Hell on Wheels, Season 3, Episode 5, “Searchers”
Written by Bruce Marshall Romans
Directed by Neil LaBute
Airs Saturdays at 9pm (ET) on AMC
With the exception of last week’s episode, Hell on Wheels has been the best it’s ever been and “Searchers” might just be the season’s greatest episode. Directed by Neil LaBute, the highly emotional episode notches up the usual tension, fear, urgency, and sadness to an almost unbearable level.
Season three’s greatest accomplishment, so far, has been its further exploration of characters who until recently were almost always relegated to the background. We already know that Cullen (Anson Mount) is a complex character but Elam’s fierce, single minded approach to finding his daughter is perfectly played by Common.
Eva (Robin McLeavy) has been a fascinating character this season. Her guilt and fear, as well as her belief that she is cursed, lead to the night’s most wrenching scene; her breakdown by the river and Ruth’s (Kasha Kropinski) confession are beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. Even with all of the character development this season there are a few surprises this week, chief among them the exploration of Psalms (Dohn Norwood). Previously he’d been given odd scenes here and there, but season three has seen his role expand and “Searchers” is a real coming out party for his character. His interrogation of Declan Toole is thrilling and beautifully acted. Mickey (Phil Burke) and Sean (Ben Esler) are also becoming more well rounded characters that should have some very interesting places to go.
“Searchers’” best moments come in the quiet scenes. Elam’s admission to Cullen that he knows the baby isn’t his but doesn’t care is staggering. By this point it’s clear that this is Common’s episode, but this scene also shows us an interesting side of Cullen. When he warns Elam that the baby will only cause heartache, we know that he is a man who cares but understands what that can cost a person in their world, especially when it comes to the Hell on Wheels camp.
While there are some truly dazzling shots, Elam and Cullen riding up to the kidnapper being one of them, there are a few loose ends that are slightly bothersome. It’s becoming obvious that the Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl) is acting as some kind of deranged narrator for the story but as of right now, he’s just kind of off, existing with no real purpose. The same goes for Durant (Colm Meany). He’s an odd character and in past seasons he was a brutal but interesting man. Now he’s in danger of becoming one note. However there are still six episodes left this season and he certainly has the potential to grow.
None of these lingering issues change the fact that “Searchers” is an extremely powerful episode, with the final rain-soaked scene acting as an intense and ominous warning. There are many things left to come this season and they should lead to some difficult, life changing moments for the characters.
Tressa Eckermann