Bonanza (TV Series) The Other Son (1965) User Reviews

Dangerous trip in the high country

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 20 May 2016]

This Bonanza episode is one of two that Ed Begley guest starred in in two separate roles. This film has Begley and his sons who run mule train freight packing outfit helping Lorne Greene deliver a cargo of nitroglycerin for the miners. It's rugged high country they're traveling in and Ben Cartwright is joined by Hoss and Little Joe halfway through the trip.

Begley has some issues with his two sons. There's the favored older son Tom Simcox and the younger son who can never please Begley. Begley has some deep psychological problems with Evans who all he wants to do is win his father's favor.

This episode is one of the few, maybe the only one that ever referenced Adam Cartwright after Pernell Roberts left the series. It was Adam in a letter to his father extolling the virtues of nitro and how helpful it will be to the mines and the general prosperity of the area. He also quite explicitly tells of the dangers and volatility of the stuff and that knowledge helps Lorne Greene defuse a bad situation.

Nice performances by guest stars Begley, Simcox, and Evans.

Excellent episode, although it might be hard for some to watch

[glitterrose · 10/10 · 11 May 2022]

I must admit I read the episode description and thought it was gonna be like a Little House episode that featured hauling nitroglycerin. Goodness knows sometimes you see repeated storylines and even episodes based on Bonanza scripts. It's not an episode that got copied later on.

So our storyline is focusing in on a father and two sons. One son is the golden son and thankfully the golden son is a nice guy. I bet there's families out there in real life that has a similar dynamic going on and the golden child lords over the siblings that they are inferior to the golden child. Andy is the golden son in this episode and Ellis is 'the other son. Ellis really catches it from his dad. I don't think the guy would've been able to say or do anything to get in his dad's good graces. It's honestly beyond me how Ellis stuck around instead of getting away from his father that will never care about him.

The father blames Ellis for the death of his wife/Ellis and Andy's mother. So there you have the root cause for why Ellis is being mistreated. Ellis also tells a story about being afraid when he was a kid and he just wanted comfort from his father. He didn't get it. Instead he's told that this sorta stuff is girly.

Andy gets killed/blown up and the dad goes on a blaming spree for the loss of his son. Later on Joe gets into a spot of trouble with the nitro and Ellis saves the day. That action makes the father open his eyes and he actually compliments his son. Maybe now the father will treat his son like a decent person?

Anyway, this was an excellent story with wonderful performances. Would highly recommend giving it a watch.