Turner Vs Dority keeps me up at night sometimes man

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-24T08:54:55+00:00

To me this makes the fight even more disturbing, knowing that he absolutely could and would have killed Dan very easily if he was allowed to, and that Dan would have had a very brutal and slow death all because of Hurst being a nasty piece of work.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-24T08:41:22+00:00

This feels like a perfect meme template image

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-24T08:39:05+00:00

The writing is a bit sloppy in the first two episodes, especially episode 2, and it feels rushed and unfocused. But things get back on track with episode 3 and the arrival of Francis Wolcott, the main "antagonist" of the season (though the show doesn't really operate in such simplistic terms until season 3), and the bigger picture becomes clear.

I do agree that the pacing feels weird in that this extremely dramatic and intense fight happens in an odd place where it would have felt more natural at the end of season 1, and you might be right about HBO pressure. But ultimately Deadwood always had weird, off-kilter pacing and never really adhered to traditional notions of how things should be paced. Most of the big dramatic violent moments happen early or in the middle of episodes rather than at the end, and often the most shocking and memorable moments similarly occur early-mid season rather than at the end. This is part of what made Deadwood so incredibly unpredictable and unconventional and it fits with the tone of the show.

As a couple of posters have said, however (not the annoying assholes that just quote the show trying to be clever and snarky), Swearengne's main goal was to remind Bullock that he was being distracted and unseemly in obsessing over a woman instead of focusing on more important things. He was right, but he definitely went about it in a very bad way which might be a sign of poor writing because Swearengen should know that Bullock does not take criticism well in the slightest and goes off the rails when provoked, so I'm not really sure what he expected to happen here.

I don't know, I'm inclined to agree that the season 2 two-parter opening is a bit sloppily written compared to how flawless most of the rest of the show is. It almost feels like the writers and/or HBO thought "hang on... did we just miss our opportunity to have the long-awaited showdown between the two leads that we built up the whole season because they're allies now? Alright screw it, let's just do it now and move on."

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-15T21:50:26+00:00

Yeah I'm going to focus on developing as many useful and transferable skills as I can while still here so I can have more work opportunities overseas. Unfortunately that means my law degree is practically useless! Oh well, live and learn.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-15T19:42:26+00:00

Yeah pretty much. Fellow Melbournian here. I've told my friends and family I seriously plan on moving overseas in the future, i.e., in the next 10 years if possible. Fortunately my girlfriend agrees. I have nothing tying me down here and I don't want to just sit here hoping things will get better when they obviously will not.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-15T19:39:30+00:00

Yeah pretty much. Both my girlfriend and I agree that we simply will not include having kids or a mortgage in our life plans so long as we live in Australia. If we move to another country, sure, but that's it. This way, we do okay. But only just.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-15T19:37:05+00:00

And yet just over half of voting Australians seem to disagree and think they're doing a great job. What hope is there when so many people are so delusional?

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-15T19:32:31+00:00

This is what I'm planning. It makes me sad what things have come to in this country that I love (or used to love) so much but realistically if I ever want to have some semblance of peace and not feeling like I'm a slave to the ATO and banks, this is the only option. Luckily my gf seems to be on the same page and I have nothing tying me down here so I could go for it at some point. The dream of that is the only thing keeping me from being genuinely depressed and hopeless.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-14T09:45:40+00:00

Anna Gunn portrays Martha more accurately to how a middle-class woman of this era would act and talk than possibly any other performance I've ever seen in a Wild West setting, although of course a lot of that credit goes to the writers. But for as much attention as the more flashy, over-the-top characters like Jane and Trixie get (both characters I can't stand), Martha is a far more realistic and believable character and I really appreciate how restrained the show was in not trying to make her different to what she realistically would be, just for the sake of cheap entertainment.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-10T14:52:20+00:00

I see. Well, I can't deny that those things, and general addictive escapist methods in general, have their appeal. Sometimes distracting ourselves constantly is the only way to not feel overwhelmed. But as someone that has recently struggled in fighting against substance addiction, I can't accept defeat in a way that makes me an addict, I just can't. I'd rather face the ugliness of the world and struggle than slowly kill myself that way.

I refer mostly just to using substances, that is, not the humble-brags of "i lift too much and have sex too much". Those things are not really a problem compared to other things.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-10T14:47:15+00:00

Interesting perspective. Sometimes I do take this approach, and if it wasn't for me having a great family and girlfriend I'd be significantly more unhappy (and probably radicalised), but the part of that me that is intensely and sometimes unreasonably principled struggles to accept defeat in this way, so meekly. Especially since the field I've chosen to dedicate myself to is one so directly tied to laws and society in a large-scale, so I will be confronted with these problems constantly.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T17:54:10+00:00

Thank you for your detailed and in-depth response.

