Today, James Cooper-Ingalls turned 12 years old. Among his gifts was a very loud pair of pajamas and a bank draft from Uncle Jed for $15. Unlike what most boys his age would do, James opted to put the money in the bank to draw on the interest. It seems the bank in Sleepy Eye generates 1% more interest than the bank in Walnut Grove, so James accompanied Charles and Edwards on a trip there the next day. Albert tags along too, mainly as excess baggage, and they set off for Sleepy Eye. James was on top of the world with his $15 and being able to put it in the bank, it was a great day, which would soon turn into the worst day of the boy's life...if not the last day. For you see, at that moment a gang of outlaws by the names of Coy, Leon, Dwayne, Lawrence and Heskel came riding into town, and sadly they are not funny outlaws like the Younger brothers or the guys who kidnapped Nels a few episodes back, these are evil, terrible men with not a soul between them. They burst into the Sleepy Eye bank and held it up, and just as they were getting their loot, Albert and James entered the bank, startling Coy into firing off a shot, which struck James. The outlaws made a get away as Albert rushed his little brother to the doctor. When Charles and Edwards arrived, the doctor said there was little to no hope for James. The bullet was lodged near his spine, a very delicate area. As for Charles, he wanted revenge, so he tried to formulate a posse, but besides Edwards, everybody else was just too yellow. Albert wanted to help, but Charles refused...even though you know he's gonna.
Dwayne had been shot during the hold up and instead of letting his brother Lawrence seek a doctor, Coy just let him die. But Lawrence just stood by and let it happen so he's just as much to blame. Yeah, these guys are about as mean and heartless as you'd expect. Meanwhile, Charles, Edwards and now Albert (what did I tell you?) are hot on the outlaws' trail. They discover their abandoned hideout, but alas find no leads...except for the freshly dug grave out back. So the vigilantes exhume Dwayne's body and find a matchbook from the Hobbs Wooden Nickel saloon in his pocket, so they set out for Hobbs. When they arrived, they found Lawrence, having drunk himself into a stupor over the death of his brother, and just as Charles and Edwards start to pump him for information, Heskel comes in and holds a gun on them. In a nut shell, Heskel shoots Lawrence and Edwards shoots Heskel, but both men will live and Lawrence tells them where to meet up with Coy: in the town of Sulphur. Well, as bad luck would have it, the town sheriff is in cahoots with Coy and tipped him off on people looking for him. Together with Leon, he prepared for a showdown. Charles and Edwards staked out the saloon, and thanks to Albert throwing a glass at just the right moment, Leon and Coy were pounced and beaten within an inch of their pathetic lives, then Charles and Edwards hauled their sorry asses to the poky. But what about James? Three words: to be continued.
One of Little House's darkest episodes, I must say. It's still very well done, well performed, written and directed. Michael Landon and Victor French were great, and Chris Hendrie really brought out the rotten in Coy, and of course young Jason Bateman was fantastic, before he grew up and went on to make crap. Glad to see those men got what they deserved, and about the fight in the saloon, it's serenaded with odd music, a chiming tune that you'd hear on one of those glass clocks where the faces move. Gives it kind of an eerie feel. Seriously, that tune will haunt you when the episode is over. So, all in all, you gotta see this one, but brace yourself for darkness, drama and violence. Give'em whatfor!
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