Even though he is a henchman and kills people.

With his bare hands even. So more like a grizzly, less like a teddy.

But yeah, Dan was kind of awesome. I like how they let little details of just how much he and Al had meant to each other over the years.

I completely agree with you, Sophia! I even called him a big murderous teddy bear. He's clearly become one of my favorite characters; I was disappointed there wasn't more of him in this last episode, after four episodes where he figured pretty prominently.

I'm still not sure I understand Trixie as a character. Is she just the whore Al fancies the most? Is she officially above the others in a hierarchy (like Joanie seems to be? I'm not sure whether Joanie herself is a whore or not, given Toliver's whole "Were you not asking my permission?" bit)? I don't get why she's been focused on. And it's so sad to see her every time because her bruises haven't healed yet.

I want one. To keep people away when I ain't receivin.

I think those relationships will become more clear in time, P-C.

After Tom Block wrote his powerhouse High Hat essay about the fight in Season Three involving Dority, I heard that W. Earl Brown himself had commented on it at the HBO forum.

That was awesome. I'm not surprised. Of course, i'm still basking in that pepper steak.

After Tom Block wrote his powerhouse High Hat essay about the fight in Season Three involving Dority, I heard that W. Earl Brown himself had commented on it at the HBO forum.

The essay or the scene? Cool either way, but especially so if it was the essay.

That essay was brilliant.

The essay, the way I heard it. I didn't go over to the HBO forums to verify it, though. Too many idiots.

wrod.

The plague! Or smallpox, as it were.

Goddamn, Jane is fucking irritating. I still hate the way she talks, all garbled and like her nose is stuffed up. And she's kind of pathetic, too; she keeps calling Hickock her best friend, but as far as I could tell, he didn't care a whit about her. They didn't share a single scene together after their introduction in the pilot. She acts like she's tough shit and hasn't done a damn thing to back it up. I do like the way she is with the kid, though. That's adorable.

Also annoying: the Reverend. Again, it's the way he talks, ultrasincere and naive and hopeful. He doesn't fit in with everyone else.

I'm growing to like Farnum, though, if only because he fucking soliloquizes all the time!

I'm growing to like Trixie too, now that it's clearer that she really is trying to get Alma off the dope. In the last episode, I couldn't be sure she wasn't actually doing some sort of Al-approved scheme. It takes a lot of gumption to betray Al Swearengen! Also, it looks like her face is healed, so she looks normal now. Which is kind of appropriate, now that she's emerging as a strong character.

I'm also liking Al, magnificent bastard that he is. He has such an amusing, intriguing worldview: he sees everything—everything!—only in terms of how it benefits him. And he's surprisingly subtle about it such that you have to sometimes work backwards and look at consequences and actions and reactions to confirm that, yes, Al is indeed motivated by self-interest in this particular decision as well.

Toliver is clearly being used as a foil and antagonist for Al, but I want him to be differentiated more. Because right now he's almost an exact copy, just played by a different actor.

I think Bullock might have anger management issues.