Nez Perce 2.6 - Atlas

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

Cast: Adam Beach, Matthew Rhys, Julia Jones, Tatanka Means, Zahn McClarnon, Ben Schnetzer, Lily Gladstone, Jim Beaver and Damon Herriman

Plot:1877. The tribe comes to a stop for the evening after a long day of marching. An old woman suddenly collapses from exhaustion. A few people surround her, but it is too late. She is already dead. The tribe performs a funeral dance. Joseph (Adam Beach), arms wrapped around Springtime (Julia Jones), watches. Oyema (Lily Gladstone) sits nearby, gently rocking her new baby to sleep. Red Grizzly (Tatanka Means) lurks in the shadows. He sees Ollokot (Martin Sensmeier) standing a few feet away. The two men stare at each other for a moment, then Red Grizzly turns and disappears into the darkness.

In the morning, General Oliver O. Howard (Matthew Rhys) rides next to Captain David Perry (Ben Schnetzer), leading his army through Yellowstone. The soldiers and their horses seem tired. The wind blows. Perry looks up at the grey skies and comments on how cold the wind is getting. Howard remains quiet and the American keep moving forward.

Joseph rides up beside Springtime as the Nez Perce continue their journey. She looks at him and tells him she is cold. Joseph tries to rub her shoulders for warmth. Their daughter, Running Feet, says she is cold too. Joseph looks down at his daughter with aching eyes. It's breaking his heart that there is nothing he can do to help them. Suddenly gunshots are heard up ahead. Joseph kicks his horse and gallops towards the front of the line.

Two white men, carrying maps and surveying equipment, are forced to their knees as Nez Perce warriors surround them. Joseph climbs off his horse and slowly approaches. Ollokot tells Joseph the men were sleeping when we came upon them. The two men then had quickly fired their guns. Joseph looks at the two men, who are now trembling in fear, begging not to be killed. Joseph asks the men why they are there. They say they are making maps. One of the men, Harold (Jim Beaver), opens his case and pulls out several hand-drawn maps. Joseph studies them carefully. Harold suddenly realizes he's talking to Chief Joseph. Joseph doesn't respond. He hands the maps to Ollokot and Looking Glass (Zahn McClarnon). Harold tells his buddy that Chief Joseph is the one from all the newspapers. He then comments that the minute they saw soldiers they should've known there was trouble. Joseph asks Harold what he means. Harold spreads out one of his maps on the ground. Joseph kneels down. Looking Glass and Ollokot stand nearby. Harold shows Joseph on the map where he saw soldiers heading west three days prior. Joseph asks how many, and Harold tells him five hundred, maybe more. Ollokot says that if Harold is telling the truth they will run right into the soldiers. Looking Glass they can't turn around since Howard's men are coming from behind. Ollokot comments that they are not strong enough to face off against another army. Frustrated, Ollokot storms off. Looking Glass watches him go, then turns back to face Joseph, and asks Joseph what they should do with the surveyors. Joseph hesitates, unsure what they should do. Red Grizzly suddenly steps forward and says they should kill the white men since they'll just tell the soldiers where they all are. Ollokot, filled with rage, forces the two men to their knees. He then starts to load his rifle. Joseph is alarmed and asks his brother what he's doing. Ollokot agrees with Red Grizzly on the matter. Harold tries to stand, but Ollokot kicks him to the ground. Joseph reminds Ollokot that they do not kill women and innocent men, that has never been their way. He tells Ollokot that these are not the men who killed Fairland. Ollokot hesitates, then raises his gun to fire, but Joseph grabs the barrel and places it against his own chest. He tells Ollokot that if he wants to kill innocent men that he must kill him first. Harold asks for Joseph's attention. He tells Joseph there's a gulch nearby that nobody knows about. It's a thousand feet down and real narrow. If they can get there, it'll take them out of the park and the soldiers would never even see them. Ollokot lowers his gun. Harold and his buddy run off. Harold and his buddy run for their lives through the thick forest when they are stopped by a group of twenty American soldiers.

