History YMMV / Deadwood

* ToughActToFollow: The series achieved a lot of cultural saturation in spite of not being a ratings powerhouse. Neither of David Milch's follow-up series, ''John from Cincinnati'' and ''Luck'', made it to a second season.

** Doc Cochran helps Al [[spoiler: pass several kidney stones by inserting a large metal spike into his urethra -- while he's awake. This procedure causes so much pain that Dan has to keep administering smelling salts to prevent Al from passing out.]]

** Reverend Smith. No one takes him seriously from the start, but at least he has God - then it's suggested that [[spoiler: his intense feeling of being loved by God is a symptom of the brain tumour that's causing his fits. Then his body starts falling apart and he starts to hallucinate]].

** Joanie. First Cy makes her shoot [[spoiler: a young girl]] on the face, then her attempt to start her own business far from him is ruined by a SerialKiller.

** [[RuthlessForeignGangsters Mr. Lee]] is a Chinese [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Tong]] boss from San Francisco, allied with George Hearst to profit by spreading opium through Deadwood. [[BadBoss Lee]]'s main vocation is prostitution, with Chinese women [[HumanTraffickers trafficked]] into Deadwood to serve as prostitutes in such horrific, painful conditions that even Doc Cochran is left in open-mouthed horror. Lee intends on seizing control of all the Chinese quarter, with the girls forced to work as {{sex slave}}s until they die of the terrible treatment.

* IdiotPlot: Al Swearengen is one of the most ruthless, most pragmatic, dog-shootingest of the bunch and also the only one capable of bringing all the movers and shakers of the town together for a common cause. Then in the third season George Hearst shows up and everyone's badass, proactive traits are buried in an egregious application of TheWorfEffect. Their big plan for dealing with this existential threat to their way of life? To write a StronglyWordedLetter to the editor of the local newspaper and then send someone to a neighboring town to see about maybe hiring some guns, but then not do it in time to accomplish anything.

** Reverend Smith. No one takes him seriously from the start, but at least he has God - then it's suggested that [[spoiler: his intense feeling of being loved by God is a symptom of the brain tumour that's causing his fits. Then his body starts falling apart and he starts to hallucinate.]]
** Alma Garret for [[spoiler:her Cartwright Curse.]]

* OneSceneWonder: Creator/PeterCoyote rolled into ''Deadwood'', was a badass, told SmugSnake Cy Tolliver that he'd have him hanged if he could, gave Bullock the final push needed for him to become Sheriff, and rolled out leaving a trail of Badassery in his wake. In one episode. Plus he gives a hell of a (problematic)speech and, when Merrick asks him to listen to his notes on that speech, utters what most of Deadwood must have thought at one time or another: "Oh God!"

* CatharsisFactor: TheMovie serves as this for fans, with many characters getting a satisfactory ending. [[spoiler:Sol and Trixie get married in the Gem surrounded by all their friends and Al gets to die gracefully with Trixie and Jewel by his side while shooting off a final retort at God. Perhaps best of all, the impossibly smug Hearst gets long-awaited karmic retribution for all his vile deeds with seemingly the town itself coming to life to beat him down: his arrogance allows him to be exposed by Bullock, humiliated by Merrick, called out by Jane and beaten to within an inch of his life by an angry mob who utter reject his way of the future talk; the fear in his eyes as the mob gathers is something to behold in someone so smug, and then he's tossed in jail by the ear just as Bullock did many years ago. As an extra cherry on top, a member of the mob is a cameo by Creator/GarrettDillahunt, allowing Wolcott to posthumously take revenge for being used to death by Hearst.]]

* OneSceneWonder: Creator/PeterCoyote rolled into ''Deadwood'', was a badass, told SmugSnake Cy Tolliver that he'd have him hanged if he could, gave Bullock the final push needed for him to become Sheriff, and rolled out leaving a trail of Badassery in his wake. In one episode.
** Plus he gives a hell of a (problematic)speech and, when Merrick asks him to listen to his notes on that speech, utters what most of Deadwood must have thought at one time or another: "Oh God!"

* {{Squick}}: The Gleet. "Mother of God" indeed. Also, Doc Cochrane pushing a needle through a head wound in the first episode. [[spoiler:Also, the EyeScream moment when Dan seals Captain Turner's fate.]]

** The payoff for the troupe was obviously intended to be in Season 4, but the show got canceled. One of the chances you take with long-term set ups.

