Underground - Firefly - Review: "Burning Down the Crop"

Another excellent episode. I was in as much shock as the characters when Cato made his move. These writers and actors have been delivering compelling performances and scripts since the show started and this episode kept the streak going.

Rosalie and Noah made a mad, unexpected dash away from the plantation last week. This week everyone dealt with the aftermath. Cato was seriously considering letting Bill die, but he was interrupted and forced to appear to be trying to save him. That privilege fell to Ernestine. Poor Ernestine was struggling to (in my opinion) come up with a believable lie after hearing Bill whisper Rosalie’s name. Unfortunately, Bill mustered the energy to say it loud enough for Tom to hear.

Everyone is certain that his or her chance of running is dead in the water now that Noah is gone and the plantation is on lockdown. Henry, however, has faith. When the papers Pearly Mae forged for them disappear, she guesses that Cato stole them. She pushes for them to run before he can use them against the other slaves. She’s willing to take her chances, even in the heightened atmosphere on the plantation, because it is so important that her daughter have a chance to be free.

The sense of desperation each of the characters felt in this week’s episode is what came through the strongest for me. Ernestine is desperate to protect her daughter. She lies to August about why she thinks Rosalie ran. She even goes to Cato and begs him to help her daughter get away. Those who were in on the original plan are desperate to either run or avoid being punished for being part of the plan. Pearly Mae and Moses have the most to lose on this score if those forged freedom papers are found. The Hawkes are desperate to survive their encounter with the two slaves they opened their home to. I even think Tom Macon was desperate. I think he was desperate to keep the men he was trying to get to fund his senate campaign from finding out that he’s had slaves escape.

Rosalie’s desperation spurred her run from the plantation. It’s easy to understand why. She put a bottle into Bill’s neck. Regardless of the fact that he was trying to rape her at the time, I’m thinking that is a sure fire death sentence for a slave. She was battling her fear for the bulk of the episode. She seemed ready to transfer her dependence from her mother to Noah. Noah, however, pointed out that she is a lot stronger than she thinks. After all, she saved herself from Bill. In addition to that, she saved them both from the dogs by laying a poisonous trap. She put poisonous flowers in a bird’s carcass for the dogs to eat. When the slave catchers discovered the dead dogs, they gave up and returned to the plantation. I believe Rosalie is going to prove more valuable to the escape effort that anyone initially expected.

The most surprising was Cato. I was expecting Cato to make a run for it on his own. It seemed obvious after he forced Noah to teach him the coded song during the previous episode. Instead, Cato gets an unexpected promotion. At this point, I figured that he felt he’d finally sealed his position on the plantation. When he announced to the field hands that he expects them to exceed the amount of cotton picked under Bill, I was certain of it.

Cato’s turn as traitorous overseer turned out to be a cover for a daring escape plan of his own. When he gathered the rest of the slaves in on Noah’s plan together before two of the other overseers, I was certain he was going to betray them in order to cement his new position with Macon. After telling, what turns out to be, his own tale about early escape attempts, he kills two other overseers, sets the crop on fire, and bellows for everyone to RUN. I was caught as off guard as the slaves. They don’t waste much time though. They run. Pearly Mae lets herself be caught to give her daughter a chance. The only flaw, for me, in the episode is that I couldn’t figure out what happened to Sam. Whatever it was didn’t happen on screen. I was left wondering what happened. What stopped Sam from getting across the bridge with the others?

The Hawkes first “cargo” includes a man, Josey, who has lost his mind. He believes John is the man who sold his wife 9 years ago. He seeks “justice” by torturing John and Elizabeth. The second slave, Wash, can’t condone what Josey is doing, but he won’t stop it. He leaves. John, who feels guilty about being complicit in the sale of slaves from a client’s estate, allows himself to be whipped. Marshall Kyle Risdin, who used to be engaged to Elizabeth, noticed Wash returning to help the Hawkes and comes to investigate. He shoots Wash just after he bashes Josey over the head.

This episode had me on the edge of my seat and once again left me anxious for the next episode. The enigma for me is August. He’s proving the most difficult character for me to grab on to. Is he a good guy, a bad guy, or a guy just doing a job? Given his relationship with the black man on his homestead (sorry, I keep missing his name and the IMDB credit doesn’t list a character name) I wonder if he actually believes in slavery. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this character. What do you think? Is August one of the bad guys? Does he occupy a grey area?

About the Author - Prpleight

Prpleight is a screenwriter and senior software engineer with solid geek cred. When not writing code, screenplays, or watching TV (sometimes she does all three at the same time), she uses her broadsword Bessie to battle evil. She's been a frequent contributor to the SpoilerTV discussion boards for several years now.

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