Hell on Wheels: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray]

Three and a half stars really. The problem with HOW is it tends to be uneven. Some seasons are better than others and even within a particular season there can be great inconsistency between each episode. I’ll watch one show and think it was excellent but the next will be a muddled mess. Season 4 is a mixed bag. [Spoiler’s included in this review] We start with Cullen Bohannon still a virtual captive with his “child bride” Naomi and their child at the Mormon settlement of Ft Smith. The Swede continues his masquerade as the bishop he murdered and Bohannon somehow hypnotizes The Swede into publicly confessing his crime and thus securing his release. Back in Cheyenne, a provisional governor, John Campbell, appointed by U.S. Grant arrives with a team of marshals and a judge and attempts to take over operations. The governor and Durant are at odds and the railroad is stalled due to a seemingly impassable mountain. Bohannon returns and attempts to resume his work for the railroad and is committed to completing the project he started but must deal with the new cast of characters in town. Missing from all of this is freeman Elam Ferguson who we last saw in Season 3 in hand-to-hand combat with a bear. Turns out Elam kills the bear with his knife but is grievously wounded and is picked up by Indians who in awe of his feat nurse him back to health. While Elam recovers, all’s not right and it appears he’s suffered a brain injury and partial amnesia. Ultimately in two episodes we end Elam’s journey on HOW in a shocking way; this show’s never been shy about killing off main characters and many fans have not forgiven the loss of Lily Bell in Season 2.As if killing Elam off isn’t enough for viewers to take; later on Ruth Cole (AKA “The Church Lady”) who’s been a regular since Season 1 shoots Sydney Snow, a former Confederate soldier from Bohannon’s past now turned outlaw. Snow shows up in Cheyenne on the run from Mexicans who tried to string him up when the audience first meets him for a “misunderstanding” with a senorita. At first he seems harmless enough but later while dodging the angry Mexicans he shoots up the general store, kills some bystanders and winds up in jail. Then, unbelievably the governor makes him Marshal and deputizes other jailbirds to replace the previously killed Marshal and deputy. This doesn’t go well and later after Bohannon’s run him out of town he returns and sets fire to the church with folks inside and the orphan boy Ezra whom Ruth’s adopted is killed. Bohannon goes through ridiculous lengths to save Snow to keep Ruth from being tried for murder but to no avail. This plot device plays out over two slow and painful episodes; Ruth confesses her true feelings for Bohannon and they spend a lot of time talking and not saying much. There’s a trial and although everyone understands her motives and a pardon is offered she refuses and is hung… scratch two more players from the cast. Unless your name is Bohannon or Durant you are not safe on HOW!It’s a gory and seemingly more violent season as well; we’re treated to scalping, vicious beatings, knifings, and a very graphic below knee amputation of the aforementioned Mr. Snow, as well as an eye gouging. That said despite the savagery of attacks on Durant and Bohannon they are later hardly worse for the wear diluting any sense of reality. Maybe to lighten the mood we’re also witness to a silly mud wrestling brawl between Durant and Campbell that was completely unnecessary making it all somewhat cartoonish.It’s become de rigueur for shows to have a character who is gay and last season we met crusading newspaper editor Louise Ellison (Jennifer Ferrin) who was pretty clearly a lesbian. For mysterious reasons she presents herself at Gov. Campbell’s hotel room and they sleep together (more than once) so I guess she’s bisexual. All this is fine but does nothing to advance the story line and offers no key plot development. Her sexual orientation seems to serve no purpose other than to pander to an increasingly vocal minority.In addition, Mickey McGinnis is displaced from his casino by the governor under eminent domain. Mickey calls in reinforcements from his cousin and associates from the delightful Five Points area of New York to help him set things right. A group of Irish thug extras from the set of “Gangs of New York” show up and more mayhem ensues when it’s obvious Mickey can’t control them.And then the good old Swede manages to dodge fate again and is enlisted by no less than Brigham Young for some nefarious plot to take control of the railroad. To top things off after all else that’s happened Bohannon quits the railroad for what has to be the third or fourth time in the series.HOW is presently airing its two-part fifth and final season wrapping things up and it’s probably a good thing. While it will be sad to lose one of the few Western shows in production I think it’s time has come.

just goog

Would be politically incorrect in today's day, but, it portrays real life in the 1870s

Well, for all you Deadwood fans out there, this is better by a long rifle shot. There was an odd attraction to that western, and the plot was always rather vacuous, but the dialogue writing was over the top. Hell on Wheels cover the full spectrum of over-the-top. I bought all the episodes for my Kindle, it was that good. Fargo and Walking Dead are the only others I garnered first. This updated and gritted up western is awesome. Acting is top notch to go with the twisting and turning plot line. Great bad guys chase the good guys and vice versa. Hell on Wheels actually gets better as the seasons progress. Westerns are maybe an acquired taste, and it does have some brutal violence at times. So, get over it, and watch it.If you haven't yet grabbed a Kindle, just do it, as Nike says. I have the 9 inch HDX with 18gb(get more GB's) and videos on this unit blow away any other iPad-like device on the market. These videos like Hell on Wheels look ridiculously good on the 2500x1600(1920x1080 is your HDTV's resolution) screen that is the industry leader for clarity. Even with my glasses on, I cannot see a pixel from 6 inches away. Try that with your device! Get Hell on Wheels for your Kindle and you will love it, and can also be played on your Playstation or computer too.

