| Is anyone else watching this? We have watched all but one episode and are really enjoying it. Tremendous performance by Emily Blunt and rest of cast. Some truly creepy scenes. I may watch it again as some details are hard to follow but perhaps all will be resolved in final epi. |
| I’m going to check this out, thank you! It gets amazing reviews. |
| I’m struggling to connect the dots. |
| Very hard to follow plot wise and soo many characters. But the acting is phenomenal and my God the cinematography is stunning. I have no idea what is happening but I can’t stop watching. |
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Flashback?
Is the young flamboyant guy her son? Don’t understand who the Flynn’s are. |
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Are we just supposed to use our imagination?
I don’t understand what’s going on. Why was her son there? With those men? Did the guy with the trashy accent rape her? Beat her? |
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Will someone please binge this and explain it to me?
I can’t follow her backstory. Why did she run off, strip down, and rub dirt all over herself? This show is so weird. |
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Okay, OP here. We finished it. Tremendous story, tremendous watch. I'll definitely watch it again because they really credit the viewer here, which I like.
SPOILERS!!!! Plot synopsis: Lady Cornelia and Thomas Trafford (young flamboyant guy) are involved in England. He decides to go off to The West and make his fortune, prove his manhood, etc. He essentially exits her life except for letters telling her to never come to The West. He gets involved with a very ugly character named David Melmont who is essentially a sociopath and wants to screw over Trafford in order to make his fortune. Melmont, along with Flynn, Meyers, and McClintock, were responsible for a massacre of Indians at an Indian settlement in 1875. Melmont then built a town, Hoxum, over the remains of the dead Indians. After the Indian Massacre, all four of the men, Flynn, Meyers, McClintock and Melmont visit a whorehouse and contract syphillis. Melmont also went back to England and called on Lady Cornelia. He rubbed in her face how stupid and badly Trafford was doing and he raped her. He had syphillis and he passed it on to her. Her child, a son, was born with syphillis and had some facial deformities. They spent his life, 14 years, on her father's estate and she adored him and tended to him. She knew she had syphillis but it was latent for many years. Melmont continues his sociopathic career throughout the West. He rapes Meyer's wife Martha but her son does not have syphillis. He does various other horrible things. After her son dies Lady Cornelia wants revenge on Melmont. She heads west and meets up with Eli, who is looking to get the land he was promised for acting as a Pawnee Scout in the Civil War. They become very close and go through various adventures which are fairly straightforward to understand. I think she was rolling in the dust in that scene because she was desperately trying to feel clean. But it's certainly open to interpretation. I'm not a survivor of sexual assault but it seemed to me to be the action of someone who had been badly traumatized by sexual activity. I won't spoil the ending. |
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It's really disjointed story and there is no payoff. Lots of extra characters that add nothing to the story.
Watch Godless instead. |
Perfect synopsis! I am the poster who was confused. I finally was able to connect the dots during the final couple episodes. The scenery and cinematography are gorgeous! Apparently it was filmed in Spain. The story as you’ve explained is very interesting, complex, and sad. But the way it is told—unfolding through flashbacks with so many characters in the mix—makes it a bit disjointed and confusing. They seemingly constructed the story with the goal of leaving key details until the end. Or maybe I was just too distracted while watching it. While syphilis was a key factor in the story, it wrecked my hope for a romance. I really wanted those two together. I guess I wanted a Last of the Mohicans experience. The series did prompt me to revisit some quick Indian research late last night. |
| I loved the trailer but Emily Blunt's opening monologue sounded so mannered when I started listening / watching (and I'm a Brit who normally loves her) that I slammed it off. I couldn't stand it. |
| It seemed so ridiculous and OTT, I couldn't finish the first episode. Should I try again? |
I thought the opening was ridiculous as well, but I was hooked by the end of the first episode. |
Don't bother - it's awful. The only character you feel anything for is Eli. The plot is pointless and the ending is really, really bad. Not a good use of your time. |
thank you. you've saved me a few hours. |