Gambler Eddie Sawyer promises to back Joanie Stubbs for her brothel.Īlma Garret’s father, Otis Russell, arrives from New York City to "help" with her claim but soon begins to manipulate his daughter. A letter from a Yankton magistrate infuriates Swearengen, but he realizes the solution may well lie with the letter's deliverer. Wu, as well as navigating tricky waters to deal with the mess. The health of the camp's Reverend continues to worsen, a plight that begins to weigh heavy on the mind of Doc Cochran.Īn opium theft leaves Al Swearengen trying to find common language with his supplier and the boss of the Deadwood Chinese population, Mr.
Joanie searches for new options in Deadwood as Calamity Jane heads out of town to find hers. Seth Bullock and Alma Garret compare notes on Whitney Ellsworth, and each other. With annexation looming, Al Swearengen calls a meeting to set up an informal government. Cy Tolliver teaches a harsh lesson to would-be thieves Miles and Flora as well as to his Madam Joanie Stubbs. Awaiting Trixie’s return, a pragmatic Al Swearengen resists counsel from a bloody-minded E. Miles and Flora, two young siblings arrive in Deadwood ostensibly looking for their missing father and work.ĭeadwood breathes easier when the riders arrive with the precious vaccine – and word of a possible treaty with the Sioux. Cy Tolliver is shocked and displeased to see Andy Cramed return to his saloon alive. Trixie feels uneasy about her charge, which prompts a violent response from Al Swearengen. Doc Cochran turns to a distressed Calamity Jane for help in caring for the diseased during the coming days.Īfter tracking down Jack McCall, Bullock returns to Deadwood a changed man – and a marked one – while Utter pays final respects to his fallen friend. Farnum to keep tabs on Alma and Trixie while the camp fathers pool their resources to dispatch riders after the precious vaccine and build a sick tent as smallpox arrives in Deadwood. Seth Bullock encounters native resistance in his quest to bring a murderer to justice. Hickok's body is buried and Seth Bullock is determined to get revenge for his friend's murder. With Jane off on a bender, Trixie is enlisted by Swearengen to help Alma Garret with the Metz child Sofia and to keep her pliable to his purposes for getting back the Garret claim. Hickok commissions Bullock in his stead while Jack McCall's growing anger toward Hickok leads to the tragic murder of the latter.Īl Swearengen transforms The Gem into a courtroom, as Deadwood makes its own laws, to try Jack McCall. The relationship between Seth Bullock and Swearengen continues to worsen over the latter's suspicions of Bullock's and Hickok's intentions.Īl Swearengen directs Farnum to buy back the Garret claim after Dority discovers that the land actually does contain gold Alma Garret prevails upon Calamity Jane and Hickok for help regarding her late husband's suspicious death. Hickok puts up precious collateral in a poker game with Jack McCall, and a threat to Al Swearengen from Brom Garret regarding his gold claim invites harsh consequences. Brom Garret suspects his newly acquired gold claim may not be at all as it was advertised.Ĭompetition arrives for Al Swearengen in the form of the Bella Union, a new gambling outfit from Chicago operated by savvy Cy Tolliver, Madame Joanie Stubbs and gambling guru Eddie Sawyer. The people of Deadwood go off to hunt down Native Americans suspected of butchering a family of white people.Īs suspicions arise that " road agents" may have been the true perpetrators of the massacre as opposed to Sioux scouts, Al Swearengen takes a special interest in the health of its sole survivor, a young girl ministered to by the unlikely team of Doc Cochran and Calamity Jane. "Wild Bill" Hickok and his companions Charlie Utter and Calamity Jane arrive in Deadwood. Saloon owner Al Swearengen contends with a bungled robbery turned mass murder that threatens to incite mob violence throughout the camp. In the year 1876, after executing a last act of justice as a Montana marshal, Seth Bullock relocates to a gold mining camp known as Deadwood, where he and partner Sol Star look to start a hardware business. The credited writer for any given episode is usually one of Milch's staff writers who helped him develop storylines.
Series creator and executive producer David Milch is explicitly credited with writing five of the show's 36 episodes however, he did contribute significantly to the writing of almost every episode, frequently completely re-writing episode drafts written by other writers.