Season: 3
Episode: 20
Original Airdate: November 9, 2013
Director: James Head
Writer(s): Jack Monaco
A
long time ago, I remember watching this episode for the first time.
Back then, my thoughts on the episode could be summed up as, "Not bad
but not very engaging." Well, now that I've made it to this episode in
my Every Haunting Hour Ever marathon, I might as well give it a second
chance.
Ethan and his
older brother, Brett, are sent back to the days of the Old West, where
an outlaw named John "Mad Dog" McCoy (who was hanged for his crimes on
the tree in Ethan's yard) challenges him to a final showdown at high
noon after learning that his resting place has been cut down and turned
into a coat rack.
One of
the things I liked about this episode was the setting. So this episode
mostly takes place in the wild west. With TV shows that were made in
this decade, including The Haunting Hour, you don't really see this type
of setting too often. Because of this, it's neat to see. Not only that,
but the music and visuals do a good job of engulfing the viewer into
this type of environment.
The
other thing I enjoyed about the episode was the villain. Although there
are times where his acting can get a bit hammy, he still manages to
come off as intimidating. I think this comes from how he talks to Ethan
and Brett in a very threatening manner and the fact that he shoots his
gun to silence them when they're bickering without a second thought.
There's
one part of the episode that I'm on the fence about however. Towards
the end, Ethan starts telling Mad Dog about how his decision to shoot
the sheriff has had numerous consequences on various people
(particularly the sheriff's children) and even the town itself. At
first, Mad Dog shrugs it off. But then as Ethan gives out more details,
the outlaw's guilt grows and grows and eventually gets to a point where
it ends up killing him. After Mad Dog is slain, Ethan tells Brett that
the details he shared with Mad Dog were false. On the one hand, it kind
of feels like a cop out because it seems like the writers were afraid to
have either character shoot a person. But on the other hand, the whole
made up backstory thing does tie into Ethan's love of storytelling.
Overall,
Coat Rack Cowboy was a lot better than I remember, although it isn't
without its flaws. Even if you aren't into wild west stories, I still
think this a good episode to check out.
Overall Grade: B-
"...an outlaw named John 'Mad Dog' McCoy (who was hanged for his crimes on the tree in Ethan's yard) challenges him to a final showdown at high noon after learning that his resting place has been cut down and turned into a coat rack." I think I'd be miffed at that too! I have issues with the ending too, but it's interesting that they had an western/horror story. You don't see too many of those for some reason. It's sad that more people don't experiment with blending genres.
ReplyDelete-Raidra