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->Played by: Common

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->Played by: Common
Music/{{Common}}



->Played by Dominique [=McElligott=]

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->Played by Dominique [=McElligott=]
Creator/DominiqueMcElligott



->Played by: Tom Noonan

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->Played by: Tom Noonan
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->Played by: Robin [=McLeavy=]
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->Played by: Duncan Ollerenshaw
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->Played by: Gerald Auger

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->Played by: Gerald Auger Creator/GeraldAuger



->Played by: Ben Esler & Phil Burke

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->Played by: Ben Esler Creator/BenEsler & Phil Burke
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->Played by: Dohn Norwood
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->Played by: Angela Zhou

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->Played by: Angela ZhouCreator/AngelaZhou



->Played by: Christopher Heyerdahl

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->Played by: Christopher Heyerdahl
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-> Played by: Ryan Robbins

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-> Played by: Ryan Robbins
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-> Played by: Leon Ingulsrud

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-> Played by: Leon Ingulsrud
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-->''Played by'': Jake Weber

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-->''Played by'': Jake Weber
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-> Played by: Jonathan Scarfe

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-> Played by: Jonathan Scarfe
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->Played by: James D. Hopkin

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->Played by: James D. Hopkin
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-> Played by: Grainger Hines

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-> Played by: Grainger Hines
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-> Played by: Damian O'Hare

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-> Played by: Damian O'Hare
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-> Played by: Victor Slezak

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-> Played by: Victor Slezak
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-> Played by: Jennifer Ferrin

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-> Played by: Jennifer Ferrin
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-> Played by: David Wilson Barnes

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-> Played by: David Wilson Barnes
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** Inverted in Season 3 when he emerges as [[spoiler: the Mormon bishop]]. He has the chance to sentence [[spoiler: Bohannon]] to hang, and doesn't. Of course, he only does it because he will have the complete power to break [[spoiler: Bohannon]] spiritually and emotionally, which he cherishes more.
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* LeanAndMean: Thin as a rack after his experiences [[HellholePrison In Andersonville]].

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* LeanAndMean: Thin as a rack after his experiences [[HellholePrison In Andersonville]].in Andersonville]]. He mentions he weighted ''84 pounds''[[note]]38 kg[[/note]] when he left the prison. (For reference, his actor, Christopher Heyerdahl, is 6'4"/193 cm.)
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Dewicking per TRS decision.


* BiTheWay: Seems willing to sleep with Louise in a moment of grief, but Louise refuses.



* BiTheWay: Confirmed as of season four.

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[[foldercontrol]]



->Played by: Anson Mount

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->Played by: Anson Mount
Creator/AnsonMount




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-> Played by: Ryan Robbins




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-> Played by: Leon Ingulsrud



-> Played by: Creator/VirginiaMadsen



-->''Played by'': Jake Weber.

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-->''Played by'': Jake Weber.Weber



* TheControlFreak: Rivals Durant in this fashion.

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* TheControlFreak: ControlFreak: Rivals Durant in this fashion.



-> Played by: Jonathan Scarfe




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-> Played by: Creator/ByronMann


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-> Played by: Grainger Hines


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-> Played by: Damian O'Hare


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-> Played by: Victor Slezak


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-> Played by: Jennifer Ferrin


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-> Played by: David Wilson Barnes
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[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hell_on_wheels_season_5_cullen_mount.png]]


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[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hell_on_wheels_season_5_thomas_meaney.png]]


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[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hell_on_wheels_season_5_eva_mcleavy.png]]


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[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hell_on_wheels_season_5_swede_heyerdahl.png]]
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->Played by: Colm Meaney

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->Played by: Colm Meaney
Creator/ColmMeaney
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%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries

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%% ZeroContextExample Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries

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-->''"It's 'Mr. Ferguson.'"''

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-->''"It's 'Mr. Ferguson.'"''
-->''"Tonight, I say who I am."''



-->''"Never thought I'd see the day where I'd be the boss of the boss."''

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-->''"Never thought I'd see the day where I'd be the boss of the boss.-->''"Freedom ain't easy."''




-> ''"I know'd something was squirrelly when you let this here n****r get the drop on you. I never figured you for no n****r lover!



