The group faces the harrowing task of crossing the river with their wagons and supplies
Warning: This is an overview of Episode 104 of 1883, so there will be scads of spoilers here. We strongly recommend that you not read this if you have not yet watched the episode on Paramount+.
As Elsa and Ennis grow closer, Brennan asserts his authority. What are we to make of this? Here are our five takeaways from “The Crossing,” Episode 104 of 1883.
Takeaway No . 1
After having to deal with dissention in the ranks a few times too often for his taste, Brennan (Sam Elliott) complained to Thomas (LaMonica Garrett): “This talking back is getting contagious.” Ultimately, however, he had to agree with James Dutton (Tim McGraw) on the best worst place for the wagon train to attempt a crossing of the Brazos River. Unfortunately, this meant Brennan had to command the pioneers to dump from their wagons anything and everything that wasn’t absolutely necessary — which, not surprisingly, did not go over well with the folks who had to leave behind everything from family heirlooms to tools of the trade. Even more unfortunately, the precaution was not quite enough to achieve a uniformly smooth move across the Brazos — a few people drowned while maneuvering their stripped-to-essentials wagons to the other side of the river. Don’t be surprised if one or two survivors blame Brennan for this.
Takeaway No. 2
The tragedies, it should be noted, should not have been entirely surprising to Brennan: Earlier in the episode, Josef (Marc Rissmann) informed him that, back in the home country, not only are people forbidden to swim, “They whip the bodies of the drowned for getting in the river in the first place.” Even for Brennan, this seemed a tad harsh. Still, he expressed admiration for the immigrants who continued to press on when they would be safer remaining in Texas. “The most terrifying thing on this planet,” Brennan told Thomas, “is the unknown.” But Thomas disagreed: “That’s ‘cause you never been whipped, Captain.” The two men may be friends and partners, this episode underscored, but neither likely will ever fully appreciate what the other has endured in the past. When Brennan awaked from a nightmare about his Civil War experiences with a loud cry, he explained to Thomas: “That’s why I don’t like to sleep.” But Thomas, who recalls all too vividly his days as a slave, responded: “I ain’t scare of no nightmares. I sleep to escape them.”
Takeaway No. 3
On the other hand, Thomas may find it difficult to escape the romantic overtures of Noemi (Gratiela Brancusi), the newly widowed Gypsy woman who’s looking for someone to, ahem, fill the place of her late husband. Having struck out with Brennan in Episode 103, despite her best, boldest efforts to get a rise out of him, she has turned her attention to Thomas — who, truth to tell, isn’t entirely disinterested, despite his remarks about their considerable age difference (and, yeah, the fact that he is Black). And for all his efforts to maintain a tough façade, he may not be a match for such a wily woman. To paraphrase the old song by The Waitresses, she knows what boys like. And the opposite might not be true. “Men have no idea what women want,” Noemi told Thomas. “You know why? Because the men never ask.”
Takeaway No. 4
Elsa has begun to savor the freedom she enjoys while driving cattle — “I’m a cowboy!” — and even had one of the immigrants sew her a pair of pants to make it easier to gallop about. Of course, Margaret (Faith Hill) didn’t approve of her daughter’s “manly” attire, which would be scandalous back home in Tennessee. But she took it in stride as part and parcel of their journey through the wilderness — even though she still preferred to wear a dress while handling her own chores with the cattle. As for James — well, he’s come to accept, despite some misgivings, that Elsa’s not his little girl anymore. “I can’t treat you like an adult when it suits me,” he told her, “and a child when I’m worried.”
Takeaway No. 5
James even accepted (grudgingly) the idea that Elsa is old enough to start courting. Mind you, he didn’t exactly appear overly enthused when he saw Elsa and Ennis (Eric Nelsen) sharing their first kiss while tending cattle by moonlight. “You gonna shoot me?” Ennis nervously inquired while appraising James’ expression. “Thinking about it,” James replied, only half-jokingly. Looks like Ennis will have to act like a gentleman to curry James’ favor — even if he’s not quite sure what a gentleman is. As for Elsa: Apparently, her moments of joy will always alternate with stretches of melancholy, or intimations of disaster. When she, Ennis and Wade (James Landry Hébert) came across a piano left behind by one of the immigrants, Ennis encouraged her to play something, and she chose Beethoven's “Moonlight Sonata” (which director Christina Alexandra Voros effectively used as counterpoint while showing the immigrants risking their living, and sometimes losing, during the arduous crossing of the Brazos). Ennis was impressed by her playing of the “song,” but asked: “Don’t you know any happy ones?” Elsa replied “I never had much interest in the happy ones.”
