TV Review: Outsiders S1 E02, “Doomsayer”

By Laury Scarbro

The second episode of Outsiders, “Doomsayer,” continues to lay the groundwork for what we know will escalate into the violence and bloodshed we’ve come to expect from those living on the fringe butting heads with law enforcement agencies. Art imitates life after all. This episode has several points of interest, including our first look at the Circle of Elders, a “pitfight,” the beginnings of a love triangle, racism masquerading as innocence, corporate scheming, evidence tampering, and what appeared to be an oath of revenge.

Asa has decided to stay and fight for his right to stay on Shay Mountain, but Big Foster won’t have it. He continues to play the blame game, and I think if he stubbed his toe, he’d find a way to blame Asa. Little Foster goes over his father’s head and calls a meeting of the Elders to decide Asa’s fate. It’s here that we get a healthy exposure to the Old Tongue, borne from the clan’s original members, it’s a meshing of Welsh, Scots, and Gaelic. The council decides it’s a matter between kinsmen, and Gwin suggests it be settled in the old way, by pitfight.

The pitfight is arguably the most interesting part of the entire episode, involving ATVs, helmets, and sticks–It’s jousting on ATVs! Little Foster argues that it’s his right to face Asa, despite Big Foster’s attempts to replace him with another clansman. Ultimately Little Foster wins the argument, but not without his father threatening to disown him if he loses. The pitfight also brings Krake to the spotlight; he’s the moonshine brewmaster and voice of those who don’t support Big Foster as bren’in. There’s a belief that Big Foster has allowed his hunger for power to cloud his judgment, and there are others who are only going along with him being leader because Lady Rae remains in a coma. I won’t divulge the details of the pitfight, but in the end the two men get into a physical altercation, requiring other family members to intervene and pull them apart.

Sweet yet socially ignorant Hasil goes into town to see Sally Ann and manages to momentarily offend her with racial slurs. It’s really one of those “Bless your heart / you are so dumb” moments, highlighting the culture gap between the two. She knows she should avoid him, but her curiosity about him won’t let her just write him off. Are we ready to start using an amalgamation of their names for shipping purposes? Will it be Sasil? I’m good with that.

The love triangle–of sorts–between Asa, Gwin, and Little Foster continues. Asa still has feelings for Gwin, and vice versa, but she can’t overlook the fact that he left. Little Foster has been there for her in the interim, and he’s a good man. Even Asa sees that. But there is a reason why she hasn’t agreed to marry Little Foster that has not yet been revealed.

The funeral for Tyler’s father sets the stage for the introduction of Haylie Grimes, the conniving schemer set to take his place within the company. She has no tact when it comes to observing the social niceties and allowing time to grieve, immediately putting forth the suggestion that the company remain on schedule with their plans to take over the mountain. She meets with the sheriff, putting the notion in his head that the moonshine Tyler drank was laced with something; he swears he saw the Devil instead of his father when the murder took place. The sheriff orders Deputy Wade to find the moonshine, but when he does he takes the jug into the woods and destroys it, but not before taking a deep sniff of it as if he misses the scent.

In the final scenes, a drunken Big Foster crawls over the grave of his son Elon, mumbling in the Old Tongue after he pours moonshine in the dirt. He then coats his fingers in the resulting mud and smears it on his face. Did he just swear an oath of revenge? Time will tell.

I’m still waiting for details to unravel a bit more, in hopes they will create reasons for me to form attachments to the various characters. Hasil’s heart is in the right place, but his methods are questionable at best in his attempts to win Sally Ann’s heart. I have an affection for Little Foster, being torn between what he knows is the right way to do things and loyalty to his father–maybe I’m a little biased because it isn’t much different from what the actor faced in his role on Sons of Anarchy–and he’s done the honorable thing by taking care of Gwin all these years. Deputy Wade remains the character of most interest, due to lack of details on his background and his unwillingness to go after the Farrells. I have suspicions about what his story is, and I have no doubt that those details will be revealed soon.