‪[marching drum plays]
‪[stirrups jangling]
‪Steady!
‪[drumming stops]
‪[gunshot]
‪[clamoring]
‪-[cannons firing] ‪-Hold the line!
‪[horse squeals]
‪[neighs]
‪Hold that line! Hold the line!
‪Hold the line!
‪[clamoring]
‪Hold the line!
‪Brave men of the 11th!
‪Get together, God damn!
‪[explosions continue]
‪Theirs not to make reply!
‪Theirs not to reason why!
‪Theirs but to do and die!
‪You will follow me,
‪and you will fire.
‪Charge!
‪[yells]
‪[suspenseful music]
‪Fire!
‪Advance!
‪[troops shouting]
‪[troops chanting]
‪[men shouting rebel yell]
‪[dramatic music]
‪[horse neighs]
‪[screams]
‪[whooping]
‪[atmospheric music]
‪[groaning]
‪[excited chatter]
‪You done killed the wrong side.
‪I'd rather be shot in the face ‪than in the back.
‪[man] We collected 200 prisoners
‪and a battery of field guns…
‪[cheering]
‪…while McCulloch's division ‪suffered 325 casualties,
‪with 788 unaccounted for,
‪thought to be killed, deserted
‪or runaway.
‪Another challenge in this bloody campaign
‪we must overcome.
‪There's nothing we can't, ‪nothing we won't,
‪for God favors the Confederacy.
‪[murmurs of agreement]
‪Let us adjourn, gentlemen.
‪No war has ever been won ‪on an empty belly.
‪Before dinner, sir, if you don't mind…
‪inform us when ‪the supply train will arrive.
‪Has it not arrived?
‪I'm not aware of it, General.
‪Despite good counsel ‪from many honorable men here,
‪you made the decision ‪to leave our wagons behind
‪to advantage our swift flight ‪and goal of surprise.
‪We marched fast, only to ‪find ourselves outflanked,
‪outmaneuvered and now, out-supplied.
‪Major, that may be ‪an unfortunate oversight.
‪My oversight, indeed.
‪Yes, General, yours indeed.
‪[murmuring]
‪Are you finished?
‪[quiet, dramatic music]
‪[George] I hear that you like ‪poetry, is that right?
‪[Van Dorn] A poet typically does, Major.
‪[men chuckling]
‪Thank you.
‪[Van Dorn] What is your ‪current line of inquiry…
‪I saw you.
‪What is your name, soldier?
‪No soldier, sir.
‪Just Bass.
‪Well, you are a wolf, then, Bass.
‪We are a breed apart.
‪We know our own.
‪[George] "…and the lovely ‪plumage of the bird's
‪that never alights;
‪less celestial,
‪I celebrate a tail."
‪As do I, gentlemen.
‪Consider yourself dismissed, Major.
‪Bass.
‪[door closes]
‪It's a damn confederacy of dunces, Bass.
‪It's not debatable, is it?
‪No, sir.
‪"No, sir," indeed.
‪Strike my tent. Pack my gear.
‪Tack the horses.
‪[slow, dramatic music]
‪[flies buzzing]
‪Where do you think you're ‪headed, Mr. Nighttime?
‪To get the horses a little ‪of that grass over yonder.
‪My Henry rifle may have served you well,
‪but don't go thinking ‪you're any kind of master now.
‪Boy, I don't think I cotton ‪to the light in your eyes.
‪Answer me straight.
‪Do you mistake me for ‪some kind of cowardly deserter?
‪No, sir.
‪You Master Reeves, through and through.
‪I received dispensation from Van Dorn.
‪"Damn Born's" more like it.
‪He's calling it a health reprieve.
‪Pardon my saying, sir,
‪but you didn't fight like no sick man.
‪Well, I suspect he was ‪sick of my company, Bass.
‪Mutual sentiment to be sure.
‪Can't figure how the general
‪didn't find you sweet like honey.
‪I did leave him a bit stung, didn't I?
‪Deep, I'd say.
‪[chuckles]
‪Go get your grass.
‪Yes, sir.
‪Don't think you're going to ‪sleep while I lie here awake.
‪Oh, no, sir.
‪Just admiring God's creation.
‪You ever thought God could be ‪our own creation instead?
‪No, sir.
‪Well, isn't that rich?
‪If you could read,
‪you'd surely delight in Longfellow.
‪Who knows, you two could be right,
‪there could be life after.
‪Some grand paradise above.
‪I'd still like to learn, Master.
