I don't remember this one from the original run. And I'm surprised by that because it's actually pretty good. For one thing, it gives us some decent bad guys for once. the Nichols clan, all dressed in black and led by their vengeance-seeking mother Ma (Tyne Daly), are a few steps above the generic bad guys the show often tosses the viewers' way.
For another, it's nice that for once the villains aren't really villains. The whole thing is basically a misunderstanding driven by Chris' nutso father-in-law, Hank Conley (a remarkably good Ed Lauter). Hank goes around shooting everyone his deranged mind thinks killed his daughter, Chris' wife Sarah. First it's one of Ma's sons, then it's some passing stranger. I like Hank's repeated "Howdy do", and Lauter puts a creepy spin on it. The story goes one way (guy and father-in-law are at odds), they reconcile their differences, and then the story heads off in another.
After the final commercial break, we get a decent shootout that last about ten minutes. It turns out that the black funeral coach the Nichols came into town on is armored, and they use it as a "war wagon" of sorts. Ezra displays that he's not totally useless in a gunfight, because he drops a bottle of alcohol into the wagon's heating vent that leads to a pot-bellied stove, which cause a flameout which lets the Seven beat the Seven Nichols sons. All while Ma is standing nearby, praying to God.
In fact, most of the Seven get decent bits. Besides Ezra as above, theres' Josiah (Ron Perlman) actually doing religious stuff and coming across as pretty somber. As I've noted before, the second season has been good to Perlman. There's a little bit of backstory of Buck and Chris. Nathan gets to do some healing, and is at the receiving end of some disbelief from Ma that he's a black doctor/healer. JD and Casey have more of their on-again/off-again romance, with Casey trying to make JD jealous. Michael Biehn as Chris is his usual taciturn stuff. Only Eric Close as Vin doesn't have much to do except some tracking and shooting. Maybe Close had the week off?
As I noted, Lauter is good and so is Daly. The seven Nichols sons are pretty indistinguishable, although I liked the one (Paul?) who thinks God aims and shoots his gun for him. There's seven of them, and Lauter, and Daly, and the Seven. So the brothers tend to get the short-end of the stick, characterization-wise. I don't even think they were all named on-screen. There's none of Mary in it, either.
Overall, "Vendetta" is a bit of a slow starter, but the acting and the final shootout put it a few steps above the normal episode of M7.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
For another, it's nice that for once the villains aren't really villains. The whole thing is basically a misunderstanding driven by Chris' nutso father-in-law, Hank Conley (a remarkably good Ed Lauter). Hank goes around shooting everyone his deranged mind thinks killed his daughter, Chris' wife Sarah. First it's one of Ma's sons, then it's some passing stranger. I like Hank's repeated "Howdy do", and Lauter puts a creepy spin on it. The story goes one way (guy and father-in-law are at odds), they reconcile their differences, and then the story heads off in another.
After the final commercial break, we get a decent shootout that last about ten minutes. It turns out that the black funeral coach the Nichols came into town on is armored, and they use it as a "war wagon" of sorts. Ezra displays that he's not totally useless in a gunfight, because he drops a bottle of alcohol into the wagon's heating vent that leads to a pot-bellied stove, which cause a flameout which lets the Seven beat the Seven Nichols sons. All while Ma is standing nearby, praying to God.
In fact, most of the Seven get decent bits. Besides Ezra as above, theres' Josiah (Ron Perlman) actually doing religious stuff and coming across as pretty somber. As I've noted before, the second season has been good to Perlman. There's a little bit of backstory of Buck and Chris. Nathan gets to do some healing, and is at the receiving end of some disbelief from Ma that he's a black doctor/healer. JD and Casey have more of their on-again/off-again romance, with Casey trying to make JD jealous. Michael Biehn as Chris is his usual taciturn stuff. Only Eric Close as Vin doesn't have much to do except some tracking and shooting. Maybe Close had the week off?
As I noted, Lauter is good and so is Daly. The seven Nichols sons are pretty indistinguishable, although I liked the one (Paul?) who thinks God aims and shoots his gun for him. There's seven of them, and Lauter, and Daly, and the Seven. So the brothers tend to get the short-end of the stick, characterization-wise. I don't even think they were all named on-screen. There's none of Mary in it, either.
Overall, "Vendetta" is a bit of a slow starter, but the acting and the final shootout put it a few steps above the normal episode of M7.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