->''"Without moral principles, these Mormons will inevitably turn to violence to solve their problems, just like the heathens."''

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->''"Without -> ''"Without moral principles, these Mormons will inevitably turn to violence to solve their problems, just like the heathens."''

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->''"I hope one day, Mr. Huntington, to read about my business in the same magazines I read about yours."''



* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: Strictly speaking, they didn't exist yet (at least not in their modern form), but Chang and his ilk seem to be a kind of precursor to them -- he primarily deals in smuggling people, opium, and guns from Guangdong to California.

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* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: Strictly speaking, they didn't exist yet (at least not in their modern form), LastNameBasis: His given name is never mentioned.
* SmallNameBigEgo: He is of great importance to the railroad,
but he lets it get to his head and begins to believe himself utterly irreplaceable. He also greatly overestimates how much people respect him and how important of a businessman he is, as pointed out by both Huntington (who calls him a "whore-minder" to his face) and the Sze Yup General [[spoiler:after Bohannon kills Chang, and business between the Sze Yup Company and Central Pacific continues unabated]].
-->'''General:'''
Chang and his ilk seem to be a kind of precursor to them -- he primarily deals in smuggling people, opium, and guns from Guangdong to California.pimp. Taiping rebel. No more.




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* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: Strictly speaking, they didn't exist yet (at least not in their modern form), but Chang and his ilk seem to be a kind of precursor to them -- he primarily deals in smuggling people, opium, and guns from Guangdong to California.
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->''"Without moral principles, these Mormons will inevitably turn to violence to solve their problems, just like the heathens."''
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!!Chang
* AffablyEvil: An unfailingly well-dressed, well-spoken, polite, and courteous ruthless mob boss who exploits his workers, runs a gang of thugs to "discipline" any who cross him, and fought for a brutal theocratic regime during the Taiping Rebellion.
* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: With his fine suits, fancy house and business, and collection of expensive cigars and spirits, it's hard not to envy him.
* FalselyReformedVillain: After Bohannon and Ah Tao outwit him and break the strike without Chang getting any benefit from it, he pretends to extend the olive branch to them, only to have Ah Tao brutally assassinated in public, with no chance of justice.
* ManOfWealthAndTaste: Never seen in anything less than a three-piece suit, fancier than anything anyone else (including Huntington or Durant) ever wears.
* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: Strictly speaking, they didn't exist yet (at least not in their modern form), but Chang and his ilk seem to be a kind of precursor to them -- he primarily deals in smuggling people, opium, and guns from Guangdong to California.
* TheSociopath: Rarely, if ever, shown to have genuine empathy for anyone else. He only begins to care about white workers abusing Chinese workers when the whites attack ''him'' personally, and he uses the opportunity of a strike to [[ItsAllAboutMe demand a stake in Central Pacific for himself]].
* SociopathicSoldier: Fought for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the notoriously brutal, repressive theocracy that was responsible for massacring thousands of Chinese civilians and displacing thousands more, which is the reason most of the Chinese immigrant laborers (including Fong and Ah Tao) are in the US in the first place. He's heavily implied to have willingly and gleefully taken part in the massacres.
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* ShaggyDogStory: What his arc seems to be [[until it becomes a ShootTheShaggyDog case.]]

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* ShaggyDogStory: What his arc seems to be [[until [[spoiler: until it becomes a ShootTheShaggyDog case.]]
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->''"I was always more comfortable around numbers than people. I could control numbers."''
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* AntiHero: Type IV. Shades of Type III and Type V depending on his mood. He's brutal, vengeange-obsessed and sometimes [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold an asshole]], but he is still fighting for the right cause.

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* AntiHero: Type IV. Shades of Type III and Type V depending on his mood. He's brutal, vengeange-obsessed vengeance-obsessed and sometimes [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold an asshole]], but he is still fighting for the right cause.



* TheAmericanDream: Two Irish immigrants trying to make it big in America. They both end up as Deconstructions of the concept.

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* TheAmericanDream: UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream: Two Irish immigrants trying to make it big in America. They both end up as Deconstructions of the concept.
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Added a trope.

