Post 58: “The Aftermath”

February 8 – GOOD  

“Jesse James and his brother Frank come to W.G., but the town doesn’t know that they are outlaws. Mary runs errands for them. Also the class talks about the Civil War. This kid named Bob Ford is at school. The town discovers their true identity and doesn’t say anything to the bounty hunters because they are holding Mary hostage. Garvey lets the James brothers go. It says that Bob Ford killed Jesse James six years later (1882).”

From Tracy –

Once again, this is an episode I *thought* I remembered but then nope! How many freakin’ times did Mary get held hostage I wondered? It turns out THREE TIMES! The episode I thought I was watching was the one where the blind school is taken over by thugs. (EPISODE 128 • Darkness Is My Friend) This is not that one. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen this episode! And that’s a bold statement as I remember almost every episode ever, especially 5 minutes in! So this is an unexpected gift.

We start off with some very natty dressers and very handsome men. They are the one and only (Jesse) James brothers, and they are on the lam. (I love saying “on the lam” and so rarely get to use it. A shame.) One of them is leaking blood. But no one notices, and everyone is nice as pie to them. Ah, the good, innocent folk of Walnut Creek.

Here we get the rare occasion where Mary is the disobedient one. And all for the greed of money! I do hate how the Ingalls want to suffer. For God’s Sake Pa! Let her earn some dinero! Don’t needle them down to 10 cents! She needs it for a new calico dress! Which is going to cost her $7.40! That is a LOT of money. You could probably buy a cheapie dress on clearance for that much at Walmart in 2019.

Then to complicate things, Miss Beadle decides to get everyone riled up about the Civil War. What the heck was she thinking? Did she huff a bunch of ether with Doc Baker before class?

But I gotta say, everybody is a STUD in this episode. Pa IS James Bond! And Niles! Even he got into it with a guy . . . in CHURCH! “You keep your mouth shut!” he yells, poking his finger in the face of a man several heads taller than him. This is the modern equivalent of someone telling someone to “f*ck off and die!” It’s shocking and strangely sexy.

PS: In case you ever wonder how I keep track of episodes, this is your guide:

https://www.hallmarkdrama.com/little-house-on-the-prairie/episode-guide

Just type in “hostage” and there you have it. Maybe we can cover the other hostage episode next. Anne?

From Anne –

Much has made about Mary’s martyrdom. It’s just that she’s so good at trauma (and whining). “But I liked you!” she whines to her handsome (as Tracy notes) captors, holed up in Mr. Hansen’s $4-a-week Air BnB.

 
Then again, this is the softest hostage situation you’ll ever see. Nothing like Darkness is My Friend, or the one in which Laura is held hostage by the deranged mother of a dead daughter (EPISODE 69 • My Ellen).

 My question is: why didn’t LHOP deal more often with historical figures and incidents? This is the time of war on Indians, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, and much more. Miss Beadle injects current events when she can (I support that). And it’s cool that the show is being made exactly 100 years after the times it portrays.

This episode definitely has a subtle point of view. The James boys are good guys (“outlaws, but not criminals,” their publicist used to say). They rob banks, and in their spare time (apparently), work as male models. 

I’ve visited the James Farm in Kearney, Missouri. Jesse’s grave, and the grave of his formidable mother Zerelda, are there. I bought a postcard with his face on it. He’s only 15 but he stares daggers, thanks to his experience with the psychotically violent the Civil War. Not as polished as the LHOP Jesse. But hell yes, handsome! (That’s why I bought the postcard).

My favorite scene in this episode is when Miss Beadle skewers the dad of Robert Ford, who’s mad that both sides of the Civil War are being rationally discussed in her classroom. Making a powerful argument for listening and hearing both sides of any war, Miss Beadle gives Old Man Ford a good tongue-lashing.

By the way, did you know that Charlotte Stewart (Miss Beadle) was a bit of an outlaw herself, having gone on a 1971 road trip with Jim Morrison, also on the lam? (Our favorite phrase, used twice in one post).

My other favorite scene in this episode is when Pa swims through a swamp to rescue Mary, only to be held hostage himself. His mop of hair often looks like he crawled out of a swamp anyway.