‪So I could study the Bible.
‪You're not thinking
‪niggers go to the good part ‪of Heaven, are you?
‪Sir?
‪You see that big separation up there?
‪You're looking at all ‪the pretty twinkling lights.
‪But if you're going anywhere,
‪you're going to where there's nothing.
‪Just black airy nothing.
‪That part you ain't even looking at.
‪Only white folks go to the big dance, boy.
‪If anybody's going anywhere.
‪[soft, dramatic music]
‪Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa.
‪This is an unusual conservation.
‪Wait here.
‪Yes, sir.
‪Rachel?
‪Nobody's here.
‪No, sir?
‪When you finish up, come find me.
‪Yes, sir.
‪No garlands, no trumpets.
‪Just us tonight.
‪Such a sad homecoming.
‪[insects trilling]
‪Jennie?
‪Is it you?
‪It is.
‪[gentle music]
‪Is the war over?
‪It is for me.
‪[sighs]
‪[George] Bass!
‪God damn you.
‪Bass!
‪That man just can't quit you.
‪Want me to tell him ‪that I'm yours tonight?
‪You mine forever.
‪Master?
‪Master Reeves?
‪You there?
‪Master, you in there?
‪[George] You found me.
‪You want me to come in?
‪I said, "You found me."
‪Do you know what I've been ruminating on
‪this whole time you were ‪tending to the horses?
‪Or doing whatever else ‪took you so damn long?
‪I was thinking,
‪"Watch.
‪That nigger will run off
‪before I give him a chance ‪to walk away scot-free."
‪Master?
‪The whole damn family ‪is visiting Rachel's folks.
‪Ain't that some unlucky bullshit?
‪Now, we could ride over there ‪and rouse them one and all.
‪A merry ruckus.
‪Or we could share a gentler repast here,
‪play a round of cards.
‪Yes, sir.
‪That's it?
‪That's all you got to say to me?
‪Thank you, Master.
‪You act as though you don't ‪believe I'm a man of my word.
‪Oh, no.
‪I'm listening. I'm listening, sir.
‪Confused, but listening.
‪So, how am I confusing you, boy?
‪No, sir, I'm not saying ‪you're confusing me.
‪I'm saying I'm-I'm confused all on my own
‪about how I can ‪walk out of here scot-free.
‪Here's my offer.
‪You only get one chance,
‪fleeting and final.
‪War is war that way, and this is war.
‪After your heroics in battle,
‪this is what I'll do.
‪I'll set you free tonight.
‪I'll write out a letter of manumission
‪you can carry with you at all times.
‪That's my promise.
‪That sound awful kind.
‪But you must beat your master.
‪[tense, dramatic music]
‪Hurry up.
‪Yes, sir.
‪You're counting, boy. ‪I can see your lips move.
‪Sorry, sir. I-I got to.
‪Jesus.
‪-I can't draw until you do. ‪-Yes, sir.
‪I'm hurrying.
‪You ready now?
‪Ready, Master.
‪Almost perfect, is it?
‪My hand's not bad either.
‪[tense, dramatic music]
‪You look first.
‪Yes, sir.
‪[chuckles] Yeah.
‪[giggles]
‪Oh, your God has been good to me.
‪[drink pours]
‪Let's see what lot He has given you.
‪Well, that can't be, boy.
‪Do you realize what you have?
‪A plain flush?
‪I must congratulate you.
‪[sniffles]
‪That beats a lot of hands.
‪A pair, two pair, ‪three of a kind, a straight.
‪But it doesn't beat a full house.
‪And it doesn't beat…
‪four of a kind.
‪Ooh, that was a close one.
‪You-You don't play poker
‪like I taught you to shoot them Yankees,
‪but that was a good game.
‪Master, I had a queen.
‪That there queen of hearts.
‪You think you did what?
‪I played a queen of hearts. I had it.
‪Well, there's only one ‪queen of hearts in this deck.
‪I had it, you saw it.
‪Do you understand?
‪You must not know what a queen looks like.
‪You cheated me.
‪"Servants,
‪obey in all things
‪your masters according to the flesh;
‪not with eye service, as men pleasers;
‪but singleness of heart, fearing God."
‪"A false balance ‪is abomination to the Lord:
‪but a just weight…
‪-Silence your tongue, boy! ‪-…is His delight!"
‪[indistinct shouting]
‪[grunting]
‪You get your--
‪[both shouting]
‪You cheated me!
‪[shouting]
‪You cheated me!