Joseph leads the tribe into the gulch of Clark's Fork Canyon. It's so narrow that two horses can barely walk beside one another. Looking Glass rides beside Joseph. Looking Glass asks Joseph if he's sure about this. Joseph doesn't answer. He just keeps pressing forward.

Howard and his men come across the body of the old woman. Howard stares at her dead body for a long, sad moment, before telling his men to keep moving. Harold is brought into a tent where he is confronted by Col. Nelson A. Miles (Damon Herriman), who demands to know where the Nez Perce went. Miles pulls out a map and tells Harold to point it out for him. Harold points to a spot on the map. Miles asks him if he's sure, and Harold nods his head.

The Nez Perce come out of the gulch at Clark's Fork Canyon. The weather is growing colder, darker, threatening to bring snow any moment.

Burnt Prairie 1.5 - Thomas

Burnt Prairie - Cal

Genre: Drama

Director: James Ponsoldt

Writer: Chad Taylor

Cast: John Gallagher Jr, Jacob Elordi, Josh Lucas, Diana Silvers, Robert Forster, Aden Young, Molly Ephraim and Timothy Busfield

Plot:At school, the news of Dick Carpenter’s resignation spreads like wildfire. Principle Daldry (Timothy Busfield) meets with local boosters and influential sports figures, including Cal (Josh Lucas). Cal acts shocked at this news, even though he is the one who instigated it. With only three games remaining in the season, they find themselves in a real conundrum. No coach is going to leave their team this late in the year, especially no good ones.

They approach all three of Dick’s assistant coaches but they refuse the job out of solidarity with Coach. They all think he was unreasonably forced out of the position, despite Daldry’s insistance that he resigned on his own accord. This leaves Daldry and the school’s athletic director in a sticky situation.

To cut costs, they decide it is best to hire from within. They look through their roster and decide that the only logical option is Thomas Hilliard, a former player for Coach Carpenter and someone who obviously knows all of the players well since he has them as students. They do not inform Cal or any of the other boosters about this and approach Thomas (John Gallagher Jr.) directly. He is admittedly hesitant but they tell him that this is only temporary, for the rest of the season. He’s never coached before but is bright and remember Coach’s offense. After some deliberation, he accepts.

After school, Thomas holds his first practice. While the students respect him - at times - as their teacher, he finds it to be a much different ballgame when they are athletes. There is a sense that he is underqualified for the position and that this hinders their shot at making it to the state championship. Chris Ford (Jacob Elordi), team captain since Von’s death, is the one leading the charge. Thomas is not dumb and senses this discontent, making him nervous for his first game tomorrow night.

After practice, we get a glimpse of the life of a young professional in a small town. He goes home and tidies up, before going out on his second date with Wendy (Molly Ephraim), a nurse at Burnt Prairie Hospital he met through a personal ad. They get to talking about their upbringings. Wendy isn’t from around here and just took the job out of nursing school. Thomas is from here but his path is untraditional. He actually did leave town and went to college (on a Division 3 basketball scholarship) and ended up gravitating towards education. It just so happens that the job market as a teacher in Indiana led him back here after a few years at other schools. So no, he hasn’t been here his whole life. They get along great and plan to meet for a third date.

The next day in the hours leading up to the game, he is surprised to be interviewed for the local paper by Erin (Diane Silvers), a former student of his. After the interview, she tells him that she decided to stick around a little longer to cover the fallout of the Von story. He tells her he has high hopes for her and thinks she should get back to school soon. She is not so sure. She feels like this is her calling here, to find truth in reality in Burnt Prairie. He says she should think long and hard about what she wants in life. There are times that he regrets coming back, especially when rumors are flying and the town is on edge. But at the same time, he sees her point, and feels like there is something salvageable in this town. It doesn’t have to be a self-isolated community that is resistant to change. And maybe he can play his part in moving it forward.

