Anyway, so I brought this episode in and my students were completely (1) confused, (2) intrigued, and (3) pissed off. It was the best day ever.
The Gist:
The Orphan Train comes to Colorado Spring and Michaela winds up temporarily housing all the orphans. She and the Reverend work closely together and he winds up proposing. Sully (understandably) freaks out
Meanwhile, as Hank considers adopting an orphan to be a new prostitute, Myra moves further away from him. Trying to reinforce his hold on her, Hank offers to tear up her contract if she stops trying to prevent the girl from signing one of her own. Realizing she can save this girl years of servitude, Myra agrees to stay out the end of her contract.
The Commentary:
1. One of the worst parts of the orphan train is the way it must have impacted the children. I cannot believe how brutally clear that aspect comes through in this episode. The townspeople -- and even Michaela and the Reverend -- have no qualms about talking about these children as if they're not even there. So dehumanizing.
2. Robert E. is visibly moved by this behavior, finding it reminiscent of his own experiences as someone who had been up for auction. This is another great example of how this series echoes the civil war and the lasting impact of slavery so beautifully. His storyline with the little boy who had a leg amputation was particularly moving:
"It's hard when you're not like everybody else, ain't it, when you're different? People look at you and that's all they see -- the difference. They don't know, do they?"
"No. They don't know."
3. Ugh. Hank is so perfectly disgusting in this epsiode. As one potential adoptive parent muses about a 15-year-old girl, she asks whether she's been baptized. Hank leers and says, "It don't matter to me if she ain't been baptized. Michaela freaks out and says "Hank, I don't even want to ask about your intentions!" It is a fucked up and hilarious moment.
4. The storyline with Myra/Hank/Jennifer is excellent. I love when Myra tells her what's what:
"Well all I know is there ain't no one else out there who wants me. And Hank does."
"Yeah, and he'll have you, too, because you'll belong to him. Do you know what that means? I didn't when I first came here, but I do now. And I wish there had been someone there to tell me."And when Myra tells Hank off:
"I'm staying on extra in her place."
"I know why you're doing this ... because you've got feelings for me."
"No Hank, that ain't it. I just don't want her to go through what I did ... remember how you said I belong to you? Well you're wrong. I love Horace. I might work for you, but I belong to him.
He ain't any kind of man, not like me."
"What kind of man makes his woman spend the night with other men? ... I feel sorry for you, Hank. You don't know what love is."
5. In the previous episode, I wondered about the source of Michaela's jealousy. What's amazing is how quickly and seriously she considers the Reverend's proposal. Perhaps the source of her jealousy is her own failure to be truly committed? I do love how everyone's reaction to the engagement is initially "WTF?" but then "Well, it does make perfect sense."
6. The apprehension that Colleen and Brian feel as Michaela fosters and considers adopting the orphans is wonderful. It is easy to forget that their mother died less than two years before and it stands to reason that they might feel somewhat insecure.
6. It's also just super fucked up about how the orphans head off on the train at the end of the episode. The whole tone is "Oh ... well ... we tried. Sorry!" And, like, they tell the orphans during the celebration of the engagement. It's just ... whoa.
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