** UPDATED 9/26/14-- I upped my rating back to 5 stars. Episode 8 just became available... Don't know if all the complaints I read helped, but kudos to Amazon for figuring it out however it happened..._____5 stars for the show. 1 star for the contract negotiations with AMC (or whoever)... Like others, I am wondering where Episode 8 is... I only recently cut the cord and starting watching certain shows "a la carte"... I even emailed customer service to inquire and here is an excerpt from the reply email..."I have checked and found that "Hell On Wheels" (season 4 episode 8) is not provided by the content provider. Please know that our developers are working on it and try to make it available as soon as possible.I'm afraid, I may not be able to promise you a time line by which it will be available on list, as this totally depend on our agreements with content provider.We are working to expand our Amazon Instant Video service to a broader selection in the future. "Like several other people on here, it looks like I might have to jump to iTunes for this one... Sorry Amazon... Get those contracts worked out... Especially before Walking Dead season 5... I am fortunate as I was buying episodes one at a time. I feel bad for people who bought the season pass...

I loved the Hell On Wheels series. I started following Anson Mount & loved he would answer back to the Fans when they spoke to him . But that be impossible now that he is Captain Pike. He is filming his new Startrek TV series called "Startrek Strange New Worlds". He will continue to be Captain Pike. I bought the 2nd Season of Startrek Discovery series we here you see him for the first time as Captain Pike. I bought it from Amazon & love Anson Mount as Captain Pike. What a big difference from seeing him as Cullen Bohannon to Captain Pike.

This magnificent series gets better and better, but strong stomachs are needed as characters strive to cope with ever-increasing challenges.Flawed hero Cullen Bohannan is torn between family responsibilities and the railroad, especially now the Government has sent officials to restore law and order in Cheyenne. That allegedly is their aim, but they are mainly intent on feathering their own nests with nothing short of a complete taking over. Adding to tension is the arrival of smiling psychopath Sydney Snow, a war veteran with a craving to kill....Necessarily there is much violence, it so involving that the impact of certain deaths is very deeply felt. Emphasis, though, is on exploring the motives of the people involved. Some have been dehumanized by past suffering, Civil War having left everlasting emotional scars. Revelations and flashbacks help explain how so many became what they now are.Anson Mount is superb as Cullen - his past full of killing, he striving to find other answers to problems that come his way. Many others deserve special mention, particularly Christopher Heyerdahl's mesmerizingly manic Swede - one of life's survivors, identity and appearance ever changing as he continues to hoodwink and murder.Visually HELL ON WHEELS is stunning, as a community convincingly tries to rise rise out of mud. In big ways and small, there is so much to impress. Take Episode 6, for example, so different from all that preceded and follows, we harrowingly to learn what befell a key character. Amongst minor matters, but memorably portrayed, is that hangman and his tiny young helper - both appropriately garbed, solemn and courteous, professional to their fingertips. This is just an instance of attention to detail that helps make "Hell on Wheels" what it is.Generous bonuses, the featurettes on all thirteen episodes particularly interesting.Well justified is the praise lavished on an uncompromising series so rugged and fine.

I was concerned when I realised I'd purchased a German edition of the DVD. However changed the settings and all was well! It was difficult to find a copy of the 4th series so I was grateful to be able to obtain it. Luckily I didn't have to learn German either. This section was slightly more bloody than previous series but it was set in Frontier Land and you didn't survive if you weren't tough. It still told a very good story and I definitely recommend it. Can't wait for series 5 vol 1/2

This programme just seems to get better and better. New characters have allowed the script writers to keep viewers interested in the developing storyline. Not wanting to spoil anything for people who have yet to view Series 4 I have to say that I found the episode '13 steps' very absorbing if somewhat shocking. The tension towards the end was almost unbearable to watch.Roll on series 5 which a host of new challenges and many more new characters.

Maybe the best since season 1. Season 3 was a bit of a stalemate, while things gets a lot more interesting here. This is a great series, since very few characters is plain good or bad. Their intentions are blury, you don't really know who to vote for. Grown to be a very good show. And Anson Mount is a great, grim lead

Having recently watched season 2 and 3 also purchased off Amazon, I really enjoyed this 4th season. The DVD was delivered promptly 2 days ahead of schedule. I would also mention that while the DVD default language is German it is easily toggled across to the English version in the options menu just select Englisch and Aus for no subtitles.