‘Hell on Wheels’ season 5, episode 3 preview: Chang’s new business partner

If we could get into the head of Chang on “Hell on Wheels” and offer him up a simple piece of business advice, it would be this: Run. Seriously. Run as far away as you can from The Swede! We’re not entirely sure that this guy knows just yet who he is getting into business with, and what could end up happening to him as a result of this said “arrangement.” Ultimately, he should be very much worried about what happens if he ever crosses the man otherwise known as Thor Gundersen.

In the sneak peek below from Saturday night’s new episode, the veil is lifted somewhat on the nature of the relationship between these two characters. Chang is providing rice to The Swede by the crate(!), and in return receiving a nice share of money for it. All of these dealings are happening in secret, and that is a part of the problem for Chang when he learns that The Swede wants to triple the business. He wants more money in return for having to keep the secret, and the risk this puts him in. What follows this demand is one of the more tense negotiations that you can imagine happening on this show at present.

Is Chang genuinely afraid of The Swede? We’re not quite sure that we would say that, but we think that has grown to be wary of people, and is trying to figure out what his limitations are. The same goes for Gundersen and his attempts to intimidate Chang into getting what he wants. There is a sharp back-and-forth here that is reminiscent of how The Swede has acted around Cullen in the past, and it is fascinating to see this transferred over to another character.

Check back tomorrow, as we plan to have so much more from this episode then.