Thomas’s first game as head coach is against Muirville, a team well below Burnt Prairie’s talent level. Things go well at first, despite some disjointed playcalls. This mainly due to the performance of Chris Ford, who has a chip on his shoulder. However, after halftime, Chris hits a cold streak and he isn’t able to mask the team’s lack of cohesiveness anymore. Muirville takes the lead and never looks back, winning 68-52.

The home crowd is audibly upset, worried that this a sign of things to come and that their championship dreams are over. Thomas can obviously sense this and feels like he has let them, his team, and himself down. He is approached by Alan Carpenter (Aden Young). Alan makes it clear that he is not pleased with how his father’s resignation went down, he is confident that Thomas can right the ship. He was always one of his dad’s favorite players for how much he listened and learned from the directions given to him.

In his post-game speech to the team, he takes off his nice-guy persona and shows a fiercer side. We get a brief flashback of Dick giving Thomas’s team a similar talk 15 years ago. He emphasizes that this will be a one-time occurence. They will get it together to finish the last 2 games strong and live up to expectations in the playoffs.

On his way home, Thomas stops by a house and knocks on the door. Willow (Grace Fulton) answers and Thomas asks if he can see Coach. She retrieves Dick (Robert Forster), who is surprised to see him there. Thomas gives him a long hug before saying he hopes to make him proud. Dick tells him that he knows he has the basketball IQ and is much smarter than Dick ever was - as evidenced by his public interviews. Thomas says that Von was truly a special kid, on and off the court. Dick says he knows that and wishes he wouldn’t have said what he said. As Thomas leaves, Dick tells him that he was listening to the game and to come to him if he ever needs some tips in the coming weeks. Thomas tells him that he will probably be taking him up on that.

Rolling Stone 2.5 - Piece of My Heart

Rolling Stone - Piece of My Heart

Genre: Drama

Director: Oliver Stone

Writer: D.R. Cobb

Based on the Rolling Stone magazine

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Aimee Teegarden, Karl Glusman, James Urbaniak, Ross Butler, Lou Taylor Pucci, Dora Madison Burge and Leighton Meester

Plot: October 1970. Jann Wenner (Karl Glusman) and his wife Jane (Leighton Meester) attend Janis Joplin's wake in San Anselmo, California, at a small music club. The wake mostly consists of members of the Bay Area music scene getting drunk and filling up on hash brownies. Jane comments that it is odd that nobody is talking about Joplin at all. Jann tells his wife that he thinks that's how Joplin would have wanted it. She wanted people to have a good time, and looking around the room that seems to be the case. Jane shrugs and takes a big bite of a hash brownie.

At the Rolling Stone offices, Ralph J. Gleason (James Urbaniak) and Ben Fong-Torres (Ross Butler) sit in Gleason's office discussing how they should cover the impending sheriff's election in Aspen, Colorado, where Hunter S. Thompson is in the thick of the race. Ben suggests sending Brady Conroy to Aspen to be a fly on the wall for the lead-up to Election Day. Gleason is surprised that he would suggest Brady, but isn't opposed to the idea, and says that they could send Brady's brother as well to take pictures.

Brady Conroy (Josh Hartnett) is in his bed having sex with Celeste (Aimee Teegarden). When they are done he tells her that they really need to stop doing this. Now that he's her professor it is entirely unprofessional and unethical. Celeste kisses Brady and tells him to lighten up - nobody is going to find out anyways, and once the class is done they can go back to normal. The phone starts ringing. Brady answers it, and Ben is on the line. He asks Brady to go to Aspen to cover Election Day for Thompson's sheriff campaign. Brady says he's teaching a class the next day, but can head over afterward. Ben adds that they'd like him to bring his brother Jimmy along to take pictures. Brady is surprised after they didn't use his picture for the Pete Townshend cover story, but Ben says they like his candid photography, his work just wasn't right for the cover. Brady says he'll relay the information to his brother. Before he hangs up, Ben tells Brady to pick up the plane tickets from Kylee down at the offices. Celeste kisses Brady one more time before leaving the apartment, saying she should probably wake up in her dorm to get to her classes the next day.