‪Bass, what you do?
‪Bass?
‪Are you hurt?
‪I done messed it up.
‪For all of us.
‪Oh, Lord.
‪Bass, look at me.
‪Look.
‪You gonna run now.
‪You gonna take a horse
‪and you gonna run far from here,
‪far from all this.
‪-No-- ‪-Yes,
‪you are.
‪I ain't watching you ‪get strung up and dead.
‪I ain't.
‪So you gonna run.
‪You gonna run and never look back.
‪Promise me.
‪I'm your woman. Do what I say.
‪Promise me.
‪[quiet, dramatic music]
‪I promise.
‪I love you.
‪I'm sorry.
‪Don't ever look back.
‪Gentlemen.
‪Get off that damn horse.
‪Yes, sir.
‪[spits]
‪Who's your master?
‪Uh, George Reeves.
‪He a major in the 11th Texas Cavalry.
‪I'll be.
‪He important, ain't he?
‪Yes, sir.
‪So important he let his niggers run loose?
‪No, sir.
‪I's headed to fetch his missus.
‪She with kin in Sherman.
‪[horse neighs]
‪[pulsing, dramatic music]
‪[horse fussing]
‪Come on, girl.
‪[continues fussing]
‪Okay, okay.
‪-[whinnies] ‪-Okay.
‪[quiet, dramatic music]
‪You're still a good girl.
‪[distant dogs barking]
‪[pulsing, dramatic music]
‪[grunts]
‪[quiet, dramatic music]
‪[bird squawking]
‪-[crunches] ‪-[grunts]
‪[grunts]
‪[gunshot]
‪[insects trilling]
‪[knife scraping]
‪[birds chirping]
‪[dramatic string music]
‪[cawing]
‪[flies buzzing]
‪[rain pattering]
‪[thunder rumbles]
‪[singing quietly]
‪[gunshot]
‪Seminole?
‪Runaway.
‪[quiet, dramatic music]
‪Water.
‪[speaks Creek]
‪Water.
‪[speaks Creek]
‪[chickens clucking]
‪[goat bleating]
‪[metal hammering]
‪[sizzles]
‪Thank you.
‪You need rest.
‪Where am I?
‪Long way from anywhere.
‪-I'm Sara. ‪-[metal clangs]
‪This here is Pistol, ‪and you're troubling us both.
‪[metal clanging]
‪But you're home.
‪For now.
‪Thank you, Sara.
‪This all yours?
‪Me and my husband.
‪Where he?
‪Clear the table.
‪-[door creaks] ‪-You cross the Red River?
‪Escape the war?
‪And the whip.
‪Curtis don't know any of that.
‪Nor I.
‪Never felt the sting.
‪But war, I do know.
‪Fought in Florida to be free.
‪[somber, dramatic music]
‪We Seminole never surrendered.
‪Never made a worthless treaty.
‪Now my people live here.
‪Still free.
‪My husband built us this home…
‪…then died in the white man's war,
‪so Curtis never has to wear chains.
‪I left the woman I love.
‪You can swing a hammer, shoe a horse?
‪I ain't afraid of work.
‪You stay here.
‪You help me and Curtis.
‪You'll be free, too.
‪[door creaks]
‪Hold still.
‪Put your hand…
‪in that hole.
‪In there?
‪Deep as you can.
‪Wait for one to bite your finger.
‪You want me to put my hand ‪in that hole? Where I can't see?
‪Don't be scared.
‪-[shouts] ‪-[laughs]
‪I don't need to speak Creek ‪to know you're poking fun.
‪I think you know exactly ‪what I'm saying, too.
‪Again.
‪[shouts]
‪[gasps]
‪[uplifting music]
‪[laughs]
‪[laughs softly]
‪[somber, suspenseful music]
‪[scoffs] Heed your call.
‪[grunts]
‪White men.
‪It's okay.
‪Any of you speak ‪a goddamn lick of English?
‪How much?
‪From that pig?
‪Five.
‪John say there been a run on goods lately,
‪lot of folk coming and going.
‪But he'd do it for seven dollars.
‪You two are slicker than a slop jar.
‪[money shuffling]
‪I'll give you a quarter to load it
‪while me and my men eat lunch?
‪A quarter for me, a quarter for the boy.
‪[sighs]
‪[coughing]
‪Romulus…
‪and Remus.
‪Both raised by wolves.
‪Major Pierce.
‪No "Major" now.
‪Just Esau.
‪This your boy?
