LRF NOW Original Series: Scalped - Season 1 Episode 8

 

Scalped
Genre: Crime/Western
Executive Producer: Joe Carnahan
Writers: Jimmy Ellis & Dwight Gallo
Based on the comic series

Episode 8: Two Scalps

Cast:
Martin Sensmeier .... Dashiell "Dash" Bad Horse (Regular)
Wes Studi .... Chief Lincoln Red Crow (Regular)
Tantoo Cardinal .... Gina Bad Horse (Regular)
Jeff Fahey .... Agent Earl Nitz (Regular)
Jessica Matten .... Carol Red Crow (Regular)
Eddie Spears .... Officer Franklin Falls Down (Recurring)
Kevin Gage .... Diesel (Recurring)
Kiowa Gordon .... Dino Poor Bear (Recurring)
Raoul Max Trujillo .... Catcher (Recurring)
Graham Greene .... Lawrence Belcourt (Guest)

Plot: One morning, Lawrence Belcourt (Graham Greene) goes through his daily prison routine. He gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and leaves his cell for breakfast. As he is in line for breakfast, he is shivved several times by the very black gang that used to be paid to protect him. Belcourt collapses to the floor. A pool of blood surrounds Belcourt as he slowly dies.

Meanwhile, Agent Earl Nitz (Jeff Fahey) recovers a package - the one stolen from Lincoln Red Crow's safe by Diesel - that is stashed in the parking lot of the casino. He takes it into his car and opens it, revealing two old, dried out scalps.

Gina Bad Horse (Tantoo Cardinal) returns to the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation, heading straight to the Crazy Horse Casino. She once again goes to confront Chief Lincoln Red Crow (Wes Studi). She tells him that she went to see Belcourt. Red Crow says that he knows and grabs Gina by the neck, asking why she did it. Gina tells Red Crow that she feels bad about how it all went down and that Belcourt doesn't deserve to spend his entire life behind bars. Gina gives Red Crow a kiss, referring to it as a goodbye kiss. Cather (Raoul Trujillo) watches this from across the casino floor.

Dashiel "Dash" Bad Horse (Martin Sensmeier) wakes up in a haze next to a naked Carol Red Crow (Jessica Matten). They are both recovering from a night of sex and meth abuse. Carol reminds Dash that they actually had their first sort-of sexual experience together. Dash is confused and hungover, admitting that he doesn't remember. She says that when they were in middle school, she saw him peeking into the girl's bathroom. She purposely left her stall open so that he could watch her urinate. Dash suddenly remembers and laughs about it. Dash then realizes that he has left Diesel (Kevin Gage) in the jail cell. Dash goes back to the station, deciding to release Diesel without notifying Chief Red Crow.

Diesel is picked up by Nitz, who offers to take Diesel to a safehouse just off of the reservation. Nitz calls Dash and tells him to meet him at the safehouse as well. Nitz explains to Dash that Diesel has secretly been working for the FBI as well to get close to Gina to learn more about her role in the murder over 30 years prior. Dash is angry that Diesel has been deceiving his mother and asks Nitz why he asked him to come to the safehouse. Nitz hands Dash a gun and orders him to kill "Diesel". Dash asks when things will end now that Nitz has the scalps of the agents. Nitz tells Dash that the mission will end when the killer of the FBI agents pays for their crime. Dash grabs the gun, shoots Diesel, and leaves the building.

After a long few days of slowly cleaning up dog blood and other messes from the casino's opening weekend, Dino Poor Bear (Kiowa Gordon) walks along the side of the road toward Granny's house. He takes a shortcut when he notices something in the grass. He walks up to the object, only to be horrified to find the murdered and scalped body of Gina Bad Horse.

As the sun sets, the crime scene surrounding Gina Bad Horse's body is filled with the flashing blue and red lights of police cars. Dash pulls up and walks toward the crime scene. Officer Franklin Falls Down (Eddie Spears) tries to hold Dash back, but once Dash realizes that the body is his mother's, he charges through the barrier. He breaks down crying next to his mother's body.

End Credits Song: "One" - Johnny Cash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXPSKDMIxs8

“I have to commend this season for having continued forward momentum, even if the finale felt a bit lackluster until its final few scenes. Instead, the real highlight of the season is its penultimate episode. 'Leavenworth' was a stellar showcase for the show’s older actors (Tantoo Cardinal, guest Graham Greene, and series MVP Wes Studi)” - Tim Givens, Lexington Ledger

"The plot of Scalped definitely loses its way at times to the point that when the two FBI agent scalps finally come back into the series, they have been long forgotten by viewers. While no episodes are completely bad, there is some definite padding in the middle episodes. Writers Ellis and Gallo use eight episodes when six could have easily sufficed." - Sam Morris, Oregonian

"There are a few great episodes in the first season of Scalped, but there are just as many episodes that felt dull and slow. The last couple episodes did manage to bring back some of the interest that had been lost in the middle of the season, but it might have been too little, too late." - Lois Reeves, Dodge City Daily Globe