Strange Empire Episodes 6-13 Reviews: Soap Opera Meets Western (Series Finale)

Kat (or some other Metis woman) is wanted for the murder of a "white man". Yep it's probably Kat. There is a $1000 bounty on her head. Mrs Loving heads back across the Canadian border to Janestown (with her three remaining children in tow). There she takes up marshaling.

Thomas becomes sicker and sicker. His leg must be amputated soon. Rebecca shares a private moment with Morgan (who we later find out is transgendered). Speaking of Rebecca, she previously stabbed a man to death who tried to attack her. Life is rough for a girl in the West.

Mr Ling pines after Isabelle (who is busy trying to get pregnant with Slotter). Rebecca goes to see Mr Ling to get some drugs for Thomas' amputation. She tells her to bathe and dress his mother's feet because it's "women's work". I'm not sure why Chinese foot binding started it but that's some harsh stuff. I assume it was to make women immobile (so they couldnt escape even if they wanted to).

Rebecca does the amputation but finds that Thomas is too far gone. She agonizes over his death because he rescued her from an institution (and is like a father to her). Slotter asks her to stay in Janestown and begins buying her gifts. Uh oh. This isn't good.

Tensions Mount

The miners refuse to work due to unsafe conditions. Slotter strikes a bargain with Mr Ling to use the railroad workers instead. A riot breaks out. A Chinese man is shot. Rebecca takes care of him. The white settlers aren't happy. Mama Ling is killed when the miners dynamite the Chinese houses. Mr Ling seeks revenge by blowing up the mine with the miners in it.

The remaining miners and women dig feverishly to save those who are still alive. Franklyn is the last person left down there. Mrs Briggs remains by the hole and prays day after day. Finally Franklyn is rescued. Mrs Briggs admits her feelings for him.

Cornelius Is A First Class A-Hole

Just then Cornelius (John's daddy) decides to return. He has his eye set on a young girl but John talks him down. John later beats the crap out of Cornelius. He goes to get the girl as a peace offering (killing her father in the process). Isabelle beds Cornelius to keep her away from the girl. We find out Corny forced himself on Isabelle when she was twelve. That guy seriously needs something heavy to fall on him.

Isabelle and Ruby have it out. It turns out Ruby has a child with Cornelius. Say what? Isabelle orders Ruby to leave the house. Ruby retaliates by telling Cornelius his REAL grandchild is dead. Corny digs up the little coffin. Yep, he's very dead.

Cornelius beats the crap out of Isabelle (while John does nothing to stop him). Isabelle finally tells the women that John has Jeremiah's (Kat's husband's) glove in a box. Rebecca goes to get it and is cornered by John. He confesses to her that he massacred all the other men (but we still dont know what happened to Jeremiah).

John hires some men to take all the guns from everyone else. Kat heads to Indian territory to get replacements.

I Was Hoping Mr Ling Would Go Kung Fu On Someone

Ruby is now in charge of the prostitutes that are working at the Slotter house. My, how the tables have turned. Isabelle is currently hanging out with Mr Ling.

Unfortunately It's Not Going To Work Out For These Two Kids

I was worried that we werent going to see anything else about Morgan after his initial tryst with Rebecca (and when she later found out he was transgendered). Finn was later raped by Casper (the bounty hunter who was after Kat). That was a painful scene to watch. Rebecca corners Casper with a gun. John makes Rebecca cut Casper's chest open. They talk about the nature of evil. John eventually kills the guy by stabbing him in the heart. Morgan sees the whole thing and is obviously horrified. I would be too.

Morgan is now rightfully concerned that everyone knows about him/her. He discusses his feelings for Rebecca. She says its not a gender that attracts her. It's a person's mind. Morgan however believes what Rebecca is doing (ie scientific research with cadavers) is of the devil. So the chances of these two making it in long term relationship is zilch. Morgan says Miss Logan loves him (but she doesnt know Morgan's secret yet... or does she).

Kat sends Morgan and the Briggs' to find Casper's family. They will take John across the border where he will be tried for murder. Rebecca and Morgan will testify that John killed Casper. And John will be hung (for that and all the other killings).

Meanwhile Isabelle finds she has been written out of John's will and plans revenge. Remember when she was poisoning him back in episode 1? Well, she's at it again.

