THE POSSE THAT WOULDN'T QUIT

• Thank you to Laura for her special, and deep, insight this week and for the special vidcaps she provided. ♥
• It is an enjoyable opening to the episode as the boys elude the posse on horseback. There are some very nice moments visually but the whole sequence is so full of flaws it is laughable. Heyes’ horse goes from Clay to an unknown horse and back again, over and over again; one minute a vest for Heyes, the next minute—nope …; hat to bandana with no rhyme or reason. It is all so shoddily put together, and yet, like almost all things Alias Smith and Jones, I find it immensely endearing and entirely forgivable.



• I get a kick out of the scene as they cross the river. Both macho men with their legs held high and aimed behind their backs to avoid getting their feet wet, although the Kid’s right leg does get soaked—and I can’t tell if Heyes’ does too. For some reason that just feels completely silly to me!
• I like that the Kid tells his horse “Walk it, don’t swim it!” as they cross the river. I appreciate when the boys talk to their horses, even when it is a reprimand…it shows they considered their horses more than merely vehicles.



• Oh, my—memories of my youth flood me as Heyes turns up in a bandana tied around his head. How adorable! (I realize this is a matter of taste, and probably a subject of chatter in fandom. I just happen to be very attracted to what I would consider hippy-isms!) I wonder if Heyes, sure there is an apache in the posse, is attempting to put himself in some kindred mindset by wearing the bandana that way; even the end of it, the way it sticks out rather than lays down in the back, looks a bit like a small feather in an Indian headdress…




• I wonder if the lather on the horses is makeup or if those horses were really worked to that point. I am not a horse person. I don’t know how much exertion it would take a horse to work up a lather like that, but I hope they weren’t overstressed.
  
• Well, that’s just about the cutest thing ever as our boys slide down the hill…they really aren’t that agile sometimes and it makes them seem so human.
• I already like this woman the boys stop along the road. She is obviously very capable and strong and yet already shows us a soft, female side and a sense of humor. I applaud women portrayed as strong without losing their femininity. Especially in that era, and in particular on this show…where, let’s face it, women are by and large portrayed as something to flip a coin over. Now, now, don’t think I am offended by the coin flips!! As I have clearly stated before, I amazingly find them endearing and sweet, but I have not completely forsaken my feminism for my love of a certain television show, and it is refreshing to see a woman who is able to take care of herself AND be womanly.
• It frightens me just a tiny bit to think that had I been the woman riding alone along the deserted road and stopped by these two gorgeous men, I would have been completely taken in by their obvious charms. When asked, “Anything else you care to add?” and Heyes replies with “No, ma’am, that’s about as sincere as we can get.” and lavishes the most amazing smile on her, I can picture myself already mentally packing my bags and running away with him. *sigh*



• All right. Geez. We get the drift. Enough posse scenes already. I detest filler like that. So much could be being said or done by our boys to feast our eyes upon…
• Ok, just how adorable can Heyes get? He is just so beautifully comfortable and appealing in the back of the wagon, leaning back still in his bandana, his legs crossed and bent at the knee, a huge smile on his face. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to find this guy kind of attractive. *giggle* ®
• I enjoy Ben in the manly role of wagon driver. He looks great taking the reins like that…
• Peter being a method actor extraordinaire, in my opinion, I am surprised he doesn’t make an effort to make the huge pillowcase sized bags he takes from the wagon to the house appear to hold what they are labeled as holding…he doesn’t make them look particularly heavy, or shifty like a bag of corn might be, or anything other than a pillowcase. I’m disappointed, but I know he will make up for this bit of creative laziness with some truly amazing moment soon and I will have long since forgotten he ever dropped the ball…
• Where did Heyes get that butt-ugly vest he is wearing? You know, I would happily volunteer to help him shop and watch him try things on…*sigh*
• Jesse calls Joshua and Thaddeus by the wrong names and everyone just smiles, shakes hands and goes on about their business. I wonder if our boys don’t notice because they are simply too busy trying to remember if this guy is Grant or Gaines. *tee hee*