Jimmy Conroy (Lou Taylor Pucci) is at a bar when he sees a woman, Lexi Davenport (Dora Madison Burge), sitting at the bar. Jimmy goes up and introduces himself. He tells her he's a professional photographer and would love to photograph her some time. Lexi laughs and asks Jimmy if that pick-up line has ever worked before. Jimmy admits that he's never tried it before since he's only recently been able to make money from his photography. She asks if she would have seen any of his pictures before, and he says that he recently photographed a Who concert for Rolling Stone magazine. She isn't terribly impressed, by that, but is intrigued when Jimmy tells her that he has some high quality weed back at his place.

When Jimmy and Lexi make it to the outside of Brady's apartment, where Jimmy is still staying, she comments that she knows somebody who lives in the building. Jimmy says it's a small world. They head up to the apartment where they find Brady. Lexi says hi to Brady and comments to Jimmy that Brady would be that somebody. Jimmy comments that it's a really small world and asks how she knows Brady. She says it's complicated, and Jimmy quickly figures out that they have had sex together.

After class, Brady heads into the Rolling Stone offices and heads over to the desk of Kylee Hargrove (Alicia Witt). He asks her how she is doing since it's been a bit since they've seen each other. She says she's good and asks him if he wants to get drinks once he's back from Colorado. He says that it sounds like a plan. Brady collects the plane tickets from Kylee and heads home to pick up Jimmy. Jimmy and Lexi are naked on the couch, having just had sex. Brady chastises Jimmy for not being ready to head to the airport. Jimmy looks at a clock and is surprised by the time. He quickly gets dressed and tells Brady he's ready to go. Lexi leaves the apartment telling them both she is sure she'll be seeing them around.

L.A. Noire 1.5 - The Driver's Seat

L.A. Noire - The Driver's Seat

Genre: Crime

Director: Gavin O'Connor

Writer: John Malone

Based on the video game

Cast: Joe Alwyn, Eric Ladin, Bill Burr, Cole Hauser, Bob Stephenson, Michael Mosley, Jordan Gelber, Mark Pellegrino, Joshua Leonard and Keegan Connor Tracy

Plot: 1947 - Cole Phelps (Joe Alwyn) arrives at the Central Police Station in a new, pressed suit for his first day as a detective. He is greeted by the precinct's Watch Commander Mel Fleischer (Bob Stephenson), who happily begins giving Phelps a tour of the station. Fleischer takes him through to the building to his desk in the Traffic Division. On the way hangs a large poster of the Master Plan of Metropolitan Los Angeles Freeways. Phelps comments that he wishes they'd build a freeway next to his house. Fleischer says that they haven't even approved the money for the freeway yet and that the bond measure won't be till December - it will be years before any of it actually comes about. Fleischer then introduces Phelps to his new partner Detective Stefan Bekowsky (Eric Ladin), who says as long as Phelps goes easy on his and lets him earn the odd citation, they'll get along fine. Detective Roy Earle (Cole Hauser) comes through the office and introduces himself to Phelps. Earle says he'll have to keep an eye on Phelps based on what he's heard. Earle then walks away. Fleischer tells Phelps that Earle is the chief Ad Vice detective.

Phelps follows Bekowsky into the briefing room where he is welcomed by the sardonic Captain Gordon Leary (Bill Burr), who informs the rest of the room that Phelps is one of only two serving LAPD officers who received the Silver Star during the war. Leary tells Phelps to stick with Bekowsky - he's a good cop and he knows Traffic inside and out. Leary says he'll give him one case. If he does well he'll get a couple more. If Phelps screws up, Leary says he will have him rousting vagrants and runnin license plates. Leary tells Phelps and Bekowsky to get down to the PE Freight Depot. A patrolman called in a suspicious vehicle with signs of foul play.

