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(More customer reviews)In "The Gospel Singer" the citizens of Buckbare have hired Paladin to stop the recurring violence. At the same time an idealistic young missionary named Sister Melissa arrives to convince all the people to disarm. Of course, the bad men with guns will not simply part with their guns at the gentle pleadings of the good Sister. Meanwhile, while Paladin expresses his frustrations with the naiveté of Melissa that does not stop him from sitting down and enjoying an excellent meal with her.
Until the point where there is a showdown with the hardcases, Paladin is alternately amused and frustrated by the determination that Sister Melissa shows as she pursues her worthy cause. Of course, since this is the old west where violence was a way of life, the showdown is bloody and rather than being a hindrance, Melissa proves to be a bit tougher and more resourceful than expected.
A natural role for Paladin would be for him to come to the aid of peaceful folk that are threatened by violence. This episode follows that script and the addition of the determined but simple Melissa gave Paladin a lovely and effective counterpoint that helps him express his gentlemanly nature.
"Silent Death, Secret Death" is a convoluted episode based on an illogical premise. A woman asks Paladin to search for her brother Courtney Burgess, a man that has never held himself to high standards of honest effort. The search takes Paladin to a place where a band of renegade Indians chases him into a fort. They capture his horse and all supplies on it so he has nothing but his clothes and gun. Most of the "soldiers" inside are dead; the only healthy man calls himself Sam Hodges.
Hodges makes reference to a Colonel Burgess and points him out to Paladin. The supposed Colonel Burgess is near death from typhoid fever and the band of Indians is demanding that Colonel Burgess be turned over to them. As the story unfolds, we learn that Colonel Burgess is in fact a pathetic coward and shyster, which is difficult to believe. No man that could carve such a fort out of the wilderness could be such a spineless and deceptive personality. When the story ends, Paladin is the last man standing and the fort is nothing more than a tomb.
Men who went out into the American frontier and pushed away the Indians in order to make towns and forts were tough and hard men that meant what they said and did what they meant. Courtney Burgess is simultaneously portrayed as a man of action and a sniveling shyster, a combination of personalities that is difficult to accept.
To fully understand "Invasion" it is necessary to understand the role of the Irish immigrants in the history of the United States, the potato famine that killed so many of them and the fierce animosity between the Irish and the English.
An Irish freedom fighter named Gavin O'Shea is in the United States trying to get guns and money to support his fight against the English. However, his goal is to invade and conquer Canada and then trade control of Canada for the creation of the Irish Free State. It is largely a quixotic dream, but O'Shea is ruthless in his pursuit of the goal.
Paladin his hired by the United States government to quell the movement so he goes to where O'Shea is speaking to a group of Irish laborers. He is an excellent speaker and collects a significant amount of money. Paladin tries to dissuade him from the invasion and they interact like two men that understand each other and can reach an agreement. Paladin pulls out a map and explains how the U. S. government is intervening to stop the invasion and how O'Shea is simply inciting young men to spend their lives foolishly. While O'Shea often sounds quite reasonable, he refuses to deviate from his chosen path and Paladin has no choice but to stand in his way.
If you understand the Irish plight of the middle of the nineteenth century, then the genesis of the O'Shea character and the romantic notions of battle stirred in his listeners will make sense. The Irish were one of the first large minorities that were discriminated against as they "voluntarily" came to the United States in search of a better life. That aspect is also demonstrated in this episode, although it had a somewhat predictable end, the journey there made it worthwhile.
In "The Knight", Paladin is hired by the elderly German nobleman Otto von Albrecht to help him find Carl Frome, a murderous monster of a man. Von Albrecht is a very proud and aristocratic man that must use two canes when he walks. Fortunately, von Albrecht is a very proficient rider, so he is not a burden while they travel. They track Frome to a dusty town that is a mere shadow of what it once was. The hotel and cantina are owned and managed by an older woman with a son that is not completely mentally competent. When von Albrecht is unable to drop his aristocratic bearing, Paladin is forced to rein him in. The townspeople are at first reluctant to provide any information, but when Frome demonstrates what he really is, they turn against him. There is the inevitable confrontation between Paladin and Frome, but Paladin manages to avoid killing him. At the end, the truth is revealed, which was not all that surprising.
As an avid reviewer of history, I enjoyed the well-played part of the aristocratic German von Albrecht. Despite his infirmities, he maintains his aristocratic mannerisms and at the end we learn that he is not only a very proud man, he is also a man that takes his duties as an aristocrat very seriously. At the end, you wonder which major character in the episode the word "Knight" in the title refers to.
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