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* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler: Is visibly horrified when he watches Bohannon cauterize his own leg injury in Season 5.]]

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* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: The Swede was once a kindly quartermaster who would willingly starve to ensure his comrades didn't go without. An extended stay in [[HellholePrison Andersonville]] changed all that.

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* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: The Swede was once a kindly quartermaster who would willingly starve to ensure his comrades didn't go without.without what little food they were given while imprisoned. An extended stay in [[HellholePrison Andersonville]] changed all that.



* EvilCounterpart / {{Foil}}: As the man himself notes, The Swede is, essentially, Bohannon's dark side personified: A ruthless murderer addicted to battle itself. He is a constant reminder of Bohannon's capacity for evil.

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* EvilCounterpart / {{Foil}}: As the man himself notes, The Swede is, essentially, Bohannon's dark side personified: A ruthless murderer addicted to battle and killing itself. He is a constant reminder of Bohannon's capacity for evil.



* {{Hypocrite}}: He compares Bohannon to Loki, the "god of chaos" yet his behavior, especially in the second season, is far more disruptive than Bohannon's bordering ForTheEvulz.

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* {{Hypocrite}}: He compares Bohannon to Loki, the "god of chaos" yet his behavior, especially in the second season, is far more disruptive than Bohannon's Bohannon's, bordering on ForTheEvulz.


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* NotSoDifferent: He often describes how similar he and Bohannon are in terms of their murderous tendencies and their propensity for spreading death wherever they go. Whenever Bohannon tries to condemn him, Gundersen often describes how Bohannon is little better is in acts.
--> '''Thor Gundersen''': If your misguided sense of justice requires that I hang for my crimes? Surely you can understand that you must hang there beside me for yours. The bodies you have piled up do not disappear when you bury them away out of sight. You bring death everywhere.

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-->''"Guess I ain't too used to the sight of Union Blue ridin' up on me."''

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-->''"Guess I ain't too used to -->''"This railroad's gettin' built, gentlemen. And we're just the sight of Union Blue ridin' up on me.bastards to do it."''


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-->''"Is it a villain you want? I'll play the part. After all, what is a drama without a villain? And what is the building of this road if not a grand drama?"''


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-->''"It's 'Mr. Ferguson.'"''


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-->''"You don't know who I am, or what I'm capable of."''


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-->''"Mr. Bohannon, did the good Lord save you from hanging so you could drown yourself in whiskey?"''


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-->"''I'm not a bounty hunter. It's my duty to help."''


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-->''"He's paying me, just like he pays you. The only difference being, I don't gotta kill nobody."''


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-->''"I dunno if anyone's told you, lad, but we Irish are the niggers of the British Empire."''


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-->'''Sean:''' Mickey's got twelve toes.\\
'''Mickey:''' Sean's got eight.\\
'''Sean:''' Individually, we're freaks.\\
'''Mickey:''' Put together, we're whole.


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-->''"Never thought I'd see the day where I'd be the boss of the boss."''


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-->''"God can have a sense of humor too, Mr. Bohannan."''


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-->''"It is good to make this sacrifice where the sun can look down and see you. It is a great privilege to dance with the sun."''
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* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: The Swede was once a kindly quartermaster who would willingly starve to ensure his comrades didn't go without. An extended stay in [[HellholePrison Andersonville]] changed all that.
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-->''"Guess I ain't too used to the sight of Union Blue ridin' up on me."''
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** Also why he fought for the Confederacy, despite marrying a Northern woman and being convinced of the evils of slavery (he'd freed his slaves since ''before'' the war started).
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* TheAtoner: For his past misdeeds as a proud and brave Indian Warrior.

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* TheAtoner: For his past misdeeds as a proud of brutal mass murder and brave scalping during his time as an Indian Warrior.



* StarCrossedLovers: With Ruth. Fate always intervenes when they're about to get together.

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* StarCrossedLovers: With Ruth. Fate always intervenes when they're about to get together. He even proposed to her and admitted his love for Ruth, but she turned him down due to the stigma their relationship would create and ended any chance of being together.



* TheDeterminator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China.Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks during her and Cullen's journey force them to bury her father in the woods.]]