In an interesting twist, John calls all the involved parties to his house for the reading of his last will and testament. Cornelius ends up with 26% of his estate. Mr Ling has 25%. Isabelle has the remaining 49% but ONLY if she remarries. Obviously Cornelius and Isabelle are shocked by this turn of events (as am I).

And In The Main Event...

Isabelle's poisoned wine bottle kills Adeline instead of John. Next Cornelius sneaks into the room and tries to shoot John. But John is waiting and threatens to blow Daddy's head off (but doesnt). Man, are those Slotters a rough family or what?

John is transported to Montana. Izzy comes running, screaming she's his wife. They kiss. She has two guns concealed under her cloak. John pulls them out and makes his escape (yet again). Kat follows in hot pursuit. They end in the same spot as the massacre (from back in episode 1). John doesnt even try to defend himself. Kat shoots him dead with an arrow.

Isabelle approaches Kat with "You killed my husband". Kat says he wanted to die. We think there will be a fight. Instead Isabelle says she needs a new husband and Kat should "consider this a proposal). And the two get married in front of apparently the blindest lawyer in the Wild West (cause Kat does NOT look like a man). Kat pretends to be Albert Smythe (who will be away on business when Cornelius comes looking for him). Well, I didnt see that coming...at all.

In exchange for her help, Isabelle will give Kat and the girls supplies to start their farm. We think the episode is over. But just then Jeremiah comes out of the brush. Two Indians pick him up on horseback and speed away while Kat screams "Jeremiah!". Seriously? That's the ending. OK then...

There are several other lesser story lines:

Kat and Marshal Mecredi have some sexy times. He continues to lead bounty hunters away so they wont find her in Janestown. Unfortunately they arent slowed down for long. The two later plan to wed.
A traveling prophet/possible mine investor arrives in town. He takes a hankering to Kelly (the oldest of Kat's two girls). Mr Young is definitely NOT what he appears to be (but he gets his in the end).
Fiona tries to become a writer. She writes about the night all the men were killed. Unfortunately her writing yields unforeseen consequences.
Sloane is haunted by the dead including Georgie (whose tongue Slotter cut out). Robin uses his ability to see the dead to the women's advantage. Sloane eventually signs a confession to all the killings as a way to rid himself of the dead. Sloane says he never saw Jeremiah Loving though. Sloan, Mary and her baby leave Janestown, never to return.

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Episode Guide:

Episode 1: The Hunting Party
Episode 2: Buckskin Princess
Episode 3: Other Powers
Episode 4: The Whiskey Trader
Episode 5: Lonely Hearts
Episode 6: Electricity
Episode 7: The Oath
Episode 8: How Far Is Heaven
Episode 9: The Resistance
Episode 10: The Cage
Episode 11: Confession
Episode 12: Ends Days
Episode 13: The Dark Riders

Grade: 3 3/4 Monsters (out of 5). "Strange Empire" was not horrible but wasn't what I had originally expected. I was hoping to see strong women in peril in the Wild West. Instead what we got was a soap-opera-ish Western. I like soaps but the changing motivations and alliances of the characters was a bit much. First, Kat is driven out of town for being an Indian. Then she's back as the sheriff. First, Isabelle is trying to poison her husband for killing their baby. Then she loves him and cant live without him. Then she tries to poison him again. And so on and so forth.

I do think the episodes got better by the end of the season though. That's when the real drama began between Isabella and the Slotters, the bounty hunters and Kat, the miners vs the railroad workers, Kat seeking revenge, etc. What was up with that ending though? It seemed completely out of place. Couldn't they think of anything that was remotely believable? I guess not.

On a positive note, all the actors were excellent. Cara Gee as Kat Loving was especially compelling. Melissa Farman was great as the brilliant/possibly autistic Rebecca Blithely. Tattiawna Jones was a standout as Isabelle Slotter. I would definitely like to see much more of these three ladies. Aaron Poole played Captain John Slotter as a complex layered character. Slotter wasn't just you standard bad guy with a black hat (which greatly added to the show's enjoyment).

"Strange Empire" was not renewed by the CBC for a season 2 so I assume this is the end of our time with the residents of Janestown-- which is a shame since the characters still have a lot of potential (if the show could be tweaked a little).