'Lawmen: Bass Reeves' Just Set Up a Roaring Season Finale
Last week, Lawmen: Bass Reeves jumped headfirst into the deep end. Our hero (David Oyelowo) faced the show's big bad: Confederate Army regiment leader Esau Pierce (Barry Pepper). The twisted man spouted a Lord of the Rings-esque monologue about how his ranch is littered with giants’ bones. But as delusional as Pierce is, he’s also pretty darn evil. He’s known around town as “Mr. Sundown”—a very scary name!—and Reeves suspects him of murdering Black suspects before their day in court. If Reeves can get his act together, Mr. Sundown’s days may be numbered.
For whatever reason, Episode Seven of Bass Reeves is only a half-hour long. Like I wrote last week, there isn’t much left for Reeves to do until the finale's big showdown. That’s probably why this week’s episode opens with Reeves in custody—being tried for murder. How did he get here? Who did he kill? Time to find out.
Going back in time by six weeks, we’re back where we left off in Episode Six. Reeves is tortured by what Pierce said to him about being a killer. It rattles in his head all day—even as he has dinner with Judge Parker (Donald Sutherland) and his wife. When he’s sent on a new mission to arrest another Black murder suspect, putting the woman in handcuffs does more emotional damage to his psyche.
At night, a cook they’re traveling with lets the woman escape. The cook then chastises Reeves and calls him a “slave-catcher.” Thinking that the man is reaching for his gun, Reeves fires a bullet into his neck. Reeves returns home and seeks medical attention for the cook, still haunted by memories of his conversation with Pierce. Sadly, it's too late.
In a meeting with Judge Parker about the incident, Reeves stresses that if he’s going to do crime for the murder, then the judge should do time for his history of hangings. I’m not sure if there’s any precedence for this crime—or Judge Parker’s response—in our history books, but it’s an interesting wrinkle in Bass Reeves's story. Judge Parker declares Reeves not guilty. Still, it doesn’t solve any of Mr. Sundown's crimes.
Back home, Jennie (Lauren E. Banks) feels like Bass is too distant. He’s away for such long periods of time that his own children barely recognize him. “Bass is dedicated to justice,” she tells Esme (Joaquina Kalukango), who just left her husband, Edwin (Grantham Coleman). "Seems sometimes there’s hardly any room for anything or anyone else," she says. We especially feel Reeves's absence when the little girl from the circus comes to their door and asks if the lawman is home. I’ve been waiting week after week for something awful to happen here. Later that night, Jennie spots an ominous burning effigy on their ranch.
The next morning, Reeves tells Jennie about the boy he took care of like a son while living in Indian Territory. “He was murdered,” he says. “I’m going after the man who killed him.” Without another word from either of them, Reeves steps out the door, gets on his horse, and rides off. Is this justice or revenge? We’ll find out next week in the big finale.
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