• I doubt that I step outside the common circle of fandom when I say I so deeply appreciate and adore the moment of Peter singing “Simple Gifts”. Peter has been quoted as saying he was disappointed that on his one chance to sing on Alias Smith and Jones he had a cold and wasn’t able to give his best performance. That comment speaks so clearly to Peter’s nature and it saddens me. And yet I am immensely impressed with his singing talent and find his voice to be so warmly soothing and level…quite a treasure to have this beautiful, clear, gentle performance available to us for all time. *grateful sigh*





• Everyone seems to enjoy Heyes' singing and the Kid looks on with pride and approval. I think that is not only a look coming from the Kid, but from Ben as well. I believe he had tremendous respect for Peter and I think there are many moments he looked upon him with awe.
• Oh, my. *sigh*



• I do believe there are a couple of young girls deep in the throes of their first real crushes here and it is very tastefully portrayed in this episode. I admit it was hard for me the first time watching this episode to remove myself from the world we live in now and stop thinking things like “What is that mother thinking, allowing those girls to be alone with two strange men…”. It is a cynical me who had to consciously reprimand myself…this was a different time, this was a sweet and gentle show, let them be in the time they are portraying…
• I love how the Kid thinks he is part of the family and tells the girls “Can’t be a drover all your life, fellas!” after their mother tells them to go back to sleep. Both of our boys seem to be savoring this family life; they appear to thrive and find comfort in it, and for the smallest of times I think they feel fully safe. Maybe for the first time since they were 10 years old. [:Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg
• Hey, do you suppose that posse is still out there?
• Well, now, for the first time we see our boys in long johns and union suit and may I just commend the manufacturers of such apparel on what a lovely glimpse it was… ®§

• An absolutely lovely moment as Heyes brushes the hair back off his forehead when he has stepped back to his bunk. I notice the quick and deep intake of breath, the mild flush of warmth….oh, wait. That’s me…

• Oh, my—to my “Bennie” friends. I must just say your Mr. Curry does cut quite an image from the profile as he walks from the bunk house to the girls. The sway of his back and prominence of his butt does make his silhouette quite striking…*mmmm* It’s ok, Bennies, he’s still yours, but ooh, a girl just has to look…



• I laugh out loud at the Kid giving the girls advice on how to use finesse if they want to skin someone. They just ran a flawless grift on him, from the moment they pretended to shoot poorly before he was even awake to the right amount to wager on the bet, to the perfect shooting. They found their mark and drew him into the con like a couple of pros. And he wants to tell them how to skin someone…as he hands over his dollar! Granted he wins in the end, and leaves with his pride, but by all intents and purposes, these girls out-“skinned” him by a mile. And I will leave it up to his being a bit flustered that he missed his holster when he tried to show off a bit and twirl his gun. This whole scene is just priceless. So well done. And I assume the missing of the holster was accidental on Ben’s part, but it couldn’t have been more perfect if it had been scripted.®





• Of course I am aware of the Bennie uprising of joy at the Kid’s walk from the shooting contest back to the bunkhouse. Not my personal cup of tea, but I certainly do understand the appreciation of a good butt swagger, even if it is not my favorite butt. *wink* Just for you, girls:

• What better way to cap off the whole shooting contest encounter than the delightful couple’s moment as Kid walks past a grinning Heyes into the bunkhouse? “Aw, come on!” Kid laments and Heyes replies, grinning hugely, “I didn’t say a thing…” and follows the Kid into the room, laughing. What a moment this is…we all know Heyes doesn’t need to say a thing for these boys to communicate. Perfect.





• Are these men as clumsy with the barbed wire as they appear in the fleeting little glimpse of them, Heyes hammering and the Kid trying to unwind the wire? I don’t mean to sound disparaging, but I don’t think our boys are the greatest handymen.
• How wonderful the scene is when the girls pick Heyes and the Kid up for a picnic lunch. Peter climbing on that horse and so comfortably riding behind the saddle gives me a beautiful glimpse of what he must have been like as a boy—a bit of a reckless one at that—jumping on his family’s horse Babe and riding bareback in the field behind their home in Penfield. Such a lovely moment.

• It’s a terribly sweet moment, making so obvious the comfort and safety the boys feel in the embrace of this family, as Heyes starts singing “Simple Gifts” to teach Bridget and before long all four are there in the warmth of the noonday sun, relaxed and happy, singing the song together.



