Nez Perce 2.7 - Smoke

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

Cast: Adam Beach, Julia Jones, Martin Sensmeier, Zahn McClarnon, Gil Birmingham, Lily Gladstone, Damon Herriman, Irene Bedard and David Midthunder

Plot:1877. Chief Joseph (Adam Beach) stands on a hillside overlook with two Nez Perce scouts. He tells that now that the country is flat, it is important to be on the lookout for people. A stampeding herd, a flock of birds changing course, these are signs to watch for. He says if they see soldiers, it's already too late.

That night, the freezing Nez Perce exhale visible breath into the night air. Joseph wraps his arms around his daughter. She asks him why they can't light a fire. He tells her that the soldier would be able to see it. Running Feet closes her eyes. Joseph looks over to Springtime (Julia Jones). Her eyes are growing more vacant by the day. Nearby, Ollokot (Martin Sensmeier) sees Oyema (Lily Gladstone) struggling to keep her baby warm. He offers her his blanket. At first she hesitates, then takes it and thanks him. Ollokot nods. Staring at the child, he tries to forget about his sorrow and the terrible cold piercing through his body.

The next morning, the Nez Perce cross the Missouri River, tired and hungry. Light run drizzles down on them. Joseph and Looking Glass (Zahn McClarnon) glance up at the sky. Looking Glass begs the sky to not snow. Near the back of the line, an old woman falls down, dead. The tribe keeps moving, unable to stop. She is just one of a dozen who fallen for good. The tribe keeps moving through the cold wind and rain. Joseph sees a group of Indian riders in the far distance. Looking Glass asks if they are Crow. Joseph nods.

Joseph and Looking Glass sit with the Crow warriors. They claim to come with good news. Looking Glass and Joseph plead with them for help. They need food and clothes, anything the Crow can spare. The Crow warriors say they misunderstand. They cannot help the Nez Perce. There are too many whites. More soldiers and more forts. The whites are everywhere and more are coming each day. Looking Glass is confused and asks what the supposed good news is. The Crow warriors tell him that Sitting Bull has returned. Joseph suddenly looks up, intrigued. They go on to say it is only a rumor, but they believe him to be nearby. They say to find him. Joseph nods as the cold wind blows.

General Nelson A. Miles (Damon Herriman) and his men ride under the cover of night. The sky begins to lighten from the impending sunrise. He tells his men to prepare to make camp. No tents, no fires, nothing that can be seen from a distance. Everyone must sleep against the hillside and keep out of sight.

As the sun rises, the Nez Perce camp awakens. On the hillside, two scouts look across the plains. There are figures, tiny dots, far in the distance. The scouts are unsure if they are buffalo or people.

The Nez Perce march across the landscape. Rain has turned to sleet. Joseph rides with Running Feet in his arms, shielding her as best he can. Springtime rides beside them, clearly in pain. Toohoolhoolzote (Gil Birmingham) and Looking Glass brace against the cold. Oyema keeps her baby bundled close. Ollokot rides beside her, doing what he can to protect her from the cold wind. The scouts appear over the horizon. Joseph and Looking Glass meet them halfway. They tell him no sign of Sitting Bull. Joseph asks about soldiers, and they tell him they haven't seen any soldiers either. The tribe keeps moving. They come over a small bluff. In the far distance, mountains appear. Looking Glass stares with disbelief as his face fills with recognition. Canada is just up ahead. Everyone looks up, exhausted and amazed. They're almost made it.

That night the tribe makes camp. Springtime sleeps, her breathing growing heavy and labored. Joseph watches her with great concern. He carefully lifts her shirt to check her wounds and discovers they've turned gangrenous. Knowing there's nothing he can do, he lowers her shirt and puts his blanket around her. Then he gets to his feet and leaves. He finds Ollokot standing at the edge of camp. Together, the two brothers stare into the darkness. Ollokot asks how Springtime is doing. Joseph shakes his head. She's still breathing, but that's about all he can say. Ollokot asks what the plan is once they get to Canada. Joseph stares at his brother, confused. Ollokot wonders if they can talk to the American Chief to make him understand it was the young warrior who did the killing, that they tried to surrender at White Bird. Joseph doesn't know what the future holds. They suddenly notice that somebody has started a fire. Joseph and Ollokot charge through the camp. Reaching the fire, they begin to frantically stomp it out. The small fire can be seen for miles. It flickers for a brief moment, then disappears into the darkness. Smoke rises from the extinguished fire. Joseph and Ollokot look down to see that it was Little Bird's mother (Irene Bedard) that started the fire. She sobs, crying that she's cold. Ollokot asks Joseph if he thinks anybody saw. Joseph shakes his head, not sure.

