Yes, Chinese immigrant workers in the Old West were treated badly. Isn't that a given 100+ years later? Maybe writer Neil Landau knows that, as he focuses more on the Seven, and son Wo Chin avenging his murdered father.
The rest of the episode is so-so. Starting with the title. Why is called "Chinatown"? The episode doesn't take place in Chinatown, or even a town.
Wo Chin wants to learn to be a shooter and thus (in his mind) an American. I suppose that is supposed to be Landau's commentary on American gun culture. The point is somewhat muted, since the Seven aren't shy about using guns. Even though that is reduced in the second season, in episodes like this one. I think three shots are fired and hit someone the entire episode, and that's it..
Wo Chin shoots the main bad guy, but doesn't kill him. So Chris shoots him dead just to demonstrate that shooting someone is bad. Kinda mixed message, pard.
We get more of Starke and Perlman. Starke's Ezra has a touching relationship with a Chinese woman who he helps Nathan buy to keep her from being sold as a slave. Of course, she and Ezra fall in luv and end up in off-screen bed.
Perlman's Josiah knows Chinese, but not very well, from his missionary work in San Francisco. So it's a running gag that he misspeaks to someone. But Josiah does get some lines about different religions.
Buck,, J. D., and Inez have a subplot where Buck buys a love potion and tries to roofie Inez. Ah, the 90s, when that was considered funny. J. D. Finds out about it, tips off Inez, and the two of them first pretend that he's fallen in love with Buck. And congrats to Andrew Kavovit. His hitting on Buck is more convincing than his romantic scenes with Casey.
And then Inez drinks the spiked drink, and pretends to fall in love with... J. D. And Fabiana Udeno is good as Inez in this part. But IMO, she was always good in the 90s. It's a pity she didn't do more.
Nathan is basically a backstop to Ezra and Buck's subplots. He takes offense that Ezra has apparently enslaved the girl, and somehow knows that J. D. and Inez are hoaxing Buck, at least to the point where he laughs at their prank when they haven't told Buck yet.
Vin gets to track and shoot a little. Chris gets to lecture Wo Chin about how guns and hate don't mix. So I guess that makes it okay when he shoots down Brauner at the end. Even though he seems to hate Brauner, who keeps calling Chris "My good man".
Speaking of Brauner... Brad Dourif is good in the role but with everything else going on, he doesn't have much chance to develop the character. I do like how for once, we don't know Brauner is a bad guy right off the bat. Like most of the bad guys on the show.
But come on, it's Brad Dourif! Of course he's playing a bad guy: that's what Dourif does most of the time. So he turns slimy pretty quickly. And I couldn't tell his two main henchmen, Carl and Johnson, apart. I guess one has an eyepatch and one doesn't. So it's a pretty undistinguished bunch of bad guys, not like the Joker-esque Powder Man in 'Wagon Train. It's not a bad episode, it's just not a great one.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
The rest of the episode is so-so. Starting with the title. Why is called "Chinatown"? The episode doesn't take place in Chinatown, or even a town.
Wo Chin wants to learn to be a shooter and thus (in his mind) an American. I suppose that is supposed to be Landau's commentary on American gun culture. The point is somewhat muted, since the Seven aren't shy about using guns. Even though that is reduced in the second season, in episodes like this one. I think three shots are fired and hit someone the entire episode, and that's it..
Wo Chin shoots the main bad guy, but doesn't kill him. So Chris shoots him dead just to demonstrate that shooting someone is bad. Kinda mixed message, pard.
We get more of Starke and Perlman. Starke's Ezra has a touching relationship with a Chinese woman who he helps Nathan buy to keep her from being sold as a slave. Of course, she and Ezra fall in luv and end up in off-screen bed.
Perlman's Josiah knows Chinese, but not very well, from his missionary work in San Francisco. So it's a running gag that he misspeaks to someone. But Josiah does get some lines about different religions.
Buck,, J. D., and Inez have a subplot where Buck buys a love potion and tries to roofie Inez. Ah, the 90s, when that was considered funny. J. D. Finds out about it, tips off Inez, and the two of them first pretend that he's fallen in love with Buck. And congrats to Andrew Kavovit. His hitting on Buck is more convincing than his romantic scenes with Casey.
And then Inez drinks the spiked drink, and pretends to fall in love with... J. D. And Fabiana Udeno is good as Inez in this part. But IMO, she was always good in the 90s. It's a pity she didn't do more.
Nathan is basically a backstop to Ezra and Buck's subplots. He takes offense that Ezra has apparently enslaved the girl, and somehow knows that J. D. and Inez are hoaxing Buck, at least to the point where he laughs at their prank when they haven't told Buck yet.
Vin gets to track and shoot a little. Chris gets to lecture Wo Chin about how guns and hate don't mix. So I guess that makes it okay when he shoots down Brauner at the end. Even though he seems to hate Brauner, who keeps calling Chris "My good man".
Speaking of Brauner... Brad Dourif is good in the role but with everything else going on, he doesn't have much chance to develop the character. I do like how for once, we don't know Brauner is a bad guy right off the bat. Like most of the bad guys on the show.
But come on, it's Brad Dourif! Of course he's playing a bad guy: that's what Dourif does most of the time. So he turns slimy pretty quickly. And I couldn't tell his two main henchmen, Carl and Johnson, apart. I guess one has an eyepatch and one doesn't. So it's a pretty undistinguished bunch of bad guys, not like the Joker-esque Powder Man in 'Wagon Train. It's not a bad episode, it's just not a great one.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
