‘Hell on Wheels’ season 4 spoilers: See Cullen, more in first promo

“I’m a killer and a railroad man. You can’t pick one without choosing the other.”

These two sentences are the only dialogue spoken in the first promo for season 4 of “Hell on Wheels,” which feels effectively like everything you would want from the show in the span of a few short seconds. There is some relentless action in here, just as there is also beautiful cinematography and reminders that Anson Mount is awesome in the Cullen Bohannon role. Unfortunately, it’s hard to get too much more from a promo that only runs for 15 seconds.

We’ve already seen online that the presence of Common in this promo must automatically mean that Elam survives, but we do not necessarily believe that to be true. A good comparison here would be the seventh season of “True Blood.” On the premiere last night, (SPOILER ALERT) Tara was killed off, even though Rutina Wesley was a part of all the promotional material. She has already confirmed that her character is in fact dead, though she may still find another way to have an impact on the show.

In going back to Elam, the only thing that this promo shows us is that he is not being forgotten, and will luckily find a way to be a part of the story ahead in one way or another. The show premieres on Saturday, August 2 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, and we will of course have much more news until that premiere takes place.

Update: This footage is all from season 3, but we still feel like what is included here is still telling.

What do you think about this promo? Share your thoughts with a comment.