Bonanza — Vengeance
Writer: Marion Parsonnet
Director: Dick Moder
Air Date: 11 February 1961
Guest Stars: Adam Williams (Red Twilight), Beverly Tyler (Mary), Keith Richards (Willie Twilight), Robert Griffin (Sheriff), Olan Soule (Hotel Clerk), Roy Engel (Doctor)
The catalyst for the events portrayed in this episode is shown at the start. A drunkard stumbles out onto a Virginia City street carrying two guns, shooting them haphazardly. Hoss, upon hearing the gunshots goes over to stop the man before he kills someone. During the struggle to take the guns, Hoss accidentally pushes the man who hits a pole, collapses and dies. The man’s girlfriend (in her grief) blames Hoss. It is this statement that leads to Hoss becoming the victim in more ways than one.
Hoss, firstly is a victim of guilt. The guilt he feels is due to the fact that he believes he killed the man with his own bare hands and brute strength. It is this guilt that hampers his recovery when he becomes a victim for the second time. As the episode progresses, Hoss losses the will to live until he is relieved of the guilt when he hears Mary (the man’s girlfriend) explain to Ben that the man had a bad heart and wanted die that day. It was the heart condition that killed him and not Hoss.
The man, whose name is Willie Twilight, has a brother called Red. Red Twilight is intent on killing the man that killed his brother and will stop at nothing to have his revenge. It is the type of revenge that the title of the episode refers to — a desire to punish someone in retaliation for a wrong that has been committed. After Red believes he has exacted his revenge he is seen relaxing almost triumphantly having a few celebratory drinks at a saloon. When Ben confronts him and tells him that Hoss is still alive, Red becomes even more determined to seek vengeance.
It is interesting to note that Red has two chances to change from the course he has set for himself when he fails to get a good aim while following Hoss out in the open. Another opportunity to change his mind comes when Mary tries to explain to Red, that in her grief she wrongly accused Hoss and in reality Willie wanted to die due to a heart condition. This attempt to dissuade Red doesn’t succeed much to Mary’s dismay (she realises what Red’s true intentions are). Knowing that his first attempt failed, he becomes even more brazen by going straight to the Ponderosa ranch house, killing an unsuspecting ranch hand and almost killing Adam in his zeal to kill Hoss.
Red Twilight is not the only one with revenge on his mind. Joe gradually succumbs to the desire for vengeance through his impatience, frustration and worry over Hoss. Ben tries to get Joe to see and put his trust in the course of justice but a determined Joe vows to an unconscious Hoss that he will kill the man who shot him. It isn’t until the end of the episode when Joe has his opportunity to kill Red that he is made to see reason with the accusation from Adam that killing Red would bring Joe down to Red’s level.
The dynamic between Adam and Joe is explored in this episode. Both Adam and Joe have Hoss’ welfare paramount in their thoughts but they both handle it in different ways. Adam plays peacemaker and is a voice of reason for Joe on a number of occasions (e.g. when they find Hoss wounded, Joe’s initial reaction is to go straight after the shooter, but Adam convinces him that he should help his brother instead). Some of Joe’s assumptions about his eldest brother are also challenged (e.g. when Adam catches Joe saddling his horse — Joe thinks that Adam disapproves but finds the opposite). Even though they seem to be on two different sides, there are times when they team up together with the common objective of helping their brother (e.g. to look for Hoss and to stop Red Twilight killing Hoss at the ranch house).
There are a large range of emotions on display throughout this episode: guilt, concern, helplessness, frustration, worry and relief. Themes explored in this episode include revenge (vengeance), conscience and solitude. The main characters all have something different going on…
· Ben has two sons to worry about
· Adam is calm, restrained and helpful (e.g. watching out for Joe while his father takes care of Hoss)
· Hoss has to deal with feelings of guilt
· Joe deals with his impatience and quick to act (without thinking) nature
A couple of quotes to finish off to explain both Ben’s and Adam’s feelings on the way Joe is reacting to Hoss’ situation…
“You’re not the only one around here who’s worried. We’re all of us worried…but there’s a right way and a wrong way to everything. Even to worrying.” — Ben (to Joe)
“I know how you feel. I know what you’d like to do, but it’s wrong.” — Adam