• Did the Kid just sleep through the after dinner performance of the girls singing “Simple Gifts”? Because that would be rude and hurtful to the girls, I have decided of my own accord he did not fall asleep…he just had his eyes closed to best absorb the beautiful music. Case dismissed.
• The looks on their faces let us know our favorite outlaws know instantly who yells into the Jordan’s home, “Hey in there, come on out…wanna talk to ya…” The idyllic family life is coming to an abrupt end and we all feel it, and know it, in that one harsh moment.
• I don’t remember ever seeing Heyes feeling ashamed of who he is before. The look on his face as the family is made aware of who the boys really are is heartbreaking to me. First, as he hears the sheriff reveal that they are outlaws, but not who they are, he avoids looking at Jesse, although his face shows resignation and surrender—it seems to just be a matter of when to acknowledge it. And then, when Heyes looks at Jesse and then looks over at the girls, an awful flash of shame crosses his face and his eyes are darkened with melancholy. It feels like a moment when he believes an idol has fallen in the eyes of those girls, and a moment when he can do nothing to bring back the image of who he was to them. It really saddens me, as it seems to sadden him. This very moment in time, this group of frames from a weekly seriocomic television show, is some of Peter’s finest-honed expressionism, and some of his most exquisite acting. *sigh* ®

• The look of disillusionment on the faces of the girls is heart wrenching, and Heyes seems wounded by it, although his look expresses acceptance that he is deserving of their loss of reverence. I am extraordinarily relieved when in an attempt to protect them, being spurned to some kind of action seems to allow the girls to forget that momentary lapse of respect, and they fall into their love and concern for our boys once again.





• For once Kid’s jump up onto a horse goes smoothly and the boys make a speedy getaway, leaving Belle with a relieved smile on her face. This seems to be a genuinely kind family as we have already seen and now see demonstrated in the fact that not even a passing glance of disappointment crosses her face that $20,000 is riding off into the distance.



• Very cute line as the sheriff says, “Must be the entire Devil’s Hole gang!” and it is only Bridget and Beth shooting at them. Goes to show you should never mess with a woman scorned, even though these two little girls were scorned by the sheriff and not by their first loves…
• What a gorgeous scene as the boys lie down in the railroad car. It has such a visually stylish feel about it and it is also very evocative of big screen imagery.





• My, our boys did some roundabout traveling to get their stake as they turn up in San Juan, play a hand or two of poker back in the unnamed town where Heyes was shot, spend some time in Wickenburg and play some cards with Jim Stokely, whom they won’t meet until sometime in the not too distant future—all before heading back to see if the Jordan family is all right. The magic of vintage TV and stock footage! I am sure old Roy Huggins was proud.
• It is a heartwarming family reunion, as the boys return to try to make good; and it is made all the more warm by the glow of lantern light, everyone except the traveling boys dressed in sleep clothes and the talk of flapjacks and bacon.

• That prosecuting attorney’s comb-over is pretty darn bad. The guy wouldn’t be bad looking were it not for the wayward strands surreptitiously placed across his forehead. Why not just accept there is no longer hair in that location (although he appears to have some) and go on with life? I have just never understood who comb-over addicts think they are fooling.
• We have heard Shoshone before, but never seen her and it is a wonderful, sweet moment as she and Carroll come trotting up to investigate what is happening to their dad as Heyes, in disguise, is dragged to the jail. We are truly blessed as fans to have this moment in time saved forever. And I am bound to wonder if maybe, just maybe, Peter got a real kick out of seeing his beloved dogs in their acting debuts when he watched this episode. Since sweet little Carroll is almost lost in the shadows, and she only has a non-speaking cameo role, I have pointed her out...*wink*



• My, the outcome of the trial, after the Kid turns himself in, could have gone so differently. It was more than slightly possible the judge would have had none of it, and might have put both Belle Jordan and Jedidiah Curry in prison. Our boys are certainly gamblers, and thank goodness they actually won this hand.
• How beautiful is that smile as Heyes pulls the fake mustache off as the jailbreak begins? *giggle*



• In one of my all-time favorite couple’s moments, Heyes chides the Kid about getting rid of his mustache, and the boys share a connecting moment before riding off to points unknown…