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In 1883 Season 1, Episode 3, entitled, “River,” death is as much as character as the individual Duttons. Written by Taylor Sheridan and directed by Christina Voros, Episode 3 beings with a montage of death as the immigrants succumb in a variety of ways to the dangers of the open prairie. Ranging from a man getting run over by a wagon to a man getting mauled and killed by a wild dog to a woman bitten by a rattlesnake, these deaths shows that the fears shared by Shea (Sam Elliott), Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) and James (Tim McGraw) about the travelers’ ill preparedness were warranted. After reaching the Brazos River, the men are forced to choose: go East to the ferry at Dennison and lose valuable time or push West despite the risks to their party. Shea opts for caution while James opts for efficiency, which causes the first rift between the two men.
As Wade (James Landry Hébert) recruits Margaret (Faith Hill) and Isabel (Isabel May) to help lead the cattle to water, Shea and Thomas head back to camp and come across the desperate Noemi (Gratiela Brancusi), a Romani woman whose husband was killed by the bandits in Episode 2. Shea rejects her advances (“I can be a wife for you”) but pledges that he and Thomas will make sure she safely reaches Oregon. When they inquire about her supplies, Noemi says that a group of men stole everything after her husband died. Incensed, Shea and Thomas find the men, beat the shit out of them, break their wagon yoke and release their horses so that they can’t continue on. Shea issues a warning to the group (“If you steal, you will stay where you stole!”) and chastises Josef (Marc Rissmann) for not being a better leader.
When James and his son, John (Audie Rick), return from a hunting trip, Shea is waiting for them at their wagon to tell him the wagon train is going West after all. After forming a shaky agreement, Shea returns to camp to find the thieves he kicked out trying to form a rebellion against him. Shea quickly squashes it, terrifying the party with by recounting his experiences during the Battle Of The Wilderness. He allows the thieves to leave with their lives, which he later regrets. The next morning, the wagon train continues its long and arduous journey West where only more death awaits.
Let’s break down the 5 most important moments from Episode 3 that will have repercussions throughout the rest of the season.
EAST OR WEST?
Upon reaching the Brazos River, Shea, Thomas and James have to decide which direction to take. While James wants to cross the river now and continue west, Shea wants to backtrack to Dennison and let the wagon train cross the river on the ferry, which is the safer option. Shea tries to reason with James, warning about the consequences to the inexperienced travelers of going west: “They won’t make it. The country’s too rough. No water, there’s bandits in every canyon and there ain’t no wall around that reservation neither.” In classic Dutton stubbornness, James won’t hear any of Shea’s arguments, saying: “We gotta head west somewhere. May as well be here. West Texas is rough. It’s all rough…I ain’t asking for your permission. I’m telling you my decision. My decision’s west.”
Disappointed, Shea and Thomas head back to the camp. When Thomas points out that going back to Dennison would put them at least 2 weeks behind and closer to winter, Shea reiterates: “I’ll worry about winter when it comes. I’ll drown ’em if we cross here. They’ll die of thirst.” Thomas wisely replies: “They are dying pretty good as it is, Captain. And we haven’t even left Texas yet.” Shea begins to doubt his initial decision as the threat of winter continues to loom. One thing Shea knows for certain is that he doesn’t like James questioning his authority, despite his offering his services for free.
MEET NOEMI
Upon their return to the wagon trail, Shea and Thomas come across a despondent Noemi, crouched in a ball while her two sons complain of thirst. After the murder of her husband, she is completely alone. When Shea shows her kindness, Noemi throws herself upon him and sticks her hand down his pants. “Quit. I don’t want a wife. I’ll help you. I’ll help you with horse. I’ll help you set your camp with your boys. I had a wife, and I ain’t looking for another one,” Shea tells the desperate Noemi.
When Thomas returns after taking Noemi’s horses to water, he takes pity on her: “When you get to Portland, some handsome farmer’s gonna spot you in town and take one look at them big eyes and chase you down the street with flowers and candy.” As she’s comforted by this, Thomas continues, “You’ll get by out here just fine. We’ll get you there and then let a man earn your love instead of you trading for it. Trust me that crusty bastard over there… happiness runs from him like a scolded dog.” Given the cruelty of his profession and the harshness of the condition, Thomas’ gentleness and humor is surprising, but very welcome.
SHEA AND JAMES BUTT HEADS
James is shocked when he finds Shea waiting for him and John after their hunting trip. Being polite, James offers him some meat and the two sit down for a tête-à-tête around the camp fire. Shea reiterates: “If I take them east, it adds 3 weeks at the pace they’re moving. That puts us a south pass in October, November even.” When James stands firm on his decision to go west, Shea points out: “You said you’d help and you’re not helping.” Infuriated, James reminds him that Margaret and Elsa are with the cattle right now and the two men reach an impasse.
Shea knows James is right about heading west, but tells him, “You questioned my authority and I cannot have it.” James bluntly tells him, “I questioned going east and now we’re going west and I was right to question. I don’t work for you and I ain’t one of your patrons. The only family I give a shit about is mine.” They decide that Shea and Thomas will lead with the wagon train and James and his family will follow them with the cattle. Oh, and that offer of dinner? James rescinds it.
THE BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS
When Shea happens upon the thieves trying to start a rebellion against him and Thomas, Shea squashes it in the most intense way. After emasculating the thief in a quick draw, Shea recounts his experiences as a soldier during the Battle of The Wilderness which marked another attempt of the Union army to take the Confederate capital of Richmond. Shea snarls: “I fired my rifle so many times the barrel melted, just drooped like rotten fruit. So I killed with my pistol, and when I ran out of bullets, I killed with my sword and when my sword broke, I killed with my boots and bare hands. When the battle was over, I looked behind me, and the wilderness was gone.” Shea then gets to the point of his speech: “We killed 5,000 men that day. When I say killing you means nothing to me, I mean it. Killing you means nothing.”
He spares the thieves’ lives to show the wagon party he’s capable of mercy but immediately regrets his decision. When Thomas asks if Shea thinks the thieves will retaliate against Noemi, Shea laments: “I think they’re gonna go to Fort Worth and get drunk. Talk about all these wagons going north, find some men a whole lot tougher than they are and come back for all of us.” Maybe Shea should have shot them after all.
ENNIS COURTS ELSA
There has to be a bit of light in the darkness and that light is the blossoming romance between Elsa and Ennis (Eric Nelsen). When Elsa and Margaret arrived to help with the cattle, Ennis calls out, “Good looks run in the family I see,” to which Margaret replies, “Good manners don’t seem to run in yours.” Reeling with his interaction with the Dutton matriarch, Ennis is rather timid with Elsa, forcing her to take charge. When Elsa tells him, “This flirting thing is fun” and rides off, Ennis says incredulously to the cattle “She is flirting! Kind of mean the way she does it, but she is flirting!”
When Margaret later points out Ennis and Elsa are sweet on each other to James, she says, “There’s no gentlemen where we are and none where we’re going.” James points out that she herself did not marry a gentleman. The next day, James approaches Ennis and gives him his permission to court Elsa, which surprises Ennis as he doesn’t know what courting is. James does issue a warning: “If you break her heart or get handsy, you and me gonna have a problem.” When Ennis jokes, “define handsy,” James gives him the stare down of a lifetime. It’s too soon to be ribbing your potential father-in-law, Ennis!
