Legend -- Episode 5: The Life, Death, and Life of Wild Bill Hickok

Synopsis in 3 sentences or less:

Wild Bill Hickok asks Legend for help in bringing in the Jack McCall gang.  As Hickok and McCall battle it out, Legend gets caught in the middle and finds a creative way to resolve the dispute so that no one has to die.

Memorable Quote:
What if I could give you a way to close that circle?  ~Legend
Only one way to do that.  Either he dies, or I do.  ~Hickok

Highlight:
I enjoyed the opening with the small Bartok spy balloon hovering around town (I love the face the little kid makes upon seeing it), and then there's a good scene as Legend's poker opponent accuses him of cheating after spotting and shooting at Bartok's balloon, only to have Hickok come to the rescue at the last minute.   And it's fun to hear Bartok yelling, "Evasive maneuver! Evasive maneuver!"

Lowlight:

The song at the end hurt my ears.  It's a rock ballad that doesn't fit the time period at all, and it ruins the climactic scene for me.  The rdanderson.com video gallery shows the original aired episode with a different song (which presumably the DVD makers couldn't get the rights to), though that one also makes my ears bleed.

Other thoughts, observations, and questions I didn’t ask when I was in fourth grade:

• I did a lengthy report on the life of Wild Bill Hickok when I was in 5th grade.  In my Episode 2 recap, I mentioned The Young Riders which featured Stephen Baldwin as Buffalo Bill Cody, and it also starred Josh Brolin as Hickok.  And I included Hickok in my book, The Nightingale Moon, so as you can see Wild Bill and I go way back.
• This episode was directed by veteran MacGyver director Michael Caffey and stars John Pyper-Ferguson as Jack McCall.  MacGyver fans will remember him as the spoiled, ungrateful son with the bad haircut in The Wasteland.  He does a great job in this episode as McCall. 
• "I'll be honest with you, Bill.  I have a very strong aversion to guns."  Is that Legend, Pratt, or MacGyver talking?
• I like the scene where Legend tells the crowd gathered in his room that he's not teaming up with Hickok -- the look of surprise on the faces of the mayor and Skeeter is amusing.  They also refer to the woman who is flirting with Legend as the "Angel of Death," because her schtick is to come on to guys who are about to die.  Very strange, but somehow the scene still works.
• Conversation at the 24:00 mark:
• "You know, Professor, I've been wondering ever since Henry shot down your little spy orb, what would happen if a bullet penetrated the big balloon, eh?"  ~Legend
• "It would fall."  ~Bartok
• I couldn't help but think of another moment where a balloon was pierced by a bullet, but yet the balloon did not fall.
• And not unlike that aforementioned "moment," it seems as if the balloon wouldn't be that hard to shoot down, and the McCall gang certainly had many opportunities to do so.
• I've been to Deadwood, South Dakota (circa 2008) and saw Hickok's grave.  For those that don't know, the "Dead Man's Hand" is a pair of Aces and 8's which is what he was allegedly holding when he got shot by McCall (who was a real person and Hickok's killer).

Final Analysis:

This is the clear #1 episode for me so far.  There's good pacing and never a dull moment, and the plot is well-written and creative, especially the ending where Legend comes up with the idea to fake Hickok's death.  There weren't any moments that clearly stood out to me as a highlight, but the episode was generally solid from beginning to end (except for the music in the final scene). Hopefully this is a sign that the series is trending up.