RETURN TO DEVIL'S HOLE

• This is the third episode in a row where our boys are separated, removing the single most important element that made the series so special. I just cannot understand the reasoning behind splitting our heroes up this way. No doubt there were financial motives, but truthfully, I don’t believe the show would have garnered such an audience if this type of episode had been used this frequently throughout the first season.
• This Clara woman has put me off right out of the gate. She is unnecessarily snobbish toward the station agent as she steps from the stagecoach, and very condescending toward her assistant. I find people who speak down to subordinates very distasteful. This is not a woman I would like.
• This is the first and only time, I believe, I have seen Heyes in street clothes without his pant legs tucked into his boots. That tucked look is Heyes’ own personal style and it feels strangely unfamiliar to see him with his pant legs hiding his boots.
• The way Heyes smells the note given to him by Carlton tickles me. It’s funny that he would assume the correspondence is from a man, when it obviously smells of womanly perfume.



• Oh, please. Why would Lom Trevors tell anyone where to find Hannibal Heyes? It just doesn’t make any sense. I picture this haughty woman randomly walking into Lom’s office demanding to know if he knows of any outlaws who might like to earn some money to escort her into Devil’s Hole. “Oh, sure, Ma’am,” I can hear Lom saying, “Let me give you the whereabouts of Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry. They have the highest bounty on their heads of any outlaws in this territory. I bet Heyes would love to babysit you…” Again I say: Oh, please. It certainly stands to reason that Heyes would react with suspicion and caution when Clara says Lom has told her where to find him. At least that moment shows some story consistency in what seems to be an episode chock full of inconsistencies.
• I like a suspicious Heyes; a glint of distrust in his eyes is fitting on him.
• I wonder what Heyes is looking for when he rifles through her suitcase and empties the woman’s purse. He may not be as fast a shot as the Kid, but I think he would still be at quite an advantage if Clara had to cross the room, open luggage and pull out a gun to get a shot off at him. Or maybe she has a gun concealed in that ample bosom. Maybe he should search there.



• The jacket Heyes is wearing when he visits Clara’s room is really ugly and it makes him look scrawny, somehow. The close-ups of his face are beautiful as always, though. The scars on Peter’s face are evident a few times in this scene, and I love seeing them. I love the flaws; the small imperfections that make him so human, so Peter. *sigh*



• Kid has one good line in his almost non-existent role in this episode. To Heyes: “Only one thing has been keeping you alive all this time.” “What’s that?” “Me!” Heyes doesn’t even grin or roll his eyes. He knows it is true.



• A very sweet scene when Heyes is saddling up and getting ready to leave. Kid is worried and doesn’t want him to go. The exchange between the two men is like a couple having to say goodbye. I adore how Heyes says, “Kid, I’m goin’ and you’re staying”; it feels so intimate, Heyes taking a gentle upper hand and making the decision for both of them. I could analyze this; but to me this whole scene is just an expression of love between these two men. There are many, many scenes where it feels like they are a couple. I call them couple’s moments, and I find them moving. These men are as sensitive to and about each other as a married couple. It is human connection at its finest. ®



• The look that passes between the two men as Heyes mounts his horse and hands Kid the money that Clara has given him to set the deal is incredible. It moves me deeply. Are they both silently feeling it is likely Heyes will not return from this trip; that he may be killed by the very men he once led, or captured by the lawmen watching all paths to Devil’s Hole? The look is quite intimate, and expressive of very deep feelings for each other. I am beginning to find more depth in the series, not just superficial, humorous characters. The stories are not always as deep as the connection between these characters. In fact sometimes the story is simply a backdrop to best display the intricacies of the relationship between two gentle, rough, feeling, forceful men. These friends are so complex it is really quite extraordinary.



• What the hell? What is with this horrible 1970s song and scenery montage? What a colossal waste of 2 minutes 45 seconds. Yes, I timed it. It was that bad. Why not have an actual story fill this time? If I were watching this episode just for my own enjoyment, I would normally just fast forward through this and the other scene that ruins the whole episode for me (we’ll talk about that in a few minutes) but since I am entrusted with the job of writing about this series, I take my duties seriously and sit through this heap of cinematic idiocy.
• Heyes is manly protective, and downright sexy, as he takes the reins of Clara’s horse before he shoots his gun three times to announce their presence to the Devil’s Hole Gang’s lookouts. It is these tiny nuances about the character that turn me on the most. It is like the equivalent of taking a woman’s elbow to lead her, or walking on the traffic side of the sidewalk…it is sweetly chivalrous…
• After laying down the law with her about doing exactly as he says as they enter Devil’s Hole, Clara challenges Heyes on whether he is being melodramatic about how the gang may receive him after he has told her to be quiet. Lady, seriously, he may actually know more than you on this subject. Shut up!!
• Heyes tells Clara she shouldn’t worry. “They never shoot ladies.” “You mean outlaws do have a code of honor?” she asks. “No, they have a shortage of ladies.” Our boy has a very quick wit. Mmmm…intelligence, amazing looks, quick wit...there's no one better.
• Yippee!! There’s Kyle! “It’s Hannibal Heyes hisself…and he brung a woman with him!”
• I love how Heyes puts his bandana over Clara’s eyes—saying “hold still” a bit impatiently, but then gently lifting her chin to check the blindfold’s placement. *oh, my…to be in that saddle, with that man tilting my chin upward…*



• It is just impossible for Fernando Lamas to not be suave. Although I don’t personally care for his looks, his voice and accent are quite sexy and the man has masculinity seeping from his pores.
• One of the bright moments in this episode is when Big Jim and Heyes enter the house. Big Jim sucker punches Heyes, who slides down the wall with his hat pushed forward, and amazingly, though not at all surprisingly, he looks absolutely magnificent. Big Jim helps Heyes to his feet and pours him a drink.

