TV Review: HELL ON WHEELS 1.7, 'Revelations'
If all we can hope for Hell on Wheels at this point is minor victories, then “Revelations” wasn’t half bad.
rating: 2.5
If all we can hope for Hell on Wheels at this point is minor victories, then Revelations wasnt half bad. Dont get me wrong the overarching plot decisions (which Ill get to later) were as frustrating and misguided as ever, but as a mindless, entertaining hour of television, Revelations had a fair bit of success. The majority of the episode hinges on Cullen and Elams escape from the Hell on Wheels campsite, and it is in their moments together that the episode truly shines. Were treated to familiar, but nonetheless entertaining scenes of Elams rescue from near-execution, Cullens lessons on how to shoot a pistol, and an ambush that leaves the two standing victorious over the half-dozen gunmen that were tracking them through the countryside. Again, nothing here feels completely fresh, but it doesnt really have to be its the type of action Westerns are known for, and theres a reason these scenes have been done over and over again throughout the history of the genre. Quite simply theyre fun which is something Hell on Wheels hasnt really been all that often as weve moved throughout the weeks. This comes, of course, with a caveat. Laced throughout this plot thread, and the episode at large, are all too convenient character revelations that scream of lazy writing. Cullen has one explaining why hed take the time to save Elams skin in the first place. Durant does too right before he pulls a double-cross that requires him to be seen in a positive light to have any sort of payoff at all. And Elam has one too although it comes in the form of a flashback. That flashback the reveal that Elam can read, and is fairly well-versed in the bible, is used to give the episode a book-end thats supposed to be clever but comes off as undeserved. In fact, theres a lot of attempts to poetically tie things together in Revelations that do not succeed simply because theyre so forced. Take the aforementioned target practice scene between Cullen and Elam. Cullen makes it a point to mention how vital it is to keep track of the other guys bullet count, and, of course, when the big gunfight does happen, the scenes climax hinges, predictably, on this lesson. This happens more than a few times throughout Revelations hour, and is so painfully transparent it nearly kills the good these scenes have. But lets move on to bigger things. There are two substantial plot turns in Revelations that feel both out of left field and products of bad creative judgment. Although the Cullen and Elam plot yielded the strongest scenes of the episode, the very idea that theyre abandoning the campsite undermines one of the narrative backbones of the show. The reason behind Cullens involvement with the transcontinental railroad is to aide in his search of those that murdered his wife and child. If he leaves now, how important, exactly, is this goal? The very idea that the man would willingly lose the only footing he has in this makes little sense, and places Cullens main objective even further on the backburner. And then theres the romance angle between Durant and Lily Bell a choice that only works as an excuse to keep Bell on the show. Much like the idea of Cullen being on the run, its a narrative choice that may change the very foundations of the show. And given how rocky those foundations already are, the last thing Hel on Wheels needs is to shake things up further. We are now three episodes away from this seasons finale, and still nowhere near anything resembling a narrative focus. Unfortunately, its evident the show may never have one.