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* TheDeterminator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China. Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks during her and Cullen's journey force them to abandon that goal and bury her father in the woods.]]



* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: [[spoiler: We see her transformation into Fong happen during a flashback;her village is in the process of being burned down/attacked by Taiping rebels while she disguises herself.]]

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* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: [[spoiler: We see her transformation into Fong happen during a flashback;her flashback; her village is in the process of being burned down/attacked by Taiping rebels while she disguises herself.]]

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Definitively answered in the S 04 E 07 "Elam Ferguson." The original "maybe, maybe not" post no longer applies.


* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Maybe, maybe not.]]
** In the episode "Elam Ferguson" [[spoiler: he is gunned down by Bohannon after going mad, shortly after he was revealed to have survived his encounter with the bear at the end of season three.]]

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* CharacterDeath: [[spoiler: Maybe, maybe not.]]
**
In the episode "Elam Ferguson" [[spoiler: he is gunned down by Bohannon after going mad, shortly after he was revealed to have survived his encounter with the bear at the end of season three.]]

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Incorrect information. Toole states his name in Episode 5 while collecting his pay


* LastNameBasis: His first name was never mentioned. [[spoiler: until his funeral, that is.]]

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* LastNameBasis: His first name was never mentioned. [[spoiler: until his funeral, that is.]]is rarely mentioned.
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!!Campbell's Men
* AvengingtheVillain: [[spoiler: Assaulting Durant was Heckard’s way of getting revenge for Jessup’s death. Too bad for him he got the wrong guy…]]
* HangingJudge: Death by hanging is the only sentence that Judge Webber has doled out, whether or not it was the right call to make.
* KangarooCourt: If having one member of the group serve as the sole witness while the verdict being at least partially determined by the group leader’s will isn’t unfair, this troper doesn’t know what is. Their trials are even referred to as this by Louise Ellison.
* LastNameBasis: Almost always referred to by their family names, with the occasional job title thrown in. [[spoiler: Heckard’s given name, Dwight, is not revealed until ‘Under Color of Law’ when Sydney arrests Durant for his murder.]]
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: “Dumb mick” is not an appropriate term for anyone who’s Irish, Jessup.
* SuddenlySexuality: [[spoiler: With no clear implications beforehand, Heckard admits to having been in love with another man. It’s unknown, however, if he would qualify as gay or bisexual (given his apparent pass at Naomi in 'Chicken Hill').]]
* TheSociopath: An apt description for both Jessup and Heckard, the latter especially.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Marshal Jessup and Heckard are rarely seen apart. As partners in law enforcement, it could be because of this profession; however, the last scene of ‘Life’s a Mystery’ gives some [[StraightGay additional context]].
* USMarshal: Two of them.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Treasurer Atwood gets very, ''very'' little screen-time between his introduction and death.
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!! Martin Delaney
* BFG: Wields a mounted [[GatlingGood Gatling Gun]] at one point – and does quite a good job with it, I might add.
* ButtMonkey: Sure, he held the prestigious post of Chief Engineer for the Union Pacific, but it certainly wasn’t because of his engineering degree – the people who appointed him to the job considered him so dim-witted that he would be easy to manipulate. The two worst blows came in season five: [[spoiler: his wife filed for divorce, and then he was killed as the improvised part of Durant’s latest money-making scheme. The plot went awry anyway, making his death completely pointless.]]
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* Determinator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China. Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks during her and Cullen's journey force them to bury her father in the woods.]]

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* Determinator: TheDeterminator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China. China.Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks during her and Cullen's journey force them to bury her father in the woods.]]
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* Determinator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China. Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks during her and Cullen's journey force them to bury her father in the woods.]]

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* Determinator: *Determinator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China. Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks during her and Cullen's journey force them to bury her father in the woods.]]
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* Determinator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China. Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks force her to bury her father in the woods.]]

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* Determinator: *Determinator: [[spoiler:A good portion of episode 5x06 deals with Mei trying to return her father's body to China. Eventually becomes KnowWhenToFoldEm after setbacks during her and Cullen's journey force her them to bury her father in the woods.]]

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