Not really in agreement with some previous reviews.
This episode is proof (some others in the series much less so) that well-meaning stories with a slightly preachy but forcefully-delivered message - here of benign tolerance towards "visible minorities" - can still be entertaining, provided they are strongly enough scripted, filmed and acted.
Here it works in all three departments : the script is strongly-written and tightly-knit; acting is convincing; and filming, unusually elaborate for this no-frills series. It applies to how Mennonites are depicted, with close-ups of their leader which confirm something about their soul, strong-willed though adamantly opposed to violence of any kind, especially on their behalf - this actually fosters an interesting difficulty with their self-proclaimed knight, Paladin, who does not want to commit to that and indeed is obliged to shoot a man in legitimate self-defense; to the brief but tense and visually striking scene of the night fire in the fields; and to confrontations between the Mennonites and their two declared foes, who are actually responsible for fostering and even enforcing almost all the hostility of the villagers towards the weird-looking and -behaving strangers.
Moreover each of these two villains is driven by his own clearly-outlined motivations, and their interests and actions are not fully aligned, which makes the story even more interesting and convincing.
This episode is proof (some others in the series much less so) that well-meaning stories with a slightly preachy but forcefully-delivered message - here of benign tolerance towards "visible minorities" - can still be entertaining, provided they are strongly enough scripted, filmed and acted.
Here it works in all three departments : the script is strongly-written and tightly-knit; acting is convincing; and filming, unusually elaborate for this no-frills series. It applies to how Mennonites are depicted, with close-ups of their leader which confirm something about their soul, strong-willed though adamantly opposed to violence of any kind, especially on their behalf - this actually fosters an interesting difficulty with their self-proclaimed knight, Paladin, who does not want to commit to that and indeed is obliged to shoot a man in legitimate self-defense; to the brief but tense and visually striking scene of the night fire in the fields; and to confrontations between the Mennonites and their two declared foes, who are actually responsible for fostering and even enforcing almost all the hostility of the villagers towards the weird-looking and -behaving strangers.
Moreover each of these two villains is driven by his own clearly-outlined motivations, and their interests and actions are not fully aligned, which makes the story even more interesting and convincing.
