TV Review: Outsiders S1 E08 “It’s Good To Be King”

By Laury Scarbro

As I suspected, the death of the bren’in last week set off a ripple of events, and things in town really begin to heat up. For a fan, it’s episodes like this that truly make a show worth watching despite the slow parts.

Big Foster, drunk in his newfound power, banishes Asa. After Lady Rae’s funeral and subsequent party—seriously, these people love a good party, no matter the reason—Big Foster is officially named bren’in, with the insinuation that he did not come into his power in a pure manner. In response to learning that Gwin is suspicious of the circumstances of Lady Rae’s death, he asks her to marry him in an attempt to keep her close and control her, and when she accepts, Little Foster’s response to it is hysterical laughter.

Wade’s grown paranoid, and still dealing poorly with his addictions. His paranoia takes the shape of overprotectiveness where it comes to Caleb, in light of Asa’s threat in the previous episode. He ends up going to Ledda’s to bring an unwilling Caleb home. Breece reassures Wade that Caleb will be fine there, and finally Wade sees the logic and lets the boy stay.

Breece organizes a liaison meeting with the townsfolk. He thinks it went well, but Haylie encourages him to take some of the guys out to a bar and have a few drinks and continue the conversation in a more one-on-one manner. The result is a bunch of pissed-off unemployed guys going out looking for trouble.

Hasil tries to find Sally Ann, but can’t get the answers he needs from the grocery store where she was working. He later finds out from Asa that Lady Rae has died, and the bren’in wants to see him. Instead of returning to the Farrells camp, he goes back into town. That’s when the guys from the bar, including Sally Ann’s brother, spot him walking alone and he ends up getting cornered with guns drawn on him.

Big Foster and Gwin discuss their feelings for one another, as well as his banishment of Asa. After he pretty much insinuates that he will have her, willingly or not, she pulls a knife on him and says he gets no special privileges until after they’re married. Later, they make their way back to his house but are stopped by the Elders, who question him about Asa. Big Foster pretty much tells them that he’s the bren’in now, and that he’ll do what he wants, the elders are no longer needed. Gwin tells him that he can’t demand trust, it must be earned. She goes on to explain that she sees promise in him, that he could be a fair and wise leader and he should trust her word. He responds by saying he will trust her, once she earns it.

Back at Big Foster’s house, a very drunk Little Foster is waiting. After some arguing, Gwin tries to calm Little Foster, who strikes her across the face. She leaves, and the two men argue continue their argument, revolving around the reasons for the wedding, and Lady Rae’s death. Little Foster threatens to go to the council about Big Foster, telling them that it was his father who killed her. It then gets turned around on Little Foster, with his father saying no one could account for his son’s whereabouts, and that he’ll tell the council it was all Little Foster’s idea.

Ledda goes to Wade’s, who pulls his gun on her when she bursts into his house and shocks him awake, and tells him Caleb’s gone missing. He freaks out and heads off in search of Caleb, positive that the Farrells have his son. He spots someone in the fog in the woods and stops his truck, going the rest of the way on foot. He finds Caleb’s hat, and later, an old mine entrance. He loses his footing and falls down into a shaft. Climbing back up, there’s a wolf waiting at the entrance. Scared, he slides down the shaft once more, causing a rockslide which appears to collapse the shaft and block his way out.

Asa makes a plan, with Krake’s help, to ensure that Big Foster gets no guns. He sets up a meeting with a friend of the electronics store owner to make a trade. The next morning, Asa returns to the Farrell’s camp and begins firing a shiny new rifle into the air before laying it in front of Big Foster, saying he can get him a hundred more.

I’m not entirely sure what Asa is thinking, saying he’s going to ensure Big Foster doesn’t get any more guns, and then hands him one. Unless his plan is to sabotage them somehow, I’m utterly clueless. Where the writers are going with this, I could not say, but it seems a little counterproductive to Asa’s character growth.

I think that Haylie’s encouraging a trip to the bar is going to result in precisely what she initially intended—an escalation of violence between the unemployed miners and the Farrells, starting with Hasil getting assaulted, or worse. Seriously, someone needs to put a stop to her already. I rather hope that it’s Breece who gets that honor, once he realizes he’s being played.

Little Foster has obviously gone off the deep end, and who can blame him? His father’s stealing his future bride, and his future bride’s going along with it, while his father’s threatening to put Lady Rae’s death on him. His gentle side seems almost gone in this episode, and hitting Gwin? I’m appalled. I almost expected Big Foster’s rapey insinuations toward Gwin; he’s a lecherous piece of trash who gets a thrill from exerting dominance over others, and I’m forced to remind myself that it’s just an actor playing a role, and it should have no bearing on the other roles he’s played. But damn, it’s hard.