Miles away, a Bannock Scout (David Midthunder) comes out of the darkness and looks down at the Nez Perce camp. He saw the fire. He rides back to Col. Miles' camp to report his findings. Miles tells his men to ready as they must leave at once.

The Nez Perce awaken at dawn and gather their things. Ollokot and Oyema exchange a look as they get ready. Joseph gently nudges Springtime. She doesn't wake. For a moment, he's scared she has died, but then her eyes flicker open. Joseph sighs with relief. Nearby, Toohoolhoolzote helps Little Bird's Mother stand up. He assures her that they have just one more day, then it will all be over.

The Nez Perce scouts stare out across the plains. Bad weather makes it difficult to see. A herd of buffalo roam three miles away. The scouts stand and walk away. One realizes he's forgotten something and turns back. He bends over and picks his telescope off the ground. He looks up and his face floods with panic. The herd of buffalo is stampeding. He looks through his telescope. Hundreds of soldiers on horses, approaching fast. The two scouts hurry back to camp and yell that soldiers are coming. Order in the camp fragments as warriors prepare for battle.

Burnt Prairie 1.6 - Rose

Burnt Prairie - Rose

Genre: Drama

Director: James Ponsoldt

Writer: Chad Taylor

Cast: Kristin Chenoweth, Colman Domingo, Josh Lucas, Ed Oxenbould, Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Aden Young and Will Patton

Plot: In Memory of Robert Forster (1941-2019)

In the morning, parts of the community gather at Burnt Prairie United Methodist Church, where Rose (Kristin Chenoweth) is the pastor. Afterwards, she goes from table to table at the fellowship hall, where they serve donuts and coffee. The basketball team’s performance is the talk of the town at the moment. Because of this role, it is clear that she has at least some sort of relationship with everyone in town.

After she is done meeting with the church-goers, she finds that the last one left is Morris Whitney (Will Patton), janitor at Burnt Prairie High School, sitting silently. She calls him into the prayer room. She usually knows the right thing to say to everyone regarding their problems but this one is unique. He tells Rose that he knows that his son Keith is not the villain that the town has painted him to be. She says she agrees but he says that she doesn’t get it. It is her husband who is the painter. He’s scapegoating this poor kid from the other side of the tracks to cover up for his own negligence. Rose doesn’t know what to say. As Morris grows angrier, he says that he never thought it was a good decision for the church to assign a woman as a minister and that he is leaving the church after today. She continues to try to reason with him as he leaves. She sits in defeat.

Later in the day, it is time for Von’s funeral service. Many people from around town attend, as well as relatives from Chicago. Some media are still in town, this being the last event they plan to cover in this story. Rose gives an impassioned sermon. After the burial, she invites Marvin (Colman Domingo) and his son over for dinner that night.

As she makes dinner, she asks Cal (Josh Lucas) where their daughter is. He says she is out with friends. This angers Rose as she knows that Cameron knew they were hosting the Murphy’s for dinner tonight. Elliott (Ed Oxenbould) asks his parents if he and Denni can play video games but Cal says he’ll have to wait until after they eat.

When Marvin and Denni (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) arrive for dinner, Rose tries to keep the conversation on topics other than Von as that is all they’ve thought about for the last week. Denni asks where Cameron is and Rose disappointingly says she couldn’t make it. Cal notices that Elliott is not eating any vegetables on his plate and tells him not to disrespect his mom’s cooking like that. Rose tells him it is okay but Cal forces Elliott to eat cauliflower, with everyone looking at him. Despite his resistance, he takes a bite and then spits it out in disgust. This makes Cal angry and he grabs Elliott by his collar and leads him to his room. The camera stays on the dinner table while you can hear Cal chew out Elliott for acting like that in front of guests. Rose apologizes to her guests while Marvin says he understands. Elliott is having a meltdown and says that Cal is the one embarrassing him in front of his friend. Cal is having none of it and says that his son will show respect at his dinner table.

Later that night, Cal vents to his wife about their son’s behavior. She tells him he needs to be more sensitive because of Elliott’s autism. Cal scoffs at that, believing that Elliott can control his behavior better than he says he can. Rose grows offended, as if her husband doesn’t believe their son’s diagnosis. This grows into a full blown argument, where Rose tells him about her interaction with Keith Whitney’s father earlier that day and how it made her feel - all because of Cal’s actions. This makes him even more angry, again doubling down that he was protecting their daughter. She asks if he was just protecting himself. She grabs her keys and says she needs to get away from him for a little while.

