"Immoral Mathematics" is the
second episode
"Second Episode" is the second episode of the HBO television series ''The New Pope''. The episode was directed by series creator Paolo Sorrentino and was written by Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contrarello, and Stefano Bises.
The episode takes place ...
of the first season of the American
television drama series
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...
''
Hell on Wheels
Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First transcontinental railroad in 186 ...
''; it aired November 13, 2011 on
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** AM ...
, and was co-written by series co-creators
Tony Gayton
Tony Gayton is an American movie producer and screenwriter.
Early life
Gayton graduated from Merritt Island High School in 1977 in Merritt Island, Florida.
Gayton is also a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he received the Jack ...
and Joe Gayton, and directed by
David Von Ancken
David Henry Von Ancken (December 5, 1964 – July 26, 2021) was an American film, television director and screenwriter.
Career
He directed one feature film, the 2006 Western ''Seraphim Falls'' starring Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan.
Some of V ...
. Producers of this episode include:
Tony Gayton
Tony Gayton is an American movie producer and screenwriter.
Early life
Gayton graduated from Merritt Island High School in 1977 in Merritt Island, Florida.
Gayton is also a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he received the Jack ...
, Joe Gayton, Jeremy Gold,
John Shiban
John Shiban is an American television writer and producer. He worked in both capacities on ''The X-Files'' and its spin-off ''The Lone Gunmen'', ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', ''Smallville'', ''Supernatural'', ''Legend of the Seeker'', ''Breaking Bad' ...
, and
David Von Ancken
David Henry Von Ancken (December 5, 1964 – July 26, 2021) was an American film, television director and screenwriter.
Career
He directed one feature film, the 2006 Western ''Seraphim Falls'' starring Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan.
Some of V ...
.
The episode centers on Cullen Bohannon (
Anson Mount
Anson Adams Mount IV (born February 25, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cullen Bohannon in the AMC western drama series ''Hell on Wheels'', as Jim Steele on the NBC series ''Conviction'' (2006), as the Marvel Co ...
) fighting for his life as he answers for Johnson's death. Meanwhile, Lily Bell (
Dominique McElligott
Dominique McElligott (born March 5, 1986) is an Irish actress. She has appeared as a series regular on ''Raw'' (2008), ''Hell on Wheels'' (2011–2012), ''The Astronaut Wives Club'' (2015), ''House of Cards'' (2016–2017), ''The Last Tycoon'' (2 ...
) struggles to survive in the wilderness, Thomas Durant (
Colm Meaney
Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many T ...
) attempts to spin tragedy for political gain, and Joseph Black Moon (
Eddie Spears
Edward Spears (born November 29, 1982) is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota (often called "Sioux") Lower Brulé Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
Early life
Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota on the Lower Bru ...
) tracks down the Cheyenne braves responsible for a massacre only to find one of them is his own brother (Gerald Auger).
Plot
Durant (
Colm Meaney
Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many T ...
) arrives at Robert Bell's camp after the massacre and discovers Bell's body and that of his attacker, in the woods, along with a pocket watch containing a picture of Lily (
Dominique McElligott
Dominique McElligott (born March 5, 1986) is an Irish actress. She has appeared as a series regular on ''Raw'' (2008), ''Hell on Wheels'' (2011–2012), ''The Astronaut Wives Club'' (2015), ''House of Cards'' (2016–2017), ''The Last Tycoon'' (2 ...
) inside. The survey maps are nowhere to be found.
Cullen Bohannon (
Anson Mount
Anson Adams Mount IV (born February 25, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cullen Bohannon in the AMC western drama series ''Hell on Wheels'', as Jim Steele on the NBC series ''Conviction'' (2006), as the Marvel Co ...
) gets introduced to a man known as "The Swede", Durant's head of security at Hell on Wheels. The Swede (
Christopher Heyerdahl
Christopher Heyerdahl (born September 18, 1963) is a Canadian actor who portrayed Alastair in '' Supernatural,'' the Wraith Todd in ''Stargate Atlantis'', Sam in ''Van Helsing,'' "Swede" in ''Hell on Wheels,'' and Marcus in '' The Twilight Saga ...
) questions Bohannon about Johnson's murder. Bohannon declines to implicate anyone on his crew, thus taking the fall for the crime. The Swede has Bohannon chained up inside a
freight car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is ...
