‘That Dirty Black Bag’ Recap – ‘Chapter Seven: The Plan’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘That Dirty Black Bag’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One thing that we can all agree upon, is that the AMC+ series, That Dirty Black Bag, is one bleak and devastating ride and rightfully so. For the show established from the get-go that it wanted to be a no holds barred look at the wild west, one that really explored how this wasn’t a heroic or beautiful time in American history, but a time wrought with violence and suffering and clearly… it has hammered that reality home in a harrowing and compelling manner. But while it has been incredible to bear witness to a volatile time period in the raw, this experiment in honest historical storytelling has left all of us wondering… if there will be any bright points to be found in this tale.
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Simply because, the wild west couldn’t have been all bad all of the time and we know for a fact that bad people were eventually brought to justice and well, believe it or not positivity is something the show took the time to provide us with during this week’s episode. For ‘Chapter Seven: The Plan’, offered up some heroic and noble moments, but not before bringing the town and some of its characters to their absolute lowest point. For when we return to this town in this tale, life is genuinely bad for certain. Because without a single law man to be found within the city limits, every unsavory character made the decision to descend upon it and enjoy the best parts of being a criminal.

Which meant, that someone had to step up and try to help the innocent in their hour of need and that person… reluctantly turned out to be Red Bill… simply because he wasn’t good with pure lawlessness. But even then, he was still hesitant to do any sustained good because he had greater goals in mind, and it wasn’t until children were dying in the streets did Red Bill decide to try and help this town by doing the unthinkable. In that, he opted to take his horse out to the desert, in a desperate attempt to bring McCoy home. All so that someone offered up law and order in a town free from it, and well… that’s when the story started to shift toward redemption and heroism. Despite the fact that Bill found a drunken and angry and downright dangerous McCoy at a local shop… where he managed to tie up the owners and plunder all the booze.

Because once he was able to get McCoy to relax and they were able to properly chat, they came to realize that they shared a common foe in Bronson and that perhaps if they worked together instead of against one another… then perhaps they could solve a great deal of one another’s problems. Since the end of Bronson would free McCoy of his sorted past and of course, Red Bill could finally have his revenge and well… that there set the stage for one epic finale. One where both men will be able to work together to bring down the infamous Bronson. Who is mere miles away from Greenvale, and it will be fascinating to see if Red Bill will complete his quest at last, or if more darkness awaits these reluctant heroes since Bronson is indeed traveling with a pack of lethal assassins.

If anything, that setup for a showdown, combined with the fact that Steve’s farm is finally growing crops and that Symone has come home to take charge of the business, because she really does believe Greenvale to be her town… made for the most uplifting episode of this series to date. Because people were rewarded in this tale for their faith and finally worked toward a common goal of good and well, while it was lovely to see positivity here… it likely is best we enjoy it while it lasts. Because there’s no way the arrival of Bronson will be handled in a peaceful or joyous manner. For revenge is a bloody business and Bronson is strong and that means an epic season finale awaits us, one that will undoubtedly be filled to the brim with ugly moments and incredible surprises. Until next time.

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