• Now it’s Heyes’ turn as he winds up (very, very cute doing it, too) and punches Jim in the gut, then floors him with a left hook to the jaw, only pausing a brief moment before he amiably hands Big Jim a drink. I found the whole scene to be really top notch; with some of the silliness I love so about Alias Smith and Jones, and also some of the underlying kindness. This scene is definitely one of my top 15 favorites in the series. ®

• Where has Heyes’ gun belt suddenly gone? It isn’t his way to remove his coat AND his gun belt when he is inside. He almost always leaves his gun and his gloves on…
• Did women bleach their hair and then forget to touch up the roots in the 1880s? And did actresses bleach their hair and report to the set for a guest appearance without touching up the roots in 1971? I have to say: What’s up with that??
• With her hair loose and hanging straight, Diana Hyland could easily pass for Judith Light’s twin. Especially with her face all anguished and tear covered. Any of you ABC soap watchers from the late 70s-early 80s know Judith Light was one of the all time great criers…



• Heyes looks very gentle and compassionate in the scene where Clara tells the men about her daughter…and when he reacts to her telling them that her daughter took her own life, it is hard for me not to project Peter Duel on Heyes, and believe I see some shadow of personal melancholy in his eyes, more than just acting. I think Peter was a better actor than to bring his own pain to his portrayal, though, so I am probably seeing something that isn’t really there. At least until the last couple of episodes, I think Peter managed to keep most of his pain hidden— *he smiled for us as long as he could* [:best friend



• I am happy for any episode where Peter had some intense scenes to sink his acting teeth into.
• Again, I don’t buy that Heyes would enter a big bunk house full of not only his past comrades, but a multitude of unknown outlaws without his gun. I thought maybe it had never been given back to him when Kyle had it confiscated from him when he entered Devil’s Hole, but I went back and checked and he was wearing it in the scene where he and Big Jim belted each other. I wonder if there is meant to be some purpose for him not wearing his gun or if it is just another of the many inconsistencies of this episode, and, really, the whole series.
• I love the conversation between Heyes and Big Jim on the porch the night before Heyes is to head back to Arcadia to get Clara’s brooch with the picture of her daughter in it. It is natural and amiably adversarial. It is quite good acting on Peter’s part; the veins on his forehead speaking to the strength of his portrayal. It is deliciously intense and very realistic and I believe, a scene that might have gotten Peter’s acting juices flowing.



• Not to minimize the depth of that scene, but there is a wonderful butt shot of Heyes as he moves between Big Jim and the railing that is like a special little surprise gift after the party’s over…*giggle* ®§



• There are two really wonderful scenes of Heyes returning to and leaving Devil’s Hole. The scene where he returns after retrieving the locket supposedly containing the picture of Clara’s daughter is just so beautiful with Heyes tall in the saddle; an exceptional exhibit of Peter’s skill on a horse. Simply stunning. And I love the shot of Heyes lifting his hat to wave goodbye as he rides away from Devil’s Hole.

• Gee, 12 whole seconds, one line--"Did you find what you were looking for?"-- and a gun twirl later, and the Kid has disappeared again.



• The whole Clara and Big Jim make out session and the conversation leading up to it turns me off and is one of the two segments—the other being the ridiculous music/nature scenes montage as Heyes and Clara travel to Devil’s Hole—that absolutely ruin this episode for me. It feels sleazy and gratuitous. I guess I am, for one thing, selfish. I want love scenes to involve one of our favorite boys, not some swarthy guest star.
• Careful, Big Jim. You just came very close to brushing Clara’s breast with your thumb when you kissed her.
• The way in which Heyes deposits the “brooch” in Clara’s hand speaks volumes.



• Yes, it is a persnickety observation. Yes, I can be obsessive when it comes to words. But that is not a brooch that Heyes was sent to retrieve as it has been called throughout the episode…it is a locket on a chain—a pendant.
• Very cool name, James O’Finn Santana. Very cool indeed.
• I laugh out loud at Kyle as he surveys his poker hand while a few outlaws play cards. My, oh, my, the man can never be accused of having a poker face! Being a bit of a poker player myself, I have learned to read an opponent’s tells; but I have to admit, the slide show of expressions that wash across Kyle's face would actually only confuse and perplex me! Until he actually folded his hand, I wasn’t sure what he was communicating! Great acting job, Dennis!



• “I guess that makes me a liar, too. Because I never did have a daughter.” says Clara. YOU GUESS???? Are you freakin’ kidding me? Did this manipulative woman say one true thing the entire episode? And now, off she rides into the sunset with one James O’Finn Santana, like she is the greatest catch on earth. I don’t know if Heyes and Kid actually will have a good and important friend in San Francisco if they ever need one. I suspect Clara will have long since shot him for taking money from her purse without asking.
• This episode’s only saving grace? An abundance of Peter.