Hell on Wheels (2011–2016): Season 4, Episode 2 - Escape from the Garden - full transcript

Now open up that gate.

Did you hear me?

I said open it up.

We will have due process,

Brother Bohannon.

Soldiers approaching!

Soldiers approaching!

Is this your doing?

Soldiers?

What is your business?

Dr. Major Augustus Bendix
requesting assistance.



Well, pass us by, soldier.

Your misfortune is not our own.

A little grain for our horses
is all we require.

You already ask
too much of my patience!

You of the United States
Cavalry,

known to persecute
those of the Mormon faith!

True enough in the past, sir.

We now rid this territory
of the savage vermin

who would burn these
walls and take your scalp!

What is it?

Possibly a trick or a trap.

Doesn't look like a trap to me.

Bohannon is a clever one.

What's he got to do with this?



I appeal to your humanity, sir.

Leave us!

You don't know me.

They're itchin' to shoot.

- Elect a target.
- Good God, man.

I heard you were taken
and killed by outlaws.

Mormons... these ones here.

Ready to fire.

Hold your fire.

Murder is their way, not ours.

I can come back
with a company of men

- and a small piece of artillery.
- No, I can't.

Won't shoot my way
out of this one.

I got family inside.

Your situation gets curiouser
and curiouser, sir.

They're planning his escape.

Now, you do your duty.

My duty's to God.

God speaks through me.

I wonder.

I can leave a horse and a rifle

- in the woods for you.
- Listen to me.

Don't come back here.

I'm dead to the world.
Let's leave it like that.

Good Mormons,

thank you
for your Christian charity.

Don't push it, Bendix.

Your luck is running
mighty thin as it is.

Couple days,
I'll be free of this place.

Or dead again.

Could be likely both.

Now ride.

Close the gate!

Point that thing down
before you shoot somebody.

- Shit.
- When will the army return?

They got no truck with you.

Were you plotting with them?

That's the first time I seen you
scared of your shadow, Bishop.

You're here by my hand.

I take responsibility for that.

I told the major you're good,
plain people

seeking salvation,
that heaven's your destination.

You told them that?

In better words.

And I told 'em nothin'
about you.

Often we do not recognize

providence in our own lives,
Brother Bohannon.

You came to us at a time
when Brigham Young's revelation

was for us to build
our own railroad.

40 rail and 100 tie
don't make a railroad.

Now the-the weather is turning.

Work can commence.

You have the knowledge we need.

Father Hatch, you agreed
that I kept my word

- to stayin' to this day?
- You have.

Some despise you,

others see
a seed of righteousness.

Praise God.

But I stand for you to stay

for the reasons
the bishop has said.

Things are revealed
to us who dwell in prayer.

I vote he stays
and he takes another wife.

All those in favor

of Brother Bohannon remaining...

and becoming one of us,

"amen!!!"

Amen.

Amen.

Well, go.

Be with your wife and son.

Prepare yourself for baptism

with water drawn from a well

built with your own hands.

It is for your own welfare

that I speak to you in this way.

I believe you believe that.

Sordid-looking place...

worse than down south.

Everybody seems to be carrying
a gun of some kind.

Justice is
to be administered quickly

and indiscriminately.

Milk will be spilled.

That's for sure.

Might one of you gentlemen

be John Campbell?

I'm Campbell.

Thomas Durant,
head of Union Pacific Railroad

and chairman of Crédit Mobilier.

Welcome to Cheyenne, gentlemen.

Honor to meet you, Durant.

Quite a place you've built here.

Yes, well, one day

this will be the largest
rail hub in the nation.

I have no doubt...

with our help.

Well, in that case,

I hope you've brought
bags of money with you.

We bring something
even more valuable...

governmental oversight.

Yes.

Why don't we
discuss that over lunch?

That will be quite a feat...

Sewing under Johnson
and now Grant.

You must be the only thing
those two agree on.

General Grant and I agree

that what
this new territory needs

is a constitution, regulation,

most importantly...

Law and order.

Well, this is still
the frontier.

All those things
will come in due time.

Well, the future's now,
Mr. Durant.

First order of business,

I intend to build a courthouse,

statehouse, a jailhouse,

and a treasury.

The four horsemen
of civilization?

