"The Trial" is a bit off-the-beaten-track, by 'Magnificent Seven' series standards for several reason.
First it's a Nathan/Rick Worthy spotlight episode. Mr. Worthy doesn't get much attention on the show. He shows here that he's up to it. I wish they had given him more emphasis in the series to date. The idea that Nathan is a medic, and a gunfighter, and a former slave, is one that seems to beg for more development. Josiah gets a lot of attention in the second season, in part because he's a gunfighter and a man of the cloth. Why not Nathan?
Another is that Josiah (Ron Perlman) gets the second most screentime of the Seven, as Obediah's defense attorney. Even Buck seems to have an attraction to Josiah, describing him as "handsome". That's not the kind of thing you say about a same-sex co-worker, typically. At least at the places where I've worked, if I commented on a co-worker's attractiveness, I'd get hit with a sexual harassment charge. Ah, the 19th century.
Another oddball thing is that at least some of the episode is a "courtroom drama". This tends to go in circles a lot of the time. Oren declares a change of venue, but then the other town--Eagle Bend--just sends some of its people to Four Corners, and their hired attorney Litefoot insists that Oren appoint some of them to the jury. So Oren... does so. So what was the point of changing venue? But then after hearing Obediah's confession, Oren rules from the bench anyway. So what was the point of the writers tossing in a biased jury?
But it's still effective overall, thanks to Ron Perlman having Josiah giving a closing summation.
Robert Vaughn as Oren gets a bit more screentime then he usually does. I like his looks of near-befuddlement when Maude turns her charms on him in the sheriff's office. At least the production staff remembered they had a recurring judge, and brought him back. I also liked how he showed up at Maude's wedding without comment.
Speaking of which, the Maude/wedding bit was okay. Forgettable, but okay. It gives actor Anthony Starke something to do. I like the fact that for once it gives Ezra the upper hand in his dealings with his mother. Which gives Starke a chance to ham it up a little more. He also has little bits, like brushing himself fastidiously off after the big fistfight at the end.
And finally, "The Trial" is a bit unusual because there's no gunplay. The Seven drive a herd of horses through Eagle Bend so that they can rescue Obediah. And in the climax, they settle things with a big fistfight. It makes for a change of pace that no one gets killed (except for the off-screen slave overseer, Jonah).
The episode also gives some decent time to Carl Lumbly, who is always a class act. He's basically playing a 20th century older black man in the 19th century (swallowing his pride), and the "Reconcile with your estranged son" plot is pretty standard. But Lumbly gives it his own, and his scenes with Worthy are effective.
There are also little bits. Biehn has a few decent moments facing off against Stone. I like his little smirk when Stone says, "I've heard you're fast" and Chris replies "I've heard it, too." And Vin's subtle reactions when he keeps hearing about how Obediah was supposedly railroaded, given Vin's own problems with the law after he was framed in Texas, are a nice touch.
Overall, "The Trial" is a decent episode. It's not a "standard" episode of the series, but it's still good thanks to the performances by Lumbly, Worthy, Starke, and Perlman. There are a few bugs: the weird venue-changing thing but not really, Litefoot's part (is he a city prosecutor, or a for-hire freelancer as suggested at one point?), and the Maude/Wingo subplot which is cute and gives Starke more screentime, but is pretty much a throwaway.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
First it's a Nathan/Rick Worthy spotlight episode. Mr. Worthy doesn't get much attention on the show. He shows here that he's up to it. I wish they had given him more emphasis in the series to date. The idea that Nathan is a medic, and a gunfighter, and a former slave, is one that seems to beg for more development. Josiah gets a lot of attention in the second season, in part because he's a gunfighter and a man of the cloth. Why not Nathan?
Another is that Josiah (Ron Perlman) gets the second most screentime of the Seven, as Obediah's defense attorney. Even Buck seems to have an attraction to Josiah, describing him as "handsome". That's not the kind of thing you say about a same-sex co-worker, typically. At least at the places where I've worked, if I commented on a co-worker's attractiveness, I'd get hit with a sexual harassment charge. Ah, the 19th century.
Another oddball thing is that at least some of the episode is a "courtroom drama". This tends to go in circles a lot of the time. Oren declares a change of venue, but then the other town--Eagle Bend--just sends some of its people to Four Corners, and their hired attorney Litefoot insists that Oren appoint some of them to the jury. So Oren... does so. So what was the point of changing venue? But then after hearing Obediah's confession, Oren rules from the bench anyway. So what was the point of the writers tossing in a biased jury?
But it's still effective overall, thanks to Ron Perlman having Josiah giving a closing summation.
Robert Vaughn as Oren gets a bit more screentime then he usually does. I like his looks of near-befuddlement when Maude turns her charms on him in the sheriff's office. At least the production staff remembered they had a recurring judge, and brought him back. I also liked how he showed up at Maude's wedding without comment.
Speaking of which, the Maude/wedding bit was okay. Forgettable, but okay. It gives actor Anthony Starke something to do. I like the fact that for once it gives Ezra the upper hand in his dealings with his mother. Which gives Starke a chance to ham it up a little more. He also has little bits, like brushing himself fastidiously off after the big fistfight at the end.
And finally, "The Trial" is a bit unusual because there's no gunplay. The Seven drive a herd of horses through Eagle Bend so that they can rescue Obediah. And in the climax, they settle things with a big fistfight. It makes for a change of pace that no one gets killed (except for the off-screen slave overseer, Jonah).
The episode also gives some decent time to Carl Lumbly, who is always a class act. He's basically playing a 20th century older black man in the 19th century (swallowing his pride), and the "Reconcile with your estranged son" plot is pretty standard. But Lumbly gives it his own, and his scenes with Worthy are effective.
There are also little bits. Biehn has a few decent moments facing off against Stone. I like his little smirk when Stone says, "I've heard you're fast" and Chris replies "I've heard it, too." And Vin's subtle reactions when he keeps hearing about how Obediah was supposedly railroaded, given Vin's own problems with the law after he was framed in Texas, are a nice touch.
Overall, "The Trial" is a decent episode. It's not a "standard" episode of the series, but it's still good thanks to the performances by Lumbly, Worthy, Starke, and Perlman. There are a few bugs: the weird venue-changing thing but not really, Litefoot's part (is he a city prosecutor, or a for-hire freelancer as suggested at one point?), and the Maude/Wingo subplot which is cute and gives Starke more screentime, but is pretty much a throwaway.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
