‘That Dirty Black Bag’ Recap – ‘Chapter Three: Alliances’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘That Dirty Black Bag’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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We are taught from a very early age, that making the most of a tough situation, through busy work or mindless but fulfilling acts… is critical to maintaining our mental health and keeping us happy and there is a lot of merit to that line of thinking. Because sometimes… when the going gets tough and there is no escape from our situation in sight, keeping our minds occupied through a hobby or any kind of mental exercise, prevents us from worrying too much about the problem at hand and gives us the levity we need to cope and move forward. Which is why we will do what we must to escape our problems for a little while when life overwhelms us. But that process does beg a terrifying question. In that, what happens then… if we are in a tough situation for too long… and our minds run out of things to focus on outside of our problem?
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Because that could lead to some potential trouble… the kind that quite frankly was put on full display in the next episode of That Dirty Black Bag on AMC+. For when we swing by Greenvale in ‘Chapter Three: Alliances’ just about everyone in the town… is in a sour place and the lack of anything to do outside of ponder upon their current situation… brings about all kinds of trouble. For Nathan is utterly fixated on Symone and since he has no standing orders or anything to do outside of pine over her… he takes that to the next level, to the point where things get uncomfortable between the two of them. In fact, he continues to press and press to have her hand in marriage and well… when he doesn’t get the answer, he was hoping for… the exploration of where we go in when there are no more fantasies or busy work to keep us in check… gets underway in the most horrifying way imaginable.

Because Nathan straight up betrayed his badge and beat the living tar out of Symone because she would not cater to his whims and that too… engendered more trouble in this town. For Eve simply could not stand the fact that someone hurt one of her girls and she handled this matter in the only way one could in the old west, with revenge, and what’s wild is that Eve’s tough decision… wasn’t the culmination of this exploration either. Because in between indulging in revenge for rotten men that could not handle their tempers, she also found herself under duress mentally. For she was struggling to be without Steve and his unconditional love and that need and lack of anything positive to focus on here, drove her… to try and entice him to leave this all behind and start anew with just their love, and sadly… Steve once again rebuffed her because of the belief that he was guarding his gold for noble reasons.

But while all of that made for a fascinating exploration regarding what happens when idle minds and souls can no longer stay idle and have nothing to look forward to… we’d be remiss to not talk about the trouble brewing in this tale. For the money that Sheriff McCoy stole, wasn’t money he should have toyed with in the first place. Simply because… it belonged to a powerful criminal that set up the failed heist to enjoy its spoils and once he became aware of McCoy’s treachery in the matter, a plan was set into motion to make him pay. In fact, a terrifying bounty hunter/mercenary, one that is nameless and ruthless… and brilliant and terrifying was asked to travel to Greenvale to handle this matter, and he will undoubtedly cause hell for the sheriff… either in town or in the middle of nowhere. Since McCoy is still out in the desert with Red Bill, dragging that poor bounty hunter back to Greenvale.
 
However, while we wait to see what comes of that mess, we can in the meantime… bask in the wonder of a bleak and powerful tale. One that held nothing back in its examination of how lonesome and heartbreaking well, stagnant… this period of time in American history was and it deserves a round of applause for putting this kind of trouble on display and for reminding us to keep searching for more when we are in a situation akin to the characters here. So, we don’t snap and cause harm to our lives or the lives of others and well… now that this chapter in this harrowing and fascinating journey has come to its end, the time has come to impatiently wait for next week’s episode… and all the hell it should unleash. For the death of a law man won’t go over well in this town, and trouble is on the train and on its way, and ready to strike in the name of fortune and glory. Until next time.  

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