A lawyer, a politician,

a policeman and a tax collector.

I will need to buy land
upon which to build.

I will gladly accept cash.

I have plenty of land for sale.

General Grant
sent authorization...

to levy taxes.

If you are proposing...

to tax me in order to pay me
for my land,

why don't I just give it to you?

An interesting proposition,
Mr. Durant.

Cheyenne is my city,

run by my mayor
in support of my railroad.

You sound like
an unreconstructed southerner,

but we'll remedy all that.

You get your railroad
moving west again,

and that's what
General Grant wants from you.

You let me worry
about governing.

I am, after all,
the new governor.

Provisional governor.

Ezra.

Ezra!

Lunch!

I hope he's not
off into trouble again.

Boy settin' fires and stealin'

needs a taste
of the whippin' stick.

My father beat us as children.

Well, you turned out right,
church lady and all.

My brothers are violent men,

the ones still alive.

Your daddy rode
with John Brown, I heard.

There's a place
for righteous violence,

not in the raising of children.

Ezra acting foolish...

That started when Mr. Bohannon
went missin', didn't it?

The church in council bluffs

wants me to send Ezra to
the orphanage there.

Lately, I think
they might be right.

Spare the rod,

spoil the child.

Ezra!

Hey! Hey, what...

What in the hell did you do?

You're coming
with me, you little bastard!

You're not to be in here.

. Why not?

Just because.

Because what?

- Because you rinsed me off?
- Shh.

Because you could, what?

Shh.

You and me...

we got a new understandin',
Mickey.

I ain't leavin' you
and the baby.

Got us a chance to
have something different.

I can't be here, Naomi.

I know.

Mama had me in a wagon
comin' out.

Father never even slowed the ox.

I got a buckboard put away
in the barn

that'll get us to Cheyenne.

That's a big city.

We'll get there.

I'll get my railroad job.

We'll live in a caboose.

Is that a tent?

Train car.

Woodstove,

feather bed,

and a door that locks.

I'll get some things, husband.

Cullen?

This is the right thing,
isn't it?

Only thing.

I have enough credit
for the wagon.

Horse is mine.

We voted that you stay.

I voted that I leave.

I won.

There is an old violence
to Bishop Dutson.

Don't make my daughter a widow.

You know he's capable.

- Yes.
- See, it ain't me

he's scared of.

He's afraid I'll make
him see his own true self.

Would you reveal him
if you could?

You finally
startin' to see he's a fake?

No.

I can't hold that notion.

Excuse me.

You'll be shot,
you try to leave.

No, I won't...

'cause I'm takin' Naomi
and little William with me.

You stood by once already

and watched one of
your children die.

You gonna let that happen again?

Come on.

Don't touch that.

Those horses you let loose

cost the railroad $300.

Reverend Ruth will be in debt
for the rest of her life

to pay for what you did.

Luckily...

you won't be here to see it.

That is a free rail pass

to the orphanage
in Council Bluffs.

Put it in your pocket.

Do you know
what they will do to you there?

They will give you
a little bread,

and then they will beat you.

Then they will give you
some more bread,

and they will beat you again.

I know.

I grew up in
an orphanage myself.

Enjoy your trip.

Mr. Durant?

Mr. Durant...

I'm so very sorry.

I don't know what to do
with him.

Take him home,

love him...

And keep him
out of my stockyards!

Yes, Mr. Durant.

I will.

Thank you.

Gentlemen...

here's how I see it.

State treasury will displace
the casino.

Nice irony.

A culture's largest building

reflects what it values most.

Greeks built libraries.
Romans built the colosseum.

Now, the state capitol...

A nice spot on that rise...

Well-drained,
above the... clutter.

That is a beautiful spot.

Courthouse and jail

should be across
from the railroad offices.

Testament to law and order
for any new arrival.

Yes, indeed.

Second only in size
to the capitol.

Meantime, begin policing
the streets.

Public show of our will?

Finding criminals in this town
is an easy task.

Find the right one...

A guilty one.

Good day, gentlemen.

The platens on these Washingtons

get stuck from time to time.

You might want to replace
the coil springs.

They tend to rust.

I was a newspaperman myself...

Before the war, that is.

On.

Well, thank you, mister...

John Campbell,

provisional governor
of the Wyoming territory

by appointment of General Grant.

