"The Big Deal" was an unsettling episode for this new fan of THE VIRGINIAN because I found myself rooting for Enrique Cuellar against the land baron Judge Garth and his lackeys, all of whom behaved abominably towards a guest of the ranch and of the country. All worked out well--if a little too neatly--in the end, but when the credits rolled I was still looking askance at the Judge, Trampas, and the Virginian.
I know this fledgling series was still getting steady on its feet and that the characters were still being defined. Trampas seemed rougher around the edges here than in the preceding episodes, being rude to Cuellar from the start, being rude to the blowhard at the dinner table, and just crude in grabbing Cuellar's bottle of champagne and taking a slug. He'd been watching Cuellar and Molly so intently throughout dinner surely he knew the proper etiquette. He was just choosing to be obnoxious.
The Virginian, usually rising above the fray, and so articulate in his defense of what's right, here stoops to Trampas' level of playing Cuellar for a pigeon in poker and then deceiving a man out of his bed with a rotten trick. The Virginian dutifully shows Cuellar his plot of land, but neglects to mention its purpose and its value, deceiving him into thinking its pretty much like every other plot of land when it was anything but. It was beneath him to be a party to that deception. To say he was just following orders doesn't jibe with what "Throw a Long Rope" revealed about the Virginian: He has a personal code of honor and is willing to defy the Judge--and even to die!--for what he believes is right. This episode was like watching a different man, a lesser man.
But it's Judge Garth who comes out the worst. A man held to a higher standard of integrity first tells Cuellar that his father was his friend, then proceeds to try and lowball the price on land he knows is invaluable to his ranch's operation, assuming Cuellar can be buffaloed. A paltry $5,000 offer? I winced when the Judge proposed it, and cheered Cuellar for demanding $100,000. And does the Judge's arrogance know no bounds? When confronted with Cuellar's demand, he offers a mere $10,000.
Cuellar refused to be played for a fool and a dupe by the Judge, but, as he later said, Cuellar was prepared to compromise and to make a more reasonable offer, but no, the Judge had to make his power play and order the Virginian to bring the cattle down in six days, a herculean task (but one Trampas suddenly feels up to once he learns it's to spite "the South American").
The townspeople of Medicine Bow come off poorly as well. When Cuellar approaches the sheriff asking simply that the law be upheld, the sheriff says, "you're new here," implying that the townspeople know better than to run afoul of Judge Garth, who appears to run Medicine Bow like his private fiefdom, with gestures of noblesse oblige like providing the town an ugly clock that even Trampas was itching to take a shot at. When Molly tries to warn Cuellar not to cross Judge Garth because "he's used to getting his way," Cuellar ominously responds, "So am I."
As the old song goes, when an irresistible force meets an immovable object something's gotta give. I knew it wouldn't be Judge Garth, if only because this is only the fourth episode of the series, but I couldn't see how the producers could allow Cuellar to lose when he was morally and legally in the right. Enter Betsy as the deus ex machina whose accident allows everyone to save face (no pun intended).
Betsy is also unappealingly imperious in this episode; for example, barking an order to a ranch hand to get her a fresh horse (a "please" would show the polish and breeding she desperately wished to demonstrate when fawning over Cuellar). Her impetuosity in charging towards the action, defying all attempts to dissuade her, is what resulted in her accident. This is the whirlwind reaped by the Judge for raising Betsy to be a spoiled brat (explained if not excused by the revelations in "Woman from White Wing").
Concerning Cuellar, I couldn't think of a single instance where he acted dishonorably or with malice. A telling scene is when he's singing while enjoying a leisurely bath and the blowhard from the night before bursts in and asks Cuellar to hurry it up. Cuellar is only too eager to please, dousing his head and laughing, bringing the bath to a conclusion. Can you see the Judge reacting in the same way? And can you see the Judge picking up his own trunk and carrying it on his back like Cuellar did? Cuellar had sophistication and class, but never put on airs or considered himself above getting his hands dirty. I found much to admire in him.
The ending was too tidy and pat, but nonetheless I'm really glad the episode ended with Judge Garth and Cuellar parting as friends (though perhaps uneasy friends: I think Cuellar would have pulled the trigger had the Judge snipped that barbed wire and I think the Judge knew it too). The ending was rushed, and without excuse when the first 30 to 40 minutes were jet-puffed with padding material, like the crowded hotel room scene and the long drive to Shiloh, followed later by protracted scenes of the cattle roundup and drive.
This is my least favorite episode thus far, which perhaps isn't saying much since it's only my fourth (and I hope no longtime fan is reading this and thinking of me like the townspeople did of Cuellar: You're new here and shouldn't be trash talking' THE VIRGINIAN). The preceding three episodes were so good that by contrast this one pales; its only saving grace is Ricardo Montalban's masterful performance.
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