Above average episode is an entertaining mix of easy-going humor and six-gun drama. In the middle of nowhere, Paladin rides into a dispute over a trapped calf and a fence line. Seems rancher Advent (Pyle) wants old man Lee's (Fennelly) adjacent land to straighten out his fence line, of all things, and doesn't much care how he does it. Lee's only got a ramshackle house and an adopted Indian boy (Grady), while Advent's got a bunch of tough cowhands. So guess how the sides get evened up.
With no Frisco wrap-around, all the action takes place on location in scenic Lone Pine and Mt. Whitney, resulting in an unusually rugged look. Fennelly shines as the old man, while his rapport the boy comes across as unforced and even touching. Frankly, the violence appears too abrupt to be convincing and may be the result of Boone learning the ropes as the episode's director. Nonetheless, it's a superior 30-minutes with a small, all male cast.
With no Frisco wrap-around, all the action takes place on location in scenic Lone Pine and Mt. Whitney, resulting in an unusually rugged look. Fennelly shines as the old man, while his rapport the boy comes across as unforced and even touching. Frankly, the violence appears too abrupt to be convincing and may be the result of Boone learning the ropes as the episode's director. Nonetheless, it's a superior 30-minutes with a small, all male cast.
