Skip to Content

1883 Season 1 Episode 6 Recap: Boring the Devil

Elsa is inconsolable in the back of a wagon. She's broken-hearted.

Shea asks James about Elsa. She's doing better than you'd expect, he says.

Elsa gets her period and goes off for privacy. She doesn't understand pain or grief. What purpose could they serve?

Shea finds Elsa and he shares his coping mechanism in a very poignant conversation.

Elsa's going back to work.

The wagon train reaches Doan's Crossing at the border between the Texas and Oklahoma territories.

Thomas offers to get Neomi what she needs from the traders. He's worried about thieves. She wants him to sell her husband's things, and when she hands him a shotgun, Thomas says she'll need that.

Margaret is hoping to find milk at Doan's Crossing and to spend some time with Elsa.

Elsa is heckled, and when the guy laughs in her face, Elsa pulls a gun on the guy. Things get tense. Elsa doesn't seem to care whether she lives or dies. James and Margaret are not happy and send her back to camp.

Margaret enters a general store and gets insulted by the woman in the store who thinks Elsa acts like she doesn't have a mother. By way of apology, the woman asks Margaret if she'd like a lemonade. No. A whiskey punch? Oh, yes.

Elsa rejoins Wade, who is also understanding of her plight.

Thomas talks with a cook to join the wagon train. They make a deal. The cook says it's his chuckwagon, and they'll eat what he cooks and he won't be taking complaints. It will cost about $600 to stock up because all they'll find in Abeline is hookers and some other trash. Thomas gives him the money.

Margaret and her new friend are getting drunk. Her name is Miss Carol. The chuckwagon guy is calling her name.

When Thomas sells Neomi's things, he spots a beautiful hand mirror. It costs $50, so he gives the man $15 and tells him to keep the rest. I sure hope he's got more cash for Neomi.

Shea is showing someone around the wagon train. The guy is prepared to say no, but then he spots Elsa. He signs up immediately.

The guy can't believe Ennis got killed. He's very confident, and he rides over to introduce himself. His name's Colton. He laughs when she doesn't offer her name. Then he offers his condolences for Ennis, and Elsa opens up a little.

When James learns Margaret isn't back yet, he gets concerned and goes after her. He doesn't find her in the store and gets even more worried until he hears laughter from behind the store.

James is a little annoyed about the situation, but he asks her to stay there. That makes Margaret and Carol laugh even harder, and that sends Margaret tumbling out of her chair.

James, Thomas, and Shea assess the next river. It's much larger. It will take two days to get the wagons and the boats across, which annoys Shea. Shea says they need to teach them to do by themselves. James says all they'll learn is how to die. Thomas says it's not really the time to be teachin' them anything. But Shea isn't angry at James. He's angry that he's right.

James gets Margaret from the trading post. She's grieving the loss of her daughter. She'll never forgive James for this. He won't forgive himself, either.

James rides out to Elsa, who is guarding the herd. She talks about the look from the man, and James tells her a story about the first person he killed. It was during the war, and he killed a flag bearer, who wasn't even as old as Elsa. Since you can always see flags first, you kill the flag bearer first.

James tells Elsa that the man she killed was already dead. She didn't kill him. He doesn't want her to hate. She can grieve, but leave the hating to him.

Thomas tells Neomi that he got $35 for her. She killed a rabbit, and there's stew in the pot. She made it with rabbit and rattlesnake. He gives it to her and a short discussion lets her know that they're in love, and she makes a move on him.

Elsa had a dream about Ennis while lying in the grass. She loved him. And when she opened her eyes, she could see color again.

She rides up to the herd and tells Colton her name. She flirts, and he laughs.

James doesn't want to lose Margaret to the river. She forgives him.

Neomi and Thomas have breakfast together. They hold hands. She's not going to let him go. And she doesn't want him to call her mam anymore. Good morning Noemi.

It's time to cross the river, enter Indian territory, and move into a new unknown.

Sharing is Caring

Help spread the word. You're awesome for doing it!