Well, then, you mind
if I ask you some questions

for "The Leader," then,
Governor?

Not at all.

Ain't no man that lucky.

Just the lay
of the cards, friend.

Well, maybe you're a son of a bitch cheat.

You, sir, are under arrest

for murder of the first degree.

. Hey... Hey!

- What's this, then?
- He was tryin' to swindle me.

Ain't that many 6s in no deck
of cards I ever heard of.

- Who are you?
- Mickey McGinnes,

the owner of this casino and
the mayor of Cheyenne.

And I'm your
new federal marshal.

I'm charging this man
with murder.

Check him, Mickey.
He had 6s all day.

Just...

Don't move.

You're caught cheatin'
around these parts...

you're liable to get
what you're gonna get.

It's the rule of the law.

The rule of the law?

Aye.

Everybody knows that.

You ever heard of such
a rule of law, judge?

Can't say I have.

How shall we proceed,
your honor?

I believe a trial is in order.

A trial?

An expeditious trial.

We'll see about that.

Out the way with ya!

Cheyenne has been touted

as the magic city of the plains.

It's my job to
govern it into a new era,

as I did in the South
following the war.

You were part of Johnson's
reconstruction effort?

Yes.

Part of that success.
I was comm...

Which success would that be?

Restoring rich, white
southerners back into power

or the persecution of the newly
freed negro?

I was a corrective

to president Johnson's
lack of resolve in Atlanta.

We bent the city
to the national will,

as I intend to do in Cheyenne...

with or without
the help of Thomas Durant.

Gunshots are a common
occurrence in Cheyenne, Mr. Campbell.

Regarding Mr. Durant, may
I quote you on that?

I wish you would.

Bless me, father,
for I have sinned.

Only you know my heart.

From the moment you saw me,
you knew me.

I bear the mark of Cain.

Please forgive me.

I'm a sinner...

A killer of men...

Enslaver of the sons of Ham.

I have defied not only God,
but you as well.

Please...

I beg you...

Forgive me.

Yes, my son.

I'm listening.

Lead me to your heart,
I pray you, Bishop Dutson.

Father of the ward,
gracious one,

you know me as you've
known me when heaven was young.

Yes. Yes, I know you.

I know your sinful ways.

Come with me

away from that path,

in God's glorious name!

By your hand, I beseech you
to remove my sin debt...

Slaver, killer,

soldier to keep my fellow man
in bondage.

Mississippi...

Tennessee, Georgia...

Only you know my depredations.

Yes, I will take them from you.

The hurt,

the pain, the dead,

the graves...

The prisons... Andersonville...

My greatest sin of all.
I'm guilty.

Yes. Yes, you are, my son.

You are evil!

So long God has wanted me
to punish you for your atrocities.

And you have... I'm indebted
to your righteousness.

Thank you, Lord,

heavenly father, for this...

What you had to do to save me,

what you had to become,

the sacrifices you had to make

to claim and redeem me,
Cullen Bohannon, sinner...

Yes,

you shall be redeemed, my son.

Wounded, betrayed, cast out...

You died and yet you were born.

No matter what cost,
no matter what sacrifice,

it was justified.

Justification, atonement,
redemption!

Those that have had to die
know this, even by your hand.

God's hands.

Righteous violence,
the human sacrifice,

necessary for you to sit at
the right hand of the father,

the right hand of God himself.

Dear, sweet, heavenly God, yes!

Bishop Dutson
just waiting for you,

God's outstretched hand
waiting for you to take him.

God works through my hands!

The bishop's bodily self
just waiting for you,

for you to take his place for
your ultimate transformation.

Waiting as God planned!

- You summoned God's righteous strength...
- Truth!

And did what you had to do!

Did away with
the pretender Dutson...

- Away!
- So that you could take

your rightful place, praise God!

- Praise God!
- By your hand,

- you traded your life for his!
- God's hand!

By your hand, you took his life!

- Life taken...
- By your hand,

you did away with him who might
have come amongst these people

- as a false prophet.
- Yes, a false prophet!

- So that now, praise God...
- Praise God!

Stand amongst us in his place!

God himself having cleansed
you of Bishop Dutson's blood,

- from these hands!
- These hands.

