‘Hell on Wheels’ season 4, episode 5 reaction: Producers, Jonathan Scarfe on Syd Snow story

Saturday night’s “Hell on Wheels” was very different than most other hours that we have seen from the show in the past, and it also had a real classic Western quality to it even more than usual (and that is saying something).

The character of Syd Snow, who was introduced and ultimately jailed within the hour, was in some ways a classic Western outlaw but with even more inappropriate language. He was violent, ruthless, and has a psychopathic streak in him. As some of the actors (including Jonathan Scarfe, who plays the character) and producers suggest below, this man is in some way what Cullen Bohannon could have easily become, if he had chosen a different path following his time in the war. There is a reason that he doesn’t talk about it to Naomi or anyone else: He doesn’t think about it, and is in some ways ashamed about what he did. Meanwhile, Syd is proud of it and thinks of it as one of the greatest days of his life.

Meanwhile, the producers also talk about the big move that we saw Mickey make over the course of the episode to kill Jessup, and take some revenge over his treatment and destruction so far. This will definitely shift the Mickey character for the rest of the season; we knew that he was a dangerous guy based on what we saw at the end of last year, but this takes it to another level. It also means that his head is on the chopping block more than ever. (Right now, Durant is the one taking the fall.)

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Photo: AMC