This article contains spoilers for “Lawmen: Bass Reeves” on Paramount +.
“Lawmen: Bass Reeves” Part IV aired Sunday, and it’ll make you eternally grateful you weren’t born in the 1800s.
Modernity is mostly terrible. Modern life is often pointlessly exhausting thanks to the internet. We’ve lost touch with the natural world because of industrialization. Overall, there’s a lot to dislike. But my goodness, did the latest episode of “Bass Reeves” make our very recent history look like an apocalyptic nightmare.
Part IV definitely gave us the strongest intro to the series so far. We meet Reeves (David Oyelowo) at the home of a tired, frustrated mother. She doesn’t know it, and neither do we, but Reeves is looking for her sons. Over the course of 12 hours, Reeves gets what he came for … and we finally see why he was the perfect choice for U.S. marshal.
The entire opening sequence really makes you wonder just how any of our ancestors survived settling this land and what they had to endure to ensure we’d get our Amazon Prime same-day deliveries a century and a half later.
‘Lawmen: Bass Reeves’ Levels Up Its Writing, Production And All-Star Cast In Episode III https://t.co/x3auUJzc0L via @DailyCaller
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) November 13, 2023
Save for a few moments with Reeves’ wife, Jennie (Lauren E. Banks), which are superbly written and acted, the entire episode is a nonstop adrenaline rush as you desperately wish Reeves would just get home. But before he can do that, Reeves has to battle the violence of human spirit and the demons that roam west of the Mississippi. (RELATED: ‘Yellowstone’ Makes Huge Announcement On Future Of Show, Kevin Costner And Next Spinoff)
The whole thing will leave you feeling so grateful you were born in a later version of America. No matter how bad things get right now, I don’t think 99 percent of us would have survived what our ancestors did back then.
If we learn anything from their latest episode, it’s that we may have come a long way technologically in the last 150-ish years. But human nature really has not.
Creator Chad Feehan and executive producer Taylor Sheridan have really out-done themselves with this series. I wasn’t totally convinced at first, but now I pray there’s a second season.