Cleansed, pristine,
immaculate hands!

Praise God!

Yes, and I look upon these hands

and there is no blood
that man can see,

- not one drop, praise God!
- Because...

It was in a river. Praise God.

A river.

Praise God!

- Boy does that do it.
- Yeah...

Watch yourself.

Marshal Jessup,
please step forward.

Did you bear witness
to the offense

of which Mr. McGuire
had been accused?

I did, Judge.

Could you please tell
the court what you witnessed?

Shortly after entering
the casino,

I saw this man

discharge his pistol directly
into that man out there.

Thank you, Marshal.

What say you, sir?

Certain you would say...

I didn't do nothin' wrong.

Van Dom» he was
twin' to take me,

and I called him to account.

I was within my rights.

He had a knife.

You confess to discharging
your weapon

into the body of the deceased?

Well...

I shot him,

but he was comin' at me
for namin' him a cheat.

Guilty.

Fetch us a rope, please.

No.

No.

No!

What you say about
Bishop Dutson is true?

I can't believe that I
let him hold our baby.

Yeah, it gave me a fright, too.

Does that mean that
our marriage isn't true?

You and me...

we swore an oath.

Come on!

What is it?

- Cullen.
- Shh. Quiet.

Put the baby down.

Put the baby down.

Take this.
Hold it under your arm...

like it's a shotgun,
you understand?

Looks like his arm's busted.

Probably ain't lookin'
for a fight,

but if he is, you get low,
cover the baby.

Howdy!

Me and the woman's lookin'
to share the path with ya without trouble.

But if it is trouble
you lookin' for...

I'd be happy to scatter your
brains on that road behind you

and leave your liver on a stick
for the crows.

Do you make trouble
because you think Mr. Bohannon

will come back and save you?

Or do you make
trouble because you miss him

and don't know what to
do about it?

I'm not sending you
to the orphanage.

But you are going to behave.

May we begin?

We absolutely may.

Any last words?

Move. Move!

Release that man! Release him!

He shot a cheater.

- That's no crime here.
- Mr. Durant, sir.

Thank God! I thought for sure...

Aah!

Nuh-duh.

Your men
have no jurisdiction here.

On the contrary.
We are well within our authority,

according to General Grant.

This is not how we mete
out justice in Cheyenne.

It is now.

Tired?

Not if you ain't.

You're thinkin' that lndian's
gonna come back.

But we're good here.

I know it.

You ain't afraid?

Not if you ain't.

Good.

Whoa.

Cheyenne?

Cheyenne.

"Dear General Grant..."

"Upon arrival to Cheyenne,

"we were able to effect
immediate gains

"in curbing the rampant
and notorious violence

"of the place.

"Mind you, there is still
much to be done,

"but our campaign
of pacification

"has begun.

"Sadly, I have found
Thomas Durant"

"more enamored with
being leader of the railway"

"than actually leading it."

"This could be
my own interpretation"

"of the situation,"

"but I think not."

"Ultimately, the railroad
will be one of many jewels"

"in the crown of your
administration."

"However, without sounding
overzealous..."

"I recommend
strong action here..."

"By which I promise to bring
both unruly institutions"

"to heel..."

"Cheyenne and Thomas C. Durant."

"With your continued support,

"I am confident

"that greatness lies before us

"in the West.

"Respectfully yours,

John Campbell."

No.

It can't be. It can't be.

Cullen Bohannon!

Cullen Bohannon!

Psalms.

Look what you got on?

Where you been? Is it you?

Yeah, it's me.

We thought you was dead.

No, I was at the Mormon fort.

I can see that.

Yeah... Here, keep that.

- Thank you kindly, sir!
- And you come back with...

My wife... Naomi.

A little Mrs. Cullen?

- Yeah.
- And a baby.

Ooh-whee.

- How do you do?
- Now, this here's Psalms.

And it appears that the vest
Mr. Psalms is wearin' is mine.

No, was yourn.

Elam had your gun
and your belongings

when they took you away.

How'd you get it off of him?

Where is Elam?

Elam gone.

Gone?

Where to?

Just disappear.

Took off to find you.

Horse come back...

No Elam.

Yeah, we reckon he...
he dead too.

Well, I got to get goin'.

Yeah.

Who's Elam?

He's...