TV Review: Hell on Wheels 1.2, “Immoral Mathematics”
“Immoral Mathematics” suffers from the same problem of the pilot – story threads devoid of any real urgency or importance.
rating: 3.5
I mentioned last week that pilot episodes are a tricky thing to judge the future of a series on. Theyre essentially a commercial for what a show aims to be, but more often than not fail to serve as a strong example of what a series will eventually become. Hell on Wheels first hour featured many indications it could very well end up being a victim of this phenomenon. It spent quite a bit of its focus on two characters that were killed off before the credits rolled, and the rest of its runtime on necessary but poorly executed (read: boring) narrative setup. Yet, however squandered it was in its first hour, the shows potential was undeniable. All of the pieces were there the question of course, was (and still is) whether or not the creative team would figure out how to successfully take advantage of them. Thankfully, Immoral Mathematics is a step in the right direction, improving on the series previous chapter. Whereas the show stumbled through its first hour, Immoral Mathematics has a much firmer grasp on pacing and narrative focus. So much so, in fact, that were given the first inkling of what the show may thematically be about: chaos and control. The post-Civil War backdrop of Hell on Wheels amounted to little more than window dressing in the pilot, but Immoral Mathematics spends more than a few of its standout moments addressing how the war affected those that survived it. Their various confessions paint the America of Hell on Wheels as a land that, although barely out of its infancy, is already on the verge of such collapse that order can only come from crossing increasingly difficult moral boundaries. This perspective is most beautifully conveyed by a new character introduced early on in Immoral Mathematics, a former bookkeeper turned head of security for the Hell on Wheels campsite, known only as The Swede (played by Christopher Heyerdahl.) After imprisoning Cullen in a boxcar (and sentencing him to death by hanging) for the murder that took place at the tail end of last weeks episode, he details the specific brand of suffering he went through as a prisoner of the Civil War a recounting that includes vividly grisly details of starvation to the point of cannibalism. The conversation between Cullen and Swede ends up being the standout moment of the episode, predominantly because its the first time thus far that Hell on Wheels has felt truly compelling. Although the pilot initially alluded to Thomas Durant being the shows primary villain, the introduction of Swede is a smart choice on the end of the creative team. His quiet yet still immensely threatening demeanor is the polar opposite of the theatrical and over-the-top Durant, and, only one episode into his story, hes already a much more well-drawn character one who has suffered immensely, yet, at the end of the day, is still quick to violence, whether its justified or not. Also great this time around is Cullen himself, who felt a little purposeless in the pilot. Yes, theres the revenge plot that guides his every action, but that, thus far, has felt a little hollow its an arc we know will guide the series but so far carries little weight because we know such few facts about it. Cullen, here, has a much more pressing matter to attend to his survival which leads to some great scenes with the aforementioned Swede as well as a surprising solution to the matter that manifests during an equally-thrilling negotiation scene with Durant. Going back to Hell on Wheels exploration of chaos and order, the scenes with these three characters are where the narrative links to this theme are best portrayed. All three of these men Durant, Cullen, and Swede spend time in Immoral Mathematics justifying, or at least shedding light on, their excuses for moral decay either presently occurring or promised for the future. Its another reason why their scenes together are what places this episode on another level from the pilot it is here, and only here, that the events transpiring dont feel like theyre aimless. But despite Immoral Mathematics improvements on the Hell on Wheels formula, theres still a lot of work to be done before the show can truly be considered noteworthy. On the plot side of things, Immoral Mathematics suffers from the same problem of the pilot story threads devoid of any real urgency or importance. Whether its the plot line of Durant trying to recover maps in someway related to his railroad plans, a priest who has set up shop within the Hell on Wheels campsite, or the budding friendship between former slave Elam Ferguson (played by Common) and Cullen, nothing in any of these plotlines has yet to bear any real fruit. In fact, despite receiving their fair share of the runtime, losing any of them would do little to hurt the show. This week, Hell on Wheels proved a few things. One, it works best when its following Cullen Bohannon around, two, it is definitely starting, in some ways, to improve on its faults, and three, its still got a long way to go before its anywhere near as successful a show as it wants to be.