American Primeval episode 3 continues the cat-and-mouse game between Sara (Betty Gilpin), Devin (Preston Mota), Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier), and Isaac (Taylor Kitsch) and those pursuing them.
The third episode slows the pace down a tad as the different groups move around the region, setting up many battles to come between Brigham Young and the Mormons, Jim Bridger of Fort Bridger, Red Feather and the Shoshone people, Sara and Isaac's group, and Virgil's band of outlaws.
Sara, Devin, and Isaac are caught in a trap
After Isaac takes out a camp and steals their horses at the end of episode 2, the party continues their way toward Crooks Springs, but Virgin (Jai Courtney) and his outlaws are close behind.
The group camps along the river, and we learn that Devin's father doesn't know that they are coming. Isaac is skeptical about the man's intentions and if he'll accept them when they arrive.
In back to back episodes, Sara gets the party in quite a tricky situation when they fall for a band of French robbers on the road. Sara finds a little girl, and she insists on bringing the girl back to her family. It's a trap, though, and the girl was the bait. Sara led the party right into the trap. Luckily, Two Moons escapes.
At the camp, Sara is assaulted by her captors. It's horrific. That night, Two Moons attack the captors, freeing Sara. She turns their guns on them and kills them all.
We don't get to see much as much of Sara, Isaac, and the gang this episode. And, what we do get to see is very unpleasant. Eventually, Sara, Isaac, Devin, and Two Moons get back on course in their journey.
Pratt makes a key revelation about the attack
Virgil comes across James Wolsey (Joe Tippett) and his men. Jacob Pratt (Dane DeHaan) is also with them. Wolsey sends Cook (Dominic Bogart) and Pratt along with Virgil and his men. Perhaps, the survivors of the attack are together, he theorizes. Really, Wolsey is trying to tie up all the loose ends and protect Brigham Young (Kim Coates) from being implicated in the attack. If Virgil finds the survivors, Cook needs to make sure they can't share who was really behind the attack.
Pratt accompanies band of interesting (and awful) characters in their pursuit of Sara. As they get closer, Cook takes out a watch, checking the time. Pratt recognizes the watch as the one that belonged to a member of the traveling party, meaning that Cook was part of the group who attacked them, nearly killed him, and separated him from Abish.
Captain Dellinger sends a party to scout Red Feather's tribe
Later, the US Army Captain Dellinger Luke Neff) comes across Wolsey and his men looking for Jacob Pratt. Wolsey shares that Pratt left with Virgil's men to find his wife. He also asks Wolsey about the attack, but he denies it.
They send scouts to Red Feather's camp to monitor the situation and look for the missing women, including Abish (Saura (Lightfoot-Leon), who is there with them and struggling to settle in with the Shoshone. Red Feather's men take them out easily.
Dellinger's scout returns to the Army camp and claims that Red Feather's men attacked them. He sends more men to scout the Shoshone camp to see if that's where Red Feather is.
Abish is welcomed with the Shoshone
Throughout the episode, Abish has a hard time learning the Shoshone language and customs. Red Feather steals her necklace after she tries to run again.
Near the end of the episode, Red Feather (Derek Hinkey) and his people return to the Shoshone camp with Abish. Winter Bird (Irene Bedard) tries to stop him from coming back and bringing enemies to their people.
As Captain Dellinger writes a letter about the lack of kindness and compassion in the region, Abish is welcomed and treated well by the Shoshone. Despite some of Red Feather's violent tendencies we've seen so far, this is one of the many examples of in the show of the Shoshone showing kindness to Abish, caring for her, and teaching her their ways.
Brigham Young tries to buy Fort Bridger
After Jim Bridger (Shea Whigham) rebukes the Mormons earlier in the series, Brigham Young pays a visit to Fort Bridger to discuss some terms for selling. Bridger turns down the initial request, but Brigham tells him to think about fair price before riding off into the distance.
This is a very interesting development to watch as the story plays out. This will not be the last of Brigham Young and his visits to Fort Bridger. Now, it's just up to Jim Bridger to decide whether to keep his fort or cave to the pressure of the Mormons or not.
We'll see in the next episode of American Primeval!
American Primeval episode grade: C
Overall, American Primeval episode 3 is the slowest episode of the season so far. There is some action, but not a lot. The performances continue to impress, and there are a lot of fascinating back-and-forths in this episode. I could watch Shea Whigham and Kim Coates go at it as Jim Bridger and Brigham Young for longer. Their scenes were relatively short.
I absolutely hated the storyline with Sara, Isaac, and Devin this episode, though. I understand, for a few reasons, why they made the choices that they did, but it was difficult to watch.
I appreciate the effort the creator Mark L. Smith and director Peter Berg put forth in episode 3 to reveal that most of the issues in this story are caused by the US Army, the Mormon Militia, and other settlers and pioneers of the West. They're not caused by the Shoshone and other Indigenous people shown in the series, who are simply trying to survive while chaos looms around them.