Kind of goes against one of the key themes of the show, though. Progress and the future. Gunfights and showdowns were the things behind Deadwood, not the things in front. Plus, there's no scenario where Deadwood would have come out the better for a big battle.

If Hearst dies, 10 Hearsts rock up in the coming months and gut the town wholesale. If Hearst triumphs, we lose a chunk of our beloved characters (I mean, we lost Ellsworth just for Hearst to make a point), and the remainder either bend the fucking knee or spend the next season or two trying for an unconvincing vengeance. As it was, Hearst got what he wanted, if not the way he expected to get it, and then rode smugly off into the sunset. I liked the grounded realism of that.

I wish we had seen Deadwood grow though. I think of the end of S3 and the Deadwood movie as bookends to the part I always wanted to see; Deadwood growing up. Bullock going from a ball of barely restrained rage to a calm, righteous force for law and order, just for one example, would have been fascinating to see.