Pasco's Letter

[@AH-nc6vv]

I love the sincerity in Al's voice when he tells Bullock "That's a very nice fuckin' letter."

[@tomservo5347]

I like to think if Al had read that letter in the privacy of his office he would have had become a little misty eyed. You could tell he was really moved by Seth's letter.

[@Widderic]

I wish we all still talked like this. At least we do in the comments. Which is why I so frequently partake in such delights. RIP Pasco.

[@kristyraney5886]

Which is why I cry every time I finish the series in its entirety. Dialogue like this will never be written or aired on tv again. Finishing Milch’s memoirs right now, I put it off for the same reason.

[@Widderic]

@@kristyraney5886 Wait he has memoirs? I need to check that out.

[@kristyraney5886]

@ Yes!!

[@kristyraney5886]

@ He started writing it after he got diagnosed

[@flightofthebumblebee9529]

I love how Al totally steps up for Bullock on so many occasions, and also makes many selfless decisions that benefit the camp more than himself in season 3.

[@KingCraze22]

Al immediately being like “yeah we gotta get that shit in front of people” because of how good it was. I love this show.

[@CoryBlissitte]

Not only of how good it was, but also that it conveyed that barbarity of the act on who was really an fair innocent in the whole matter. Pushing out into peoples faces what they already know, Hearst had this man killed. A man who had loved ones who now need to be informed of his passing. He was not just a nameless number, he was a person who had people worried for him. Nice as the letter was, and it was a nice fucking letter, people in the camp need to be agitated about it.

[@sjkdec18]

I love Deadwood and I think that this is my favorite scene. There are so many beautiful subtleties. I love how Cy Tolliver was angry at Bullock at the start of the scene, chastising the sheriff for what Tolliver believed to be a unilateral reckless act. But as Merrick reads the sincere and eloquent letter, Tolliver seems to acknowledge the gravity of the situation and the moral turpitude of Hearst by the simple act of resting his hand on top of his arm. Then, the camera tracks down the table showing how all are moved, with the exception of Bullock who seems to be embarrassed. It's just so lovely. Thank you for the upload.

[@4no3bo3dy]

Thanks for the introduction to "terpitude" a word that Merriam Webster informs me sounds as vile as the actions it defines. (and yes, a lovely scene from a show bursting at the seams with lovely scenes)

[@StanvilleBrown]

Damn Good Letter!

[@johansmallberries9874]

Charlie Utter was ready to go to war. He doesn't get enough credit in the bad-ass category, and he was the only other guy aside from Bullock that didn't take Hearsts shit.

[@Losrandir]

He may not make a big deal of himself, but he's always ready to do his fair share alright

[@noahbrown6970]

"Casket's coming with your name on it. Body's inside" "Evidently not mine" "No, but I'd just as soon make delivery" Pretty sure he was born with zero fucks in his tank 😂 and in the end it took two guys to take him out....two guys almost half his age....sneaking up behind him

[@kristyraney5886]

I LOVE Charlie Utter.

[@mjbachman3027]

Ellsworth as well stood up against Hearst.

[@fridun007]

That was a very nice fucking letter

[@johnclavis]

Might be the kindest, most generous thing he says to anyone in the whole series

[@willgold9989]

@@johnclavisa close second to “Stick to handjobs for a day or two”.

[@dhorley]

that's a very nice fucking letter

[@brentkelly9864]

Worth noting that the letter read in this scene is nearly identical to the letter the real Seth Bullock sent to the family of Reverend Smith after he was presumably murdered by natives. Completely different circumstances and separate from the fictional narrative of this show, but stirring nonetheless that Bullock spoke with such kindness and regard for his fellow frontiersmen.

[@Widderic]

I didn't know that, thank you so much for sharing.

[@stoneddom]

A masterwork of showing how the pen is mightier than the sword.

[@StanvilleBrown]

Aman!

[@im.tellingyou]

Politics as a weapon. At last Seth Bullock realises a way he can retaliate against his more powerful enemy in ways beside charging furiously with both pistols drawn. By publishing this letter in Merrick's paper, the camp can shame George Hearst and without allowing proper cause for violent repercussions.

[@jack-el9xt]

The letter was a great strategy against Hearst. Everyone in camp knew Hearst had Pacho killed but the majority of the camp was apathetic to it. To them Pacho was just one of the many Cornish men who had come to camp to work in the mines and ended up dead. However the letter in the paper changed that. Pacho was no longer a faceless Cornish miner, he was now a righteous man with friends and family as described in the letter. This change of perception made Hearst look like a cold murderer in the eyes of the camp, because they now feel like they actually knew Pacho from reading the letter.

[@thejordanflynn]

Appreciate this comment. The show is hard to follow at times and I was struggling with the meaning of publishing the (very fucking nice) letter.

[@rickrose5377]

It's shocking and sad that 140 years after this scene is set, not one in five hundred Americans could write a letter half so eloquent as Bullock's.

[@deBebbler]

You said it, Rick. And it's all thanks to the Department of (No)Education and the AFT.

