‘Hell on Wheels’ season 4, episode 9 review: A Louise – John Campbell shock; an escape plan

You knew we were building to something intense on “Hell on Wheels,” and for tonight’s all-new episode, we finally made it there. John Campbell had found a way to go too far yet again, and Cullen Bohannon had to find a way to bail out all those he both loved and needed to finish the railroad.

Before we go too deep into Cullen’s release plan, let us start off with this: The decision by Louise to sleep with the Governor after what was a pretty forceful entry into the bedroom. Did she enjoy it? We would say “no” with a great deal of confidence. She is a very smart woman, and she most likely saw two options here. Either she could willingly give in to his desires, or he would have most likely raped her. Even if she wrote about it in an article later, he could just accuse her of lying and have her hanged. She saw no other way other than to just accept her presence fate, which is pretty terrible.

Now, let’s return to that awesome plan that Cullen and Mickey orchestrated to get all of the railroad men plus Durant out. We love a good train sequence, and this all felt very organic and natural, while still at the time perfect for a Western.

Eventually, Sydney Snow figured out that Cullen and company had not only freed themselves, but also detached their car from the rest of the train. They managed to free themselves, but at the same time, they were not out of the woods. Nobody had really been killed, and Cheyenne was still unsafe. Bohannon instructed Durant to negotiate with Campbell, but they had some pressing business to deal with first:

The closing shootout here was certainly exciting, but really did not actually accomplish too much save for our heroes having the temporary upper hand. There were bodies lost on both sides, though, and Syd is still out there. There’s no telling where he will turn up next. Grade: A-.