When they arrive at the depot, the Officer Ralph Dunn (Michael Mosley) is on the scene. He informs them that the car is registered to an Adrian Black and is full of blood, but not body. Phelps heads over to the car where he finds County Coroner Malcolm Carruters (Jordan Gelber) taking a look at the copious amounts of blood in the car. Phelps looks through a wallet found in the car. It belongs to Adrian Black. Near the car there is a bloody pipe, but Carruthers comments that there seems to be too much blood to have been caused by any sort of blunt force trauma. Bekowsky opens up the trunk of the car and calls Phelps over. Bekowsky found a receipt in the trunk made out to "F. Morgan" for the purchase of one live hog.

Phelps and Bekowsky drive to Adrian Black's house to speak to his wife. When they walk up to the door, Bekowsky tells Phelps to go ahead and do the talking. Bekowsky says he's no good at the shoulder to cry on stuff. They knock on the door and Margaret Black (Keegan Connor Tracy) answers. Phelps tells her they have some bad news for her and ask to come inside. Once inside, Phelps informs her that Adrian's car was found abandoned and there are signs of foul play. She says she was worried when he didn't come home last night. Phelps asks Margaret if it would be alright if he and his partner had a look around the house for a few minutes. Margaret says that would be fine, anything to help find her husband. Near an ashtray Phelps finds a matchbook from Cavanagh's Bar. Bekowsky surmises that Adrian could have been a regular if he's bringing home matchbooks. In a closet Phelps finds a used train ticket to Seattle, but doesn't find a suitcase, which he finds suspicious. Phelps and Bekowsky sit back down with Margaret and ask her if she knows a "F. Morgan". She says that would be Frank Morgan, Adrian's up to no good drinking buddy. Bekowsky asks if Adrian frequents Cavanagh's Bar, and she says that he practically lives there after work. Phelps asks if Adrian said where he was going the night before, and she says that all he said was that he was going out for a drink with Frank. Phelps tells Margaret that they'll keep her informed on the case and thank her for her time and assistance. As Phelps and Bekowsky get into the car to check out the bar, Bekowsky says he doesn't think Margaret was involved in whatever happened. She just doesn't seem the type. Phelps agrees with him.

Phelps and Bekowsky arrive at Cavanagh's Bar. They asks the bartender for Frank Morgan. The bartender points to the corner of the room. They sit down at the table in front of Frank Morgan (Mark Pellegrino). Phelps asks him if he'd heard that Adrian has gone missing. Morgan says that's too bad - Adrian was a good boss. Phelps tells him that they found Adrian's car abandoned, covered in blood, and they believe Morgan was involved. Morgan laughs and tells them to prove it. Phelps mentions that they have a receipt in the trunk with his name on it. Morgan gives up and tells the detectives that Adrian fell in love with some broad in Seattle and asked for Morgan's help to make it look like he'd been attacked. Bekowsky thanks Morgan for his cooperation and asks where Adrian Black is hiding out. At first Morgan claims Adrian took off for Seattle, but quickly reveals that Adrian is hiding out at his place until he gets some money together.

Phelps and Bekowsky knock on Morgan's door, and Adrian Black (Joshua Leonard) answers. Phelps greets Black and tells him he's under arrest. Adrian apologizes, saying he never wanted to hurt anyone, he just needed to get away from L.A. Adrian tries to escape out a window, but falls and lands in a bush down below. Bekowsky and Phelps run outside and find him still struggling to get out of the bush that broke his fall. Phelps cuffs Adrian, telling him he is under arrest for conspiracy and fraud. Bekowsky says that Adrian is going to lose his wife, his job and probably end up in the big house. He says he hopes the dame in Seattle was worth all that.

Back at the Central station, Captain Leary comments on what an idiot Adrian Black was, but commends Phelps for getting an arrest and a clearance in his first case in the division.