Paramount+’s Lawmen: Bass Reeves episode four kicks off with an unusual scene. Bass (David Oyelowo) sings while shooting a hole through a hat. He’s wearing tattered clothing, and it’s quickly obvious this is part of a carefully planned disguise.
The reason? Reeves needs to appear nonthreatening when he arrives at a woman’s door. Although initially leery of this stranger’s appearance, the woman – Widow Dolliver (Dale Dickey) – lowers her rifle and invites him inside, impressed that he can quote the Bible.
Her adult children, Wiley and Darrell, show up at dinner time and get into a fistfight…not with Bass, but amongst themselves. Widow Dolliver asks Bass’ help in moving them into the bedroom, all the while fretting about the sleepless nights these ne’er-do-wells have cost her.
When everyone’s settled in and asleep, Bass quietly places the men in handcuffs. They’re stunned when they wake up in the morning and learn that they’re under arrest.
Back at home, Bass’ family attends church, and the preacher introduces the congregation to Edwin Jones (Grantham Coleman). The preacher describes Edwin as a visionary, and Jones shares his vision for the entire Black community to prosper.
Of the congregation, only Jennie Reeves (Lauren E. Banks) raises her hand when Edwin asks who owns their own property. Edwin believes there’s a place where they can all own their land. Edwin’s wife, Esme (Joaquina Kalukango), distributes pamphlets and passes the plate to help make Edwin’s vision a reality.
Jennie is shocked to see Esme, an old friend she hasn’t seen in ages. Edwin invites her to pay him and Esme a visit when she has time.
Sally (Demi Singleton) lies to her mom and secretly meets Arthur (Lonnie Chavis) down by the river for a little flirting.
Meanwhile, Bass brings the two Dolliver brothers to a stagecoach where Billy Crow (Forrest Goodluck), his new posse man, is standing guard. Bass has been busy on this trip, and he’s rounded up over half a dozen outlaws. They make camp for the night, and one of the prisoners begins to tell the story of Mr. Sundown. Bass tries to get him to be quiet, but he persists – describing Mr. Sundown as a slave catcher who ate some of his prisoners. “Some say he’s building a plantation with skin and bones,” says the prisoner, adding, “A dark church full of Hell’s music.”
The prisoner begins singing and Bass has had enough. He stands over the prisoner, and the prisoner instantly falls silent. However, the storyteller and another prisoner have a stare-off.
The men are sprawled out, asleep, when the storyteller manages to free himself and attacks Bass. Fortunately, Reeves reacts quickly and gets the upper hand, beating the man long after he’s stopped fighting back. Billy points out the storyteller killed another prisoner; it appears he tried to eat his face, too, as the skull is exposed.
Billy wants to shoot the storyteller, but Bass declares himself the only law out there and knocks the murderer out with the butt of the rifle.
Billy packs up the following morning while Bass meets with Minco Dodge (Mo Brings Plenty). They catch up on life, and Bass admits he just wants a week off and a warm bed. Minco informs Bass that he spotted Silas Cobb, and Bass believes Silas is stealing horses and selling them. Minco also warns Bass that there’s a bounty on both their heads now.
Bass and Billy hit the road to round up Silas before returning home. Billy waits outside a brothel as Bass asks the madame for Silas’ location, which she reluctantly discloses after he threatens to start busting down doors.
While Bass is busy inside, Billy’s busy outside flirting with a prostitute on her break. She’s reading a book, and Billy claims that one day she’ll read all about his exploits. She highly doubts it. And it turns out she knows a lot about guns, accurately describing Billy’s gun and the best way to shoot a man.
She’d rather have some peace and quiet than engage in flirting, and Billy blurts out, “I think I’m going to marry you.” She’s unimpressed and refuses to tell him her name. She tosses Billy her book and warns him not to get himself killed.
“Maybe we’ll talk again,” she teases before walking away.
Bass bursts through the window into Cobb’s room, and Cobb (Anthony Traina) wants to make a deal. Silas will turn over the location of Jim Webb if Bass promises not to shoot him. Bass agrees, and Silas reveals Webb’s location. However, the whore Silas is visiting wants to make her own deal. She grabs Silas’ pistol and aims it at the men, with Silas opting to make an escape out the window rather than get shot.
He hits the ground running, grabs a horse, and rides off before Bass can even exit the brothel. Billy sees none of this because he’s too caught up in following the pretty prostitute. However, he finally gets his head out of the clouds when he sees Silas riding toward him on a horse. He orders Silas to stop, and of course, he doesn’t. Billy shoots him in the back as he’s riding away.
Silas isn’t dead, but he’s gravely injured, and Bass – who’s caught up with the fleeing outlaw – has Billy stay with him while he fetches a doctor. By the time Bass returns with the doc, Silas has passed away in the street.
Billy helped Silas write a note to his wife before he passed, even thanking him for doing so.
Later, Billy tries to justify the killing (more to himself than to Bass) by saying that Silas had it coming. Bass disagrees, explaining that while he was a thief, he was also a man. Bass believes that the second he took Silas into his custody, the man became his responsibility.
Bass hands Billy a bullet and tells him to think of each of his bullets as a man’s life. The law lets them decide who deserves a bullet, but God has the ultimate say so in whether they’re justified.
It’s deep in the night when Bass arrives at Silas’ home to deliver the letter. Bass is shocked to discover Silas’ widow, Grace (Precious Perez), is blind, and she immediately picks up on the fact that Silas is dead. She asks Bass to read the letter, and Silas’ words about longing for home and his heart hurting when he’s apart from his wife bring tears to Bass’ eyes. It strikes close to home to the lawman.
Bass gets back on the road home, stopping only for a moment to feed and water his horse. A rustling alerts him to the fact he’s being tracked. Bass turns, gun drawn, and the man rides off without saying a word.
- Lawmen: Bass Reeves Episode 1 Recap
- Lawmen: Bass Reeves Episode 2 Recap
- Lawmen: Bass Reeves Episode 3 Recap
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