‪Get up to that post.
‪I won't bite.
‪Go.
‪You prefer being a daddy to ‪putting daddies in the grave.
‪The boy ain't mine.
‪Could be, though.
‪It's all there for the taking now.
‪Another man's cradle, another man's bride.
‪You returned to the wild, Bass.
‪Freedom's a good color on you.
‪I reckon it would be for anyone.
‪Surprisingly, no.
‪You'd think a man gifted freedom ‪would walk on his own accord,
‪but… most prefer the comfort ‪of the master's leash
‪to liberty and justice.
‪If I was not in these irons, ‪I'd be happy to oblige them,
‪Lincoln or no.
‪Union won?
‪Goddamn. No news here, I see.
‪This faraway rock ‪you crawl under got a name?
‪Turkey Creek.
‪Well, gobble, gobble.
‪[chains rattle]
‪You best hurry up, Bass.
‪Collect your whelp and take flight.
‪Hell is coming on wings of its own.
‪Curtis!
‪-[people screaming] ‪-[gunfire]
‪Now.
‪[screaming]
‪[Esau] Find a gun!
‪[dramatic music]
‪[high-pitched ringing]
‪[breathing echoing]
‪Stop.
‪Your pup's got fangs.
‪Drop the gun.
‪World wants both of us breathing, boy.
‪[Bass] Curtis!
‪No.
‪You listen to your daddy now.
‪Curtis!
‪[shouts] No! No!
‪[speaks Creek]
‪Curtis. Curtis. [speaks Creek]
‪[screams]
‪[speaking Creek]
‪[panting]
‪[screams]
‪[somber music]
‪[insects trilling]
‪He died brave.
‪He lived brave.
‪My loss… can't be yours.
‪You take Pistol…
‪…you live brave, too.
‪[somber, contemplative music ]
‪Your heart still beats.
‪I hate to do this…
‪but Miss Sara insisted.
‪See, I made a promise a long time ago
‪I'm fixing to break.
‪You be good to me, Pistol, ‪and I'll be good to you.
‪That's all either of us can do.
‪[hopeful, sweeping music]
‪[quiet, contemplative music]
‪[door creaks]
‪That's a nice gray outside.
‪Hard to miss it from the house.
‪Mistress Rachel.
‪I said you'd be back.
‪George wouldn't believe it, ‪but I knew. I knew all along.
‪-[exhales] Welcome home. ‪-I don't want no trouble.
‪Have no fear, Bass.
‪George isn't around, and even if he was,
‪you already beat the spit ‪and spite out of him.
‪No…
‪my husband's got his mind set on politics.
‪Fancies himself a legislator.
‪As if that will allow him ‪to reclaim the things
‪that were taken from us.
‪The things?
‪Or the people?
‪We hold on something fierce ‪to what we love, don't we?
‪Where'd Jennie go?
‪[laughs softly]
‪[somber, contemplative music]
‪-[Sally] Mama. ‪-Sally, dear.
‪You're gonna be the death of me.
‪[grunts]
‪[babbles]
‪[indistinct chatter]
‪I hope he treats you right.
‪What?
‪Your new man.
‪I hope he treats you right.
‪He does.
‪Got a bad habit of up ‪and disappearing, though.
‪Too damn quiet at times.
‪Stubborn as a mule.
‪But that man sure does love stubborn, too.
‪He got a name?
‪Bass.
‪Bass Reeves.
‪[gentle music]
‪Say hello…
‪to your daughter.
‪Hello.
‪♪ Father, Father ♪
‪♪ Let me love you ♪
‪♪ Let me ♪
‪♪ Father, Father ♪
‪♪ Let me love you ♪
‪♪ Let me ♪
‪♪ Saw you wandering in ♪
‪♪ My dream last night ♪
‪♪ Saw you wandering in ♪
‪♪ My dream last night ♪
‪♪ Father, Father ♪
‪♪ Let me know you ♪
‪♪ Father, Father ♪
‪♪ Let me know you ♪
‪♪ Let me show you ♪
‪How many mouths you got to feed ‪with no harvest?
‪What's your offer?
‪[exciting music]
‪[Sherrill] ‪Welcome to the Dead Line.
‪Out here there ain't no laws.
‪-Only outlaws. ‪-Ready?
‪Justice.
‪It's a dangerous job.
‪It's hard for a man to put fear ‪and hate behind him.
‪You think you can handle ‪the weight of the badge?
‪What'd you do?
‪[atmospheric music]