As she is driving, she drives by the local bar and decides to stop in, a place she rarely goes. To her surprise, Alan Carpenter (Aden Young) is there. They had been classmates in high school way back when. He tells her he was in town to visit his father with the whole controversy and this is his last night in town. They catch up on each other’s lives while Rose is not specific about her current problems. She reflects on her life path thus far: 1967 BPHS Prom Queen, got engaged to her high school sweetheart, he gets drafted into Vietnam and that’s all she can think about so she chooses to stay in Burnt Prairie for his return instead of going to college or a bigger city. He eventually does return, although not exactly the same. They have kids and grows discontent with just being a staying at home mom so she followed her passion to the ministry. Alan says his path was much shorter: he just got a job in Indianapolis out of high school and has never looked back.

She laments to him the near irreversible effect that Von’s death will have on her family and he says the same is true for his family. She says things were never perfect but this seems to have shifted them onto a course where she truly feels lost and doesn’t feel like her husband is someone she can go to in this time of need. She begins crying as Alan puts his hand over hers and says that everything will be okay.

As this happens, the bar door slings open and it is Cal. He angrily says he has been driving around for an hour looking for her. It’s almost midnight and still no sign of Cameron. He’s called the homes of the people she was supposed to be hanging out with but they hadn’t seen her since the funeral either. Rose gives Alan a hug, much to Cal’s chagrin and leaves with her husband.

While still angry at each other, they coordinate where they will look for her and both get in their separate cars. The episode ends on a split screen as they both drive aimlessly around town, in silence and in tears, looking for their daughter.

Rolling Stone 2.6 - Up Around the Bend

Rolling Stone - Up Around the Bend

Genre: Drama

Director: Oliver Stone

Writer: D.R. Cobb

Based on the Rolling Stone magazine

Cast: Josh Hartnett, Aimee Teegarden, Karl Glusman, Alicia Witt, Lou Taylor Pucci, Stephen Dorff and Frances Conroy

November 1970. Brady Conroy (Josh Hartnett) and Jimmy Conroy (Lou Taylor Pucci) hold on for dear life as the small plane they're riding in has a rocky landing at a small Colorado airport. They exit the plane and find it is snowing. Hunter S. Thompson (Stephen Dorff) skids to a stop on the runway in a convertible with the top down. Thompson tells them to hop in, there's work to do. Brady and Jimmy get in the back seat and Thompson speeds away from the airport. Thompson doesn't seem bothered by the kid, even with his recently shaved head, but Brady and Jimmy are freezing in the back seat as Thompson drives erratically down a mountain road.

Finally they arrive at Thompson's house and campaign headquarters at Woody Creek. Brady immediately asks why there are so many armed guards around the property. Thompson nonchalantly mentions that there were bomb threats sent to City Hall that explosives would be used if he won the election for Pitkin County Sheriff. Brady asks Thompson why exactly he chose to run for sheriff, and Thompson explains that he just wanted to shake up the establishment. His "Freak Power" running mate for mayor, Joe Edwards, only lost the election for Aspen Mayor by a handful of votes, so clearly there is a market for their particular brand of anti-establishment ideas, and Thompson wanted to see it through.

As the election results are rolling in on the television, it is announced that Thompson has lost the election by 90 votes to his Republican opponent. Thompson grabs one of his many guns and shoots the television. He then smiles and suggests that everyone get good and drunk. Brady asks Thompson if he is upset about losing the election. Thompson says he wanted to shake things up, but at least he managed to scare the establishment, and that's pretty alright with him. The armed guards put away their guns and start handing out cans of beer to everyone on the property.

On the plane ride back to San Francisco, Brady begins writing out an article on the election day events. The plane hits a big patch of turbulence. Jimmy calls for the flight attendant and tells her that he's going to need all the alcohol on the plane if he's going to handle any more turbulence.

Back in San Francisco, Brady heads to the Rolling Stone offices where he is greeted by Kylee Hargrove (Alicia Witt). She asks him how the trip went. Brady says that the election didn't exactly go as everyone there had hoped but that it was an interesting trip nonetheless. Jann Wenner (Karl Glusman) comes out of his office and welcomes Brady back to town. Brady hands him what he has written from the trip, and Wenner tells him he's excited to read his insights.

When Brady gets home he finds Jimmy entertaining their mother Colleen (Frances Conroy). It is apparent that even with his prison stint, Jimmy is their mother's favorite. He is showing her the pictures he has been taking since working for the magazine. Colleen comments that it was nice of Brady to help Jimmy find an outlet for his photography talent. Brady says he's tired and going to bed, but that he'll presumably see them both in the morning. When he goes into his bedroom he finds Celeste (Aimee Teegarden) waiting in his bed under the covers. Brady is surprised to see her. Celeste tells him that she wanted to surprise him naked in bed. She didn't plan on waiting this long, but she got startled when Jimmy and the woman entered the apartment so she's been hiding in the bed ever since. Brady says that the woman is his mother. Celeste is then even more nervous and asks how she's supposed to sneak out of the apartment with his mother in the next room. Brady tells her that she doesn't have to sneak out and gets into the bed with her.