5. Character Growth From Captain Jackson
One of the most compelling relationships of season one was the mutually resentful cohabitation between Capt Jackson and Tenter Streer brothel proprietor "Long" Susan Hart. There was clearly a long, painful history between them and it seemed to be this fear rather than any lingering feelings which kept them together. When it was revealed that they had eloped, leaving America to flee Susan's father and Jackson's former colleagues it was a good, believable episode which could easily have been saved for the season finale. In a turn of events straight from a Western, Jackson won his wife's freedom in a pistol duel to the death and ended the episode walking off into the figurative sunset with her, while his new colleagues flat out denied that they'd seen anything happen. It was heavy on dramatic license and light on responsible policing, but then if the show's fans wanted history they'd watch Time Team. Going into season two it seemed like Jackson's change in relationship status might have led to character development they were shown eating meals together, having sex and behaving more like a married couple, rather than the Victorian-era Wife (well, prostitute) Swap of the past. Jackson even had a heroin trip (he identifies drugs by tasting them, don't ask) featuring hallucinations of a loose haired, post-coital Susan. Then in an abrupt change of tack he was shown hitting on former employees, openly sleeping with current ones and being so indiscreet in one scene he literally walked into a room with a prostitute on his arm, doing up his trousers. I personally looked forward to seeing how Jackson would fare in a committed relationship after having spent the first season as the anthropomorphic personification of sex, drugs and indiscriminate gunfire. Instead, the moral of the story seems to be that if you shoot a guy for your emotionally estranged wife she'll not only instantly forget all the times you cheated on her in her own house with her own staff, but continue to look the other way in the future.