, where Bohannon sees a loose floorboard nail and tries to pry it out. While doing so, Bohannon thinks back to
Meridian
Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to
Science
* Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
* ...
and his wife Mary (Kassia Warshawski) stitching
needlepoint
Needlepoint is a type of canvas work, a form of embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Traditionally needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas. Although needlepoint may be worked in a variety of stitches, m ...
.
Joseph Black Moon (
Eddie Spears
Edward Spears (born November 29, 1982) is an American actor. He is a member of the Kul Wicasa Oyate Lakota (often called "Sioux") Lower Brulé Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
Early life
Spears was born in Chamberlain, South Dakota on the Lower Bru ...
) finds the Cheyenne braves responsible for the massacre - one of which is his brother, Pawnee Killer (Gerald Auger). Joseph warns Pawnee Killer that his band will be hunted if they capture the white woman (Lily). Pawnee Killer doesn't care and reminds Joseph that he, too, once enjoyed killing and scalping whites. Joseph later finds an ailing Lily cowering from the nearby braves and helps her evade his brother's group.
The next morning, The Swede tauntingly eats breakfast in front of Bohannon while describing his past experiences. He was a former bookkeeper, then an Army quartermaster, when taken by Confederates as a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
. Starving, and set upon by another starving POW who sought to cannibalize him, The Swede began using "immoral mathematics" to control people.
Bohannon kicks The Swede's meal to the floor, and The Swede leaves without recovering his utensils. Bohannon uses the spoon to pry up nails in the car’s floorboard, and escapes through the hole. Reverend Cole (
Tom Noonan
Tom Noonan (born April 12, 1951) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Francis Dolarhyde in '' Manhunter'' (1986), Frankenstein's Monster in ''The Monster Squad'' (1987), Cain in ''RoboCop 2'' (1990), The ...
) aids Bohannon in eluding The Swede, then instructs Bohannon to beg God's forgiveness before he is caught. Bohannon refuses, stating he does not deserve forgiveness, and leaves. Elam (
Common
Common may refer to:
Places
* Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
* Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts
* Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts
* Clapham Common, originally com ...
) later hammers the chain free from Bohannon's wrists.
Out on the prairie, The Swede finds Durant's caravan. Durant asks him to offer a $100 reward for Lily’s return, adding his orders to not say a word about the missing maps.
Durant, upon entering his Pullman coach, is greeted by Bohannon, who boldly requests Johnson's job. Comparing railroad building to the Civil War, Bohannon boasts of his having motivating outnumbered, undersupplied troops to win battles, then stresses Durant's current predicament: the government funding doesn't take effect until Durant lays 40 miles of track. Bohannon also mentions Durant’s war profiteering, and ends up getting the job.
The Swede sees Bohannon leaving the Pullman and draws his gun. However, Durant orders him to stand down, proclaiming Bohannon as his new foreman. When Bohannon goes into Johnson's former headquarters, he finds in his jacket a stitching that belonged to his deceased wife and ponders getting revenge on the last man that killed her.
Set location
The
T'suu T'ina Native Indian Reservation, an
Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty,
that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band."
Ind ...
in southern Alberta, was the location for most of the exteriors.
Reception
"Immoral Mathematics" received mixed reviews. Adam Raymond of ''
New York Magazine
''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...
'' stated the episode "spent the majority swinging more hammers in an attempt to get to a place that’ll allow this train to finally get out of the station."
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
rated the show 6 out of 10 on their website. Seth Amitin said, "it looks like Hell on Wheels still isn't sure what it's going to be. The Swede is an extraordinary addition to the series, though, and hopefully the series continues to build and progress as it goes on."
TV Fanatic's Sean McKenna approved of the episode: "Thankfully, 'Immoral Mathematics' managed to focus itself on one central storyline and scatter a few smaller ones throughout. It chugged along at a much quicker pace and kept me interested for pretty much the entire episode."
Compared to the previous pilot episode, the second episode dropped in viewership to 3.84 million viewers but still did strong in 18-49 age range with 1.5 rating.
References
External links
*
Tv.com: Immoral MathematicsTV Guide: Immoral Mathematics
{{Hell on Wheels
2011 American television episodes
Hell on Wheels (TV series) episodes