Lawmen: Bass Reeves Season Finale Recap

Here are some observations prompted by watching Part VIII — the season finale — of Lawmen: Bass Reeves, which premiered Sunday on Paramount+. Please keep in mind: There will be scads of spoilers here, so proceed at your own risk.

• • So what happened to the scene in which Jennie Reeves (Lauren E. Banks) wielded a rifle and faced off against the threatening gang of hooded (and presumably white) men who showed up at her door late one night while her husband Bass (David Oyelowo) was away? Frankly, we’ve been waiting for this scene ever since we saw it excerpted in the first trailer for Lawmen: Bass Reeves. And we sure as hell figured that, since Part VIII was the season finale, the scene would finally appear here. But it didn’t. What happened? Was it left on the cutting room floor? Or will it eventually be included in some future DVD/Blu-Ray Extended Cut? (Look at the trailer around the 0:56 mark, and you’ll see what we mean.)

• • On the other hand, Jennie did get another chance to display her gumption: She slapped Rachel (Jessica Oyelowo, David’s real-life spouse), the wife of the brute who once owned (and mistreated) her and Bass (David Oywlowo) prior to Emancipation, when Rachel showed up with a too-sweet smile, a condescending manner, and a threat that her politician husband was working to pass laws that would bring the Reeves Family and other Black folks back to the bad old days of slavery. Based on what we saw in a flashback that showed Rachel expecting Jennie to get back to her chores one day after delivering her first child, we’d say the rhymes-with-witch had it coming. Maybe the hooded guys were supposed to show up after that — but we’ll never know, will we?

• • Meanwhile, off in the Lone Star State, Bass, accompanied by Billy Crow (Forrest Goodluck) and Sherrill Lynn (Dennis Quaid), went hunting for Esau Pierce (Barry Pepper), Bass’ longtime bête noire, after Bass deducted the Confederate solider turned Texas Ranger was the real-life inspiration for the legendary Mr. Sundown. The three lawmen captured one of Esau’s associates in Fort Worth, then took him off to a remote location, where they used enhanced interrogation techniques to ascertain Esau’s whereabouts. When it was all over, Bass was inclined to simply leave their prisoner behind, bootless and battered, figuring he would likely die while trying to walk back to town. But Sherrill didn’t agree with this strategy, and shot the guy dead. Bass objected, but Sherrill reminded him that, by carrying out their extralegal actions, they were already dancing with the devil.

• • Bass finally made his way to Esau’s ranch, where he was greeted by underlings at the main gate, relieved of his weaponry, and escorted to the main house — a mansion, really — which Bass was surprised to see had a massive dinosaur skull in its foyer. (During his ride to the house, he couldn’t help noticing Black men — lots and lots of Black men — tilling Esau’s fields.) Sounding very much like a smooth-talking James Bond villain toying with a captured 007, Esau explained that the skull and other dinosaur bones were discovered on his land by the previous owners, and he kept them around because… well, he felt a kinship with the monsters. Maybe this is what that crazed killer was referencing back in Part VI when he spoke of Mr. Sundown “building a plantation out of skin and bone — a dark, dark church full of hell’s music.”

• • As the conversation continued, Esau admitted that he was using Black men he had arrested over the years and pressed them into servitude, figuring no would ask any questions about how many outlaws died during shootouts or while attempting to escape while in his custody. (As we’ve seen several times before in the series, a lawmen only had to turn over the boots of a “dead” prisoner to collect a reward.)  As for the legend of a murderous Mr. Sundown who preyed on Black men — Esau found the fearsome stories quite useful while drawing attention away from his indulging in modern-day slavery.

• • Naturally, Esau eventually tried to place manacles on Bass — to replace Jackson Cole (Tosin Morohunfola), the man Bass assumed had been murdered by Esau, as a kind of human scarecrow in front of the big house. Just as naturally, Billy and Sherrill showed up to interrupt the enslavement and gun down most of Esau’s minions. Sherrill didn’t survive the clash — he shot himself after being ensnared in a bear trap — but before his demise, he apologized to Billy for all the nasty remarks he’d made about Indians, and actually gave his deputy badge to him. Meanwhile, Bass rode off in hot pursuit of the escaping Esau, finally shooting him of his horse. (Actually, it was Bass’ horse — Esau had commandeered it to flee the scene of his crimes — but never mind.) Before he took his last breath, Esau more or less acknowledged that he’d been defeated by a better man: “The legend is yours.”

• • Cole echoed those sentiments when Bass gave him the cash that the lawman had removed from Esau’s safe, and directed him to finance a better life for himself and all the other freed slave laborers. Bass also helped finance a happy ending for Billy — he gave his posse man (and soon-to-be deputy) a diamond he had also grabbed from Esau’s safe, and told him to used it as enticement while wooing Caliste (Blu Hunt), the pretty prostitute back in Checotah.

• • Finally, Bass made it back to his ranch, reunited with his wife and family, and indicated he would be a better husband and father. But as we viewed flashbacks to key moments from throughout the series, we couldn’t help wondering: Did that mean Bass was going to turn in his badge? The real-life Bass Reeves was a U.S. Deputy Marshal for quite a few years. Surely there would be a lot more to tell about his exploits in a Season 2. If, as we dearly hope, there is one.