Friday, July 01, 2005
INTO THE WEST: multiple plots and subplots
Year: 2005
Genre: Western miniseries, made for television
Cast: Matthew Settle, Tonantzin Carmelo, Matthew Modine, Sean Astin, Skeet Ulrich, Tyler Posey
Director: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Teleplay: Craig Storper
Story: William Mastrosimone
The third installment of Into the West spans the years between the California gold rush and the American Civil War. Thunder Heart Woman watches her family slowly fracture and come apart one member at a time. Margaret relocates to San Francisco in search of her father and falls in love with an English photographer. Jethro, Jacob's brother and now Thunder Heart Woman's second husband, catches gold fever and becomes a drug addict. Abe, her eldest son, flees home to escape Jethro's murderous rages. Eventually, Jethro's lust for gold brings about his own destruction, and Jacob's eventual return reunites [most of] the family for the first time in years.
Another branch of the Wheeler family is introduced in this episode. Samson Wheeler stands strong with his family against slavery in Kansas. But Quantrill's bloody threats seed storm clouds over their heads that promise tragedy and suffering.
Meanwhile, the Lakota sign a peace treaty with Washington, DC. When it is broken through misunderstanding, betrayal, and arrogance, the Indians return to the path of war, but find themselves (along with the Pony Express) in retreat before the advance of industrial miracles like the telegraph.
In this episode, Into the West finally begins to hit its stride as a satisfying story. "Dreams and Schemes" relies more strongly than previous episodes on multiple plots. While both multiple plots and subplots switch back and forth between plot lines, multiple plots differ from subplots in that subplots are connected in some way to the main plot. Multiple plots are connected with each other primarily by an idea. While these multiple plots may eventually intersect in future episodes, in "Dreams and Schemes" they are treated as wholly separate. It fits the purpose of Into the West, because it enables the writer to color in the intrinsic nature of an epic landscape spanning both time and distance.
In previous episodes, the writers relied strongly on Jacob's rolling-stone personality to sample a smorgasbord of historical events and characters. This gimmick was rapidly stretching to the breaking point of believablility. Just how much of the great adventure known as the American West could one person logically take part in? "Dreams and Schemes" utilizes multiple plots (Samson Wheeler; Indian peace treaty) to naturally expand the canvas of the story, and subplots (Margaret in San Francisco; Abe riding for the Pony Express) to enrich the continuing main plot of Jacob and Thunder Heart Woman. Together, they add complexity to the whole story and give the audience a broad taste of the west.
For multiple plots and/or subplots to work, they need to be structured with all the essential ingredients of a main plot: a compelling lead character, a strong goal, and dynamic conflict. For the most part, "Dreams and Schemes" succeeds at this. Samson is a particularly endearing character, with both strengths and flaws, that I would have enjoyed watching in future episodes. His daughter has great potential to follow in his footsteps as a highly interesting character.
Genre: Western miniseries, made for television
Cast: Matthew Settle, Tonantzin Carmelo, Matthew Modine, Sean Astin, Skeet Ulrich, Tyler Posey
Director: Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
Teleplay: Craig Storper
Story: William Mastrosimone
The third installment of Into the West spans the years between the California gold rush and the American Civil War. Thunder Heart Woman watches her family slowly fracture and come apart one member at a time. Margaret relocates to San Francisco in search of her father and falls in love with an English photographer. Jethro, Jacob's brother and now Thunder Heart Woman's second husband, catches gold fever and becomes a drug addict. Abe, her eldest son, flees home to escape Jethro's murderous rages. Eventually, Jethro's lust for gold brings about his own destruction, and Jacob's eventual return reunites [most of] the family for the first time in years.
Another branch of the Wheeler family is introduced in this episode. Samson Wheeler stands strong with his family against slavery in Kansas. But Quantrill's bloody threats seed storm clouds over their heads that promise tragedy and suffering.
Meanwhile, the Lakota sign a peace treaty with Washington, DC. When it is broken through misunderstanding, betrayal, and arrogance, the Indians return to the path of war, but find themselves (along with the Pony Express) in retreat before the advance of industrial miracles like the telegraph.
In this episode, Into the West finally begins to hit its stride as a satisfying story. "Dreams and Schemes" relies more strongly than previous episodes on multiple plots. While both multiple plots and subplots switch back and forth between plot lines, multiple plots differ from subplots in that subplots are connected in some way to the main plot. Multiple plots are connected with each other primarily by an idea. While these multiple plots may eventually intersect in future episodes, in "Dreams and Schemes" they are treated as wholly separate. It fits the purpose of Into the West, because it enables the writer to color in the intrinsic nature of an epic landscape spanning both time and distance.
In previous episodes, the writers relied strongly on Jacob's rolling-stone personality to sample a smorgasbord of historical events and characters. This gimmick was rapidly stretching to the breaking point of believablility. Just how much of the great adventure known as the American West could one person logically take part in? "Dreams and Schemes" utilizes multiple plots (Samson Wheeler; Indian peace treaty) to naturally expand the canvas of the story, and subplots (Margaret in San Francisco; Abe riding for the Pony Express) to enrich the continuing main plot of Jacob and Thunder Heart Woman. Together, they add complexity to the whole story and give the audience a broad taste of the west.
For multiple plots and/or subplots to work, they need to be structured with all the essential ingredients of a main plot: a compelling lead character, a strong goal, and dynamic conflict. For the most part, "Dreams and Schemes" succeeds at this. Samson is a particularly endearing character, with both strengths and flaws, that I would have enjoyed watching in future episodes. His daughter has great potential to follow in his footsteps as a highly interesting character.
