I watched the first two episodes of Deadwood

I'm going to do this a little differently. I'm going to talk about the first two episodes together, instead of individually. I'm also going to try out a more casual, relaxed tone. We'll see how it goes.

I wanted to watch Deadwood for two reasons: I absolutely love Westerns and it is Todd VanDerWerff's favorite show ever. With those two strong impetuses, I dived in. My first impression was that it was very, very HBO (and that's a huge compliment). The show wastes no time with unnecessary exposition or character introduction. For a small town, things move very quickly, and it requires the viewer to be attentive. I was lulled into a false sense of security, as the last HBO show I watched was Game of Thrones, and I was already familiar with the characters from reading the books. Deadwood humbled me right from the get-go, but the more I paid attention, the more I got out of the show (imagine that). The second thing I thought was "damn, this show is well-acted." It wasn't overly flashy, and when it did require sharp outbursts of emotion, they didn't seem as if they were pandering for an Emmy. The first two episodes were so explosive. It's to be expected in a land without law. I was impressed on how the various characters kept each other in check. Swearagen is obviously the kingpin of the town, but he feels threatened by Hickock, especially when his schemes start to unravel. I particularly enjoyed Seth Bollock with his quiet demeanor.

That paragraph is very sporadic, and that's how I felt watching the show. It's a lot to take in, especially with hour-long episodes, and the small bits and pieces that I was able to capture felt so right for the show that I was able to understand the parts I didn't get, a la Troy Barnes. There are a lot of characters, and it doesn't help that a lot of them have identical facial hair. Maybe it's just that all white people look alike to me (I am white, so this is a problem).

I'll have to rewatch to have a more coherent post. I'll say this: it captures human nature and economic wants very well. I'm excited to continue.