Hootie Kyle is a badly struggling farmer faced with the dilemma of knowing he cannot afford to support his family while trying to maintain his farm and some measure of dignity. He desperately needs water for his farm, but the well he has been digging has not yielded water. Mr. Purvis at the store in Dodge City cuts off Hootie's credit pending payment of the $100 he already owes.
Desperate men sometimes do foolish, desperate things, and this episode is essentially a tale of someone--namely Hootie Kyle--desperately, stubbornly, often foolishly refusing to face reality with potentially tragic results.
The viewer knows all the details as the story unfolds, but the characters involved do not. This leads to even more poor decisions on Hootie's part.
I enjoy the way this episode slowly builds. The viewer can feel Hootie Kyle's frustration as he continues to make one wrong decision after another. The conclusion seems inevitable from the beginning, but it is easy to continue to root for Hootie's fortunes to reverse.
Carroll O'Connor is great in this episode in the Hootie Kyle role. The rest of the supporting cast is strong, too. This isn't the best episode in the series by far, but it is very well done.
Desperate men sometimes do foolish, desperate things, and this episode is essentially a tale of someone--namely Hootie Kyle--desperately, stubbornly, often foolishly refusing to face reality with potentially tragic results.
The viewer knows all the details as the story unfolds, but the characters involved do not. This leads to even more poor decisions on Hootie's part.
I enjoy the way this episode slowly builds. The viewer can feel Hootie Kyle's frustration as he continues to make one wrong decision after another. The conclusion seems inevitable from the beginning, but it is easy to continue to root for Hootie's fortunes to reverse.
Carroll O'Connor is great in this episode in the Hootie Kyle role. The rest of the supporting cast is strong, too. This isn't the best episode in the series by far, but it is very well done.