. Perry insists that he wasn't here when they found him. Howard stares down at the young boy.

An army doctor attends to the boy's wounds. The Bannock Scout stands nearby. Howard stares at him. The scout's eyes show no remorse. The doctor finishes and packs up his bag. Howard thanks the doctor, who nods and leaves. Howard turns to the boy and asks if he is hungry. The boy just stares at him, so Howard tells the scout to relay the question. The scout steps forward and translates. The young boy shakes his head no. Howard unfolds a map and slides it across the table. He tells the boy that he needs to know where the Nez Perce are planning to make their final stand and asks the boy if he can point it out. The Bannock scout translates. The young boy looks at Howard, confused, and says nothing. Howard asks why Joseph decided to cross the Snake River. The Bannock scout translates, but again the boy says nothing. Howard starts to get frustrated and demands to know which way the Nez Perce went. The Bannock scout translates, and this time the boy replies. The scout tells Howard the boy says it is too late. You won't find them. They're already gone. Howard says he knows they're gone, but wants to know where they have gone. The scout tells Howard the boy says they've disappeared into the timber and you won't find them. Howard suddenly realizes that they must have started up the Lolo Trail. The young boy realizes he's said too much and shuts his mouth. Howard wonders aloud why they would go there. The Lolo Trail would take them into the Bitterroot Mountains, the Bitterroot Mountains would take them into Montana. That's Crow Country. If they were to go East, they'd be trapped in Yellowstone Park, if they were to go West, they'd run into the army. If the tribe were to go North, it would be nothing but wide open plains as far as Canada. Howard suddenly stops. His eyes go wide. He gets it. He stands up quickly and leaves the room. 

For a season opener, nothing much happens in this episode, but it keeps you glued to the screen no matter what and that's why Nez Perce is such a good show

The team behind Nez Perce strikes again. Producer Scott Cooper and Dwight Gallo really own their genre and it's hard to imagine a way to improve the show. The bottom line is, it's still as good as the first season. 

Fresh off a Golden Reel sweep after its first season, Dwight Gallo and Scott Cooper really set themselves a high bar for the second season and the same ingredients are still there. I'm sure the season will end up being good, but if I look at it as a standalone episode, Trail lacks something. Sure, it sets up the events of the second season, but nothing much really happens, which is a down for me.