[@rickrose5377]

@@deBebbler Thank you Betsy DeVos and defunding public education for privatized alternatives. What a moronic testimonial to that approach she is.

[@deBebbler]

​@@rickrose5377 Sorry, Rick, but BDV is not the problem. The Dept of Ed has been destroying our educational system for 40 years. BDV has been in office only a couple of years. The damage was well and done *long* before she arrived.

[@rickrose5377]

@@deBebbler You may be right, dB, but she's doing her damnedest to expedite the process. And the fact that someone who subscribes to her views (the results of which, she is such a damning and pathetic example) was nominated to head the department, is an endorsement of the philosophy that precipitated the decline.

[@deBebbler]

​@@rickrose5377 So, the fact that she got nominated is an endorsement of the philosophy that precipitated the decline of the education system... but she advocates privatizing education, and privatizing education is not what led to the decline. Privatizing education is a radical right-wing approach, right? ...at least I haven't heard it championed in the last 30 years by either party's platform. I will admit, your response has left me somewhat befuddled.

[@dougbodenhamer9391]

My favorite dynamic of this incredible show is the arc of the relationship between swearingen and bullock. Mortal enemies to trusted, albeit at arms length, comrades.

[@forgingviews3401]

Interestingly enough this letter seems to be heavily influenced by a letter the real Seth Bullock wrote about the death of Henry Weston Smith the preacher from the first season when informing a colleague of Smiths death. The real life letter reads very similar to the show "It becomes my painful duty to inform you that Rev. H. Weston Smith was killed by the Indians yesterday (Sunday) a short distance from this place. He had an appointment to preach here in the afternoon, and was on his way from Crook City when a band of Indians overtook him and shot him. His body was not mutilated in any way, and was found in the road a short time after the hellish deed had been done. His death was instantaneous as he was shot through the heart. His funeral occurred today from his home in this town. Everything was done by kind hands, that was possible under the circumstances, and a Christian burial given him. I was not personally acquainted with Mr. Smith, but knew him by reputation, as an earnest worker in his Master's Vineyard. He has preached here on several occasions, and was the only minister in the Hills. He died in the harness and his memory will be always with those who knew him. A letter from you which I found in his home causes me to convey this sad intelligence to you."

[@adam-rm2og]

Thank you for this !! Really really cool

[@Crazyhorse75-u2z]

The acting in this show, doesn't get any better.

[@danielholt1984]

That's a very nice fucking scene

[@The_OneManCrowd]

What a fucken line-up of actors, huh? Pretty hard to get all that talent in one scene.

[@Traye76]

I like how the women point out Alma wasn't invited because she's a woman despite being one of the most important people in town

[@rev.jimjonesandthekool-aid4488]

And our society was better for it. We are not better off.

[@paulwassom4231]

@@rev.jimjonesandthekool-aid4488 And the edgelord appears, unsummoned.

[@scudrunner79]

That's a very nice fucking letter.

[@AndyP998]

Poor EB, trying so bad to get some recognition

[@Losrandir]

And giving poor Bullock a headache in the process

[@andyc1019]

I like how Al puts aside his ego and asks for opinions from everyone knowing what his mind is telling him to do may not be best for the situation although I think he would have been justified to get the guns.

[@Losrandir]

I like it too. He knows he's not necessarily the best at everything and at every situation and listen to advice. And sometimes many minds do work better than one, at matters that are kinda bigger than just Swearengen

[@Meme-zc4cw]

I was hoping for a big John Wayne shootout at some point.

[@Napalm38382]

What's interesting about this, it'd deciding with people of power - against more power(?) And well, open war. ... And what?! That's a very nice fucking letter.

[@duckdong1702]

watch the scene in ray donovan where he is cleaning up after the murder that ian mcshane's character commits.

[@sfshinz]

We're all living in Deadwood now.

LOWEST EVER Black/Hispanic unemployment and 3.8% for all others. It's a Golden Age with a real leader who knows what he's doing in charge. Your derangement is noted nonetheless.

[@orkz7258]

I agree sfshinz and that's a blessing and a curse. More people saying what they feel with no standing on ceremony, and more hate to go around served up right to each other's faces.

[@jonathanturbide2232]

You can fuck hookers for $5?

[@surfinmuso37]

@ lol hey look everyone.. a trumptard has revealed itself! Crawled out from it's hole in an attempt to claim some pathetic "positive" from it's demented leader's insane loony tunes. U might wanna crawl back in your hole......

[@lordoffaiyum9727]

Yup

[@155CrazyHorse]

Fuck i love this show!

[@DinorwicSongwriter]

Well fuck!

[@user-by3ks9bp5d]

…parp

[@ronniebishop2496]

Almost stream consciousness if you ask me? But my opinion is also just honorary given to me by no one but Me! Lol

[@adamhonestyanddecency5054]

I get tired of that super fake deep southern accent coming from “Colorado” Charlie Utter.

[@kristyraney5886]

I know people born on Modesto California with the same accent.