Hell on Wheels: Season 5 Part 2 (Blu-ray) – Series Review
All good things must come to an end, which seems to be the motto for a lot of series in 2017, but it seems that Hell on Wheels is currently the first to kick the bucket, at least of the series we review on the site. Things are slowly getting wrapped up, both with the Pacific Railroad, which is to be finished soon, as well as Cullen’s personal life, which is somewhat in shambles. We will not dive too much into the story portion, as it would spoil a lot of key events.
Cullen Bohannon’s (Anson Mount) life is currently a mess, as his wife is pretty much in love with someone else, he is without a job, as he left his railroad building days behind, and to make matters even worse, he gets wounded when he tries to save his wife, who is soon to become someone else’s happily ever after. The ordeal with his wife leaves him with no other choice than the resume his job as a track builder, and to chase another love interest of his. He and Fong (Angela Zhou), grow closer and closer, and it’s clear that Cullen is willing to fight for her in a way he has always neglected to do for his other loved ones.
Meanwhile Durant (Colm Meaney) has not changed his rotten ways and tries to scheme everyone out of his money, simply to keep funding the building of his railroad tracks, not only to gain money in the process, but simply to become ‘important’, by becoming an important part of accomplishing this American dream. While doing many unpatriotic acts, he still wants to achieve one of the most patriotic thing he can do in said day and age.
While this last portion of the last season only has seven episodes to wrap everything up, the pace feels just right, as it’s never too fast, nor is it slow. While the railroad still stands in the middle of the series, it’s clear that Cullen’s character development is more important, perhaps in a way to redeem the character for all his wrongdoings. Other than that, you’ll see the railroad being built at an increased pace, as both rivaling parties want to reach Ogden first, as it is him, who gets his track laid first to Ogden, who will receive 2.5 million dollars, as well as control over the resources in Ogden.
As expected, the acting performances have not really shifted compared to our reviews of season 3 and season 4, thus you’ll be treated to the same qualitative work you’ve always had. Nonetheless, Anson Mount is faced with a challenge this season, as his character is still evolving this far in the fifth season, which is actually the most interesting part of these final episodes.
When it comes to the special features of this Blu-ray release, they are quite slim. Not only is it a shame that hardly any attention was paid to the extras because it would have added a bit of extra value, but also because it’s the end of the series, it would have been nice to have something to make the physical release worth the extra cash. Nonetheless, the few snippets you’re getting are quite okay, as they are highlights of all of the episodes, as well as some thoughts from the cast and creators about these last few episodes.
Conclusion
Hell on Wheels is one of those series that knows when to call it quits, namely when it’s still going strong. While Season 5 Part 2 does leave a few questions unanswered at the end, the overall ending is fairly satisfying, and lets the viewer ponder about certain events himself. If you ditched the series a season or two ago, it’s worth picking up again, to witness the finale.
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