‘Hell on Wheels’ season 4, episode 11 preview: Why would Cullen protect Sydney Snow?

Now that the celebrations about a fifth-season renewal for “Hell on Wheels” are starting to die down a little, we can get to another pressing order of business: What is happening on tonight’s new episode. The title here is “Bleeding Kansas,” and for Cullen Bohannon, the goal here may be to keep Sydney Snow from bleeding out.

Why is he so desperate to save the life of a pretty terrible man? As Anson Mount’s character explains to Eva in the video below, it’s much more about Ruth than it is about Syd. He knows that as a sheriff now, he has to keep a certain semblance of law and order in Cheyenne. He also knows that if Sydney dies, then that makes Ruth into a murderer. He clearly does not want that, and trying to do what he can in order to save the man, regardless of however much he may hate him, is the first step in that direction.

Whether or not Syd can be saved is just one element of this episode, given that sooner or later, we also have to get back to the railroad. We’re sure that Cullen’s personal life is also going to turn up in here at some point. He has not been an amazing father or husband as of late, but can that change? Is he destined to go back to some of his old ways, or can he really turn over a new leaf? All worthy questions.

We’ll be back later tonight with a full review of this episode … and hopefully some answers to go along with it.

If you do want to read more “Hell on Wheels” coverage, including why we’re happy about the renewal even if it is for the final season, you can do so over at the link here. Also, be sure to sign up to get some other fantastic TV updates on everything we cover via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via AMC.)