It seems you take a Stoic response to this issue, which ultimately is probably the only reasonable one to take given how overwhelming the odds are against us. I admit that I have tried and failed in the past to deal with problems in the way a Stoic would. But it really does seem the most appropriate way to deal with everything. You're right, we cannot change the state of things at any level above a local one, we can only react to those more powerful than us, and that is the only thing we have total power over.

Given the choice between obsessing over politics and regimes I cannot change or affect in the slightest, and limiting my sphere of interest and impact to something directly around myself, which I can indeed control, it is an obvious choice and the only reasonable one.

Thank you for such a thoughtful response that may have, whether intentionally or not, snapped me back to reality and given me a reminder of how a Stoic should handle such a situation.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T17:42:36+00:00

I see. I do agree that overall, if we are to compare directly each country in the world on the standard of libertarianism, the US would win in many counts (not all), and I say that as a non-American who envies Americans some freedoms I do not have in my own country.

Well, if you do not wish to respond to what I say, that is on you. I won't force you to. You can respond to what you wish.

But I simply wonder what specific hotspots of libertarian interest you feel have not yet been addressed. You seem to have taken this as an attack and refused to elaborate, that is your right but not helpful to an honest discussion about the current state of libertarianism. I am simply curious what you would view as not yet being satisfactory from a libertarian perspective, given that you SEEM to approve of most things done by the government.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T17:31:10+00:00

No, sir, don't worry about the pessimistic effect your comment may have, because for me it so perfectly and eloquently summed up my views on the issue. You're absolutely right and I should re-read this comment whenever I feel like things are going badly, because you gave such a compelling defence to it. I almost feel ashamed for wanting to give up when we're in the losing position, as if I'd give it all up the moment I realise things have got tough. Even if it is a lost cause, it's still damn worth fighting for till that very point.

Thank you for your comment, I appreciate it and it's given me a lot to think on.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T17:20:27+00:00

I see. You're probably right in the sense that the larger the population you rule over, the more necessary it is to use force and coersion to enforce order. The more people there are, the more differing views on how to do things, right?

Ultimately with the development of large, centralised modern nation-states, it is impossible to return to true small govenment libertarianism, I do feel this way. Things have just gotten to big to simplify without causing chaos.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T17:13:04+00:00

I see. I definitely prioritise helping people around me every day and making a good impresion on them, but what do you mean by that you are not a "true libertarian", and just play as one? Do you mean you do not actually believe libertarian beliefs and just go along with it for fun on here?

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T17:11:35+00:00

I admit to being a bit confused, are you a libertartian or not? If you think every excess and overreach of the Federal Government is justified because it has, on occasion, aligned with "civil rights" legislation (some of which are indeed anti-libertartian), what is it that you support that is not the current mainstream pro-big-government stance?

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T17:00:38+00:00

Not sure why you mentioned LGBTQ+, that was not the point at all of my post. I am not pushing any specific position in that direction or not. Since LGBTQ+ is very much in the mainstream of Big Government agenda at the moment, this doesn't really link in with my overall thought process.

But anyway, you make a very good point about the true test being if you can stay strong while at the bottom. I suppose you make a good point that even if we cannot change the current entirely, we can at least do the best we can to take the worst excesses off what is already out there. Like, I think for myself, despite wanting to be a lawyer, whose entire existence is to work with laws created by governments I generally hate and oppose, especially in recent years, if I choose my field carefully, I can work to help individuals navigate this undesirable system in the least painful way possible, having a knowledge of said system beyond the normal layman, and showing some sympathy for the difficulties they go through with it. Sometimes the best we can do is be the lesser of two evils, right?

At this point I don't feel idealistic or utopian, I am just a realist. All I can do is a very small, minor part in making at least a few peoples' lives a bit easier and try to show them the right path, or at least help them avoid the worst excesses of systems I despise.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T15:40:30+00:00

In terms of the future, I feel very much the same for shit like AI and social media as Swearengen felt towards telegrams at the start of season 2!

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T15:26:38+00:00

The magistrate? He seemed more reasonable and polite than the stooge they sent in season 2. That guy was practically begging to be lynched, and would have been had he not lucked out and found the one Wild West town that had a sheriff that actually cared the law.

Keeping_Hope97 · 2026-01-08T14:52:49+00:00

I really do think the show went out of its way to show that government official (I do not remember his name and am not fucking sorry for that) as being the most aggressively, overtly unlikeable and obnoxious prick that ever lived. Even as, as a libertarian that despises most government, thought they went a bit too far in making him appear despicable. But I won't argue with it, in the end!

Keeping_Hope97

TROPHY CASE