American Primeval raises the stakes in episode 4! Halfway through the season, the main storylines continue to converge. War is coming to the West, and it's just a matter of time before the shooting begins.
American Primeval episode 4 begins shortly after the events of episode 3. Sara (Betty Gilpin) and Isaac (Taylor Kitsch) continue their trek through the snowy mountains as they make for Crooks Springs while bounty hunters follow. Elsewhere, Brigham Young (Kim Coates) and his Mormons continue to carve out space to practice their religion by force. Abish (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) begins to settle in and understand the Shoshone.
Bridger clashes with Brigham Young again
At Fort Bridger, Brigham Young (Kim Coates) continues his pursuit of the fort by getting into some hijinks with Jim Bridger (Shea Whigham) and his pigs. Wild Bill (Alex Breaux) tries to buy Bridger's pigs, Bridger isn't about to let that happen. He nearly chops off Bill's foot with a shovel. The Mormons flee but promise to return. Bridger tells them the price of the fort just went up.
This is our only scene with Shea Whigham's Bridger in episode 4, and that's a bummer. My guy is a scene-stealer. I can only hope that we get to see more of him in the final two episodes of the series.
Abish reveals Brigham Young's Militia was behind the attack
At the Shoshone camp, Wild Bird (Irene Bedard) converses with Abish about the Shoshone's place in the world and if there's room for them with all the changes. That seems to click in Abish's brain. She, too, has been struggling with her place in the world, but she seems to be finding a place over the last two episodes. Something has changed within her, something is not the same.
Shortly after, Red Feather (Derek Hinkey) returns with the scouts US Army Captain Edmund Dellinger (Luke Neff) sent to find out if Red Feather is there. Now, they know he is. Wild Bird panics and claims Red Feather brought war upon them. Red Feather disagrees. he begins to rally support for war.
Abish tries to convince Red Feather not to get into conflict with the US Army and Mormons. They won't let the Shoshone know peace and they'll kill his son, she says. He welcomes the fight, though.
As a show of force, Red Feather travels to the Army camp. He sends Abish and the translator to discuss terms with the US Army. There, Abish reveals that the Mormons were really the people who orchestrated the attack on the traveling party, not the Shoshone.
Captain Dellinger reveals to Abish that Jacob, Abish's husband, also survived the attack. Abish stays behind with the US Army while they try to find Jacob. They pay a visit to Wild Bill's camp, looking for Pratt. Dellinger knows now who really attacked the settlers during the Meadows Massacre. Their behavior confirmed that much, and Abish claims that Wolsey was there. She recognized him from the attack.
Back at camp, Dellinger sends his second in command to Fort Bridger to get word to Washington that they need more men to bring the fight to the Mormons. Instead, he goes to Wild Bill with the letter, requesting backup. So, no help is coming from Washington. Instead, the Mormons know that the US Army knows. The battle is brewing, I'll say.
While this is happening, Abish flees to the Shoshone camp. She clearly doesn't feel safe or at home at the Army camp.
Pratt kills Cook
Virgil (Jai Courtney) leads Jacob Pratt (Dane DeHaan), Cook (Dominic Bogart), and his men continue their search for Sara and Issac. After an alteraction with one of the men from Virgil's party, Pratt gets a moment alone with Cook. Remember, Cook was one of the men who attacked Pratt's traveling party with James Wolsey (Joe Tippett).
While Cook tries to calm Pratt down, Pratt knocks him out and drowns him in the river. While Virgil understands Pratt's motivations, he won't let him travel with his group any longer. Jacob is all alone now in the middle of nowhere.
Devin breaks his leg after his horse steps on him
Throughout the episode, Sara and Isaac try to stay one step ahead of Virgil and his men. They each share some confessions about their past, including Isaac's time with the Shoshone and why Sara killed that man. Apparently, he was abusive to her and Devin, so she killed him. And, she says she'd do it again.
As you may recall from an earlier episode, one of the horses gets a rock in its hoof. Eventually, the horse grows tired and starts to buck Devin off, which it does. As Isaac tries to kill the now bucking horse, it lands on Devin's leg, breaking it.
The episode ends in a remote cabin as Isaac sets the break and braces the leg while Devin screams. It's awful, honestly!
It's not looking good for little Dev heading into the penultimate episode of American Primeval on Netflix!