‘The English’ Recap: ‘The Wounded Wolf’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘The English’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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When one thinks of the Western, certain images and concepts come to mind. That of beautiful visuals that reflect the wonder of the Western United States at a time where law and order didn’t quite exist out there and speaking of that… we also ponder upon intense action and showdowns for the ages with enigmatic and vibrant villains. To properly reflect upon that lawlessness and the raw violence that earned the Frontier the nickname… the Wild West. But that’s really about as far as our thoughts on the Western go and rightfully so. Because it is the Spaghetti Western that popularized those concepts and made them staples of sorts, but there is so much more to the Western than eye popping images and bloodshed. 
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Because the best westerns out there, are the ones that also feature character development and detailed storytelling to go alongside those elements, for the genre is in fact, a true character study often. One that explores what drives our darkest instincts and need to indulge them, and that is why The English on Prime Video continues to impress. For it truly is a modern classic Western, one that does indeed make the characters and their stories the true focus of the series, as evidenced by the next episode in this saga. For ‘The Wounded Wolf’ is a story that delivered upon the hint that the last episode sent our way. In that, this was going to be the moment when we finally learned about the past and what has driven Eli and Cornelia to such dark places. 

As it turned out, all of their problems are tied to one man and one man alone. A rough and rogue ‘gentleman’ known as David Melmont, and not Thomas Trafford as has been implied. In fact, Trafford might be responsible for the acts happening in Hoxem, because of what Melmont inspired back in 1875. For during that fateful year, Trafford and Melmont were traveling through the Wyoming Territory in the hopes of laying down roots for future business plans. But alas, Melmont’s proclivities toward violence and disgusting prejudices toward Indigenous Americans, led to an ugly and dark day. Where he used that hatred and fury to inspire violence toward those very Americans, the very slaughter that haunts Eli to this day and emblazoned names upon the depths of this soul. 

But what made this backstory equally as poignant and powerful, is how it tied to Cornelia. Because she too, had dealings with Melmont. Simply because Trafford once asked for her hand in marriage and Melmont wanted to use that, and a grand lie for extortion. And when Cornelia exposed the truth his way, he made sure to make her pay for crossing him by harming her greatly. Which in turn, set in motion… well… everything. For this is what drove Cornelia to head state side and hunt this man and this is part of Eli’s pain and that makes this… a brilliant episode through and through. Because there’s just something poetic and supremely Western about one man shaping the fate of so many through their evil deeds and what’s wild… is that we still have more episodes to go.

The kind that will undoubtedly see Cornelia and Eli’s desires to bring Melmont down grow and showcase what kind of evil monster he’s transformed into now that he has some semblance of wealth and power in the west, and of course… we will explore what our flawed heroes will become when they do indeed take revenge upon this dark man. Because that is the only outcome we can expect now that we have a fine understanding of the deep-rooted pain that our heroes harbor and the evil that Melmont has sent their way, and that truly does compel us to continue the journey. To see what other tributes await the Western in this series and to see what kind of brutality will be on display when good and evil clash at last. Until next time.

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