** George [[Characters/DeadwoodHearstCompany Hearst]] is [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade presented as]] as CorruptCorporateExecutive who slaughtered the Cornish workers in his employ for unionizing; cut off Al Swearnegen's finger as a show of power; and attempted to have Captain Turner kill Dan Dority in a public street fight that is long and drawn out, both to emotionally torture Al and demonstrate that [[IOwnThisTown Hearst holds all the power in town]]. Hearst also hires an army of [[PinkertonDetective Pinkertons]] to terrorize the town, and sends Odell Marchbanks on a dangerous quest to find gold which ends up getting him killed. Hearst has the head Pinkerton Barrett savagely beat Merrick in response to posting a notice about the poor working conditions of Hearst's employ. Hearst then orders the death of heroic prospector Whitney Ellsworth to force Ellsworth's wife to sell the land Hearst wants to him. To demonstrate his power, Hearst also forces Al to murder his favorite prostitute for trying to assassinate Hearst. It's implied he may know Al killed a lookalike girl, but simply doesn't care, more than happy he broke Al completely.

* CompleteMonster: Season 3's BigBad, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive George Hearst]], slaughtered the Cornish workers in his employ for unionizing, cut off Al Swearnegen's finger as a show of power, and attempted to have Captain Turner kill Dan Dority in a public street fight that is long and drawn out, both to emotionally torture Al and demonstrate that Hearst holds all the power in town. He also hires an army of Pinkertons to terrorize the town, sending Odell Marchbanks on a dangerous quest to find gold which ends up getting him killed. He has the head Pinkerton Barret savagely beat Merrick in response to posting a notice about the poor working conditions of Hearst's employ. Hearst then orders the death of heroic prospector Ellsworth to force Ellsworth's wife to sell the land Hearst wants to him. To demonstrate his power, he also forces Al to murder his favorite prostitute for trying to assassinate Hearst. It's implied he may know Al killed a lookalike girl, but simply doesn't care, more than happy he broke Al completely.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Until Hearst shows up as the BigBad, the [[DullSurprise rather wooden]] goodie sheriff Bullock doesn't hold a candle to the criminally magnificent Swearengean. Not a literal rooting as his early deeds are despicable enough, nevertheless Creator/IanMcShane's role is widely considered the most memorable character of the show.
* {{Squick}}: The Gleet. "Mother of God" indeed. Also Doc Cochrane pushing a needle through a head wound in the first episode.

* WhatAnIdiot: Flora and Miles seem to be building a cunning plan to rip off the Gem and the Bella Union. Then Flora just makes a flimsy pretext to grab a fistful of Joanie's jewels and make a run for it. She fools no one and the plan is a spectacular failure.

* AnticlimaxBoss: In season 2, [[spoiler:Mr. Lee and his brutal tong organization get wiped out in one night by Mr. Wu with Al's men, with Lee himself getting his throat cut while nodding off on opium without even getting a chance to fight]].

* AnticlimaxGang: In season 2, [[spoiler:Mr. Lee and his brutal tong organization get wiped out in one night by Mr. Wu with Al's men, with Lee himself getting his throat cut while nodding off on opium without even getting a chance to fight]].

* {{Squick}}: The Gleet. "Mother of God" indeed. Also Doc Cochrane pushing a needle through a headwound in the first episode.

*** Like mentioned, the conclusion of the aforementioned fight is terribly unpleasant. After gaining the upper hand, Turner pins down Dority and is about to beat him to death but suddenly, as a moment of desperation, Dority ''[[EyeScream tears out Turner's left eye which ends up dangling from his socket]]''. The way he shrieks in agony and horror is what drives this scene even further. Needless to say Turner ''squeals like a pig''. Dority then finishes him off by beating him to death with a log which comes as an outright MercyKill.

** ''Series/SantaClaritaDiet'' provides the knockdown, drag-out brawl between Timothy Olyphant and Gerald [=McRaney=] that we were denied in this show.

** As unlikely as it seemed at the time, this would actually be one of the [[Series/BreakingBad healthier]] [[Series/{{Gracepoint}} marriages]] in Anna Gunn's career.

** Raylan is quite concerned with getting his hat back after his brawl with Al, much like [[Series/{{Justified}} a certain later Timothy Olyphant character]] would be.

* HilariousInHindsight: ''Series/SantaClaritaDiet'' provides the knockdown, drag-out brawl between Timothy Olyphant and Gerald [=McRaney=] that we were denied in this show.

* CompleteMonster: The BigBad for Season 2 and TheMovie is [[CorruptCorporateExecutive George Hearst of the Comstock]], a misanthropic titan motivated only by the search for power and treats other human beings as disposable pets at best and pawns to be sadistically tortured into compliance at worst. He slaughters Cornish workers in his employ for unionizing, cuts off Al Swearnegen's finger as a show of power and attempts to have Captain Turner kill Dan Dority in a public street fight that is long and drawn out, both to emotionally torture Al and demonstrate that Hearst holds all the power in town. He also hires an army of Pinkertons to terrorize the town to tighten his grip and ensure elections go his way, sends the son of his supposedly beloved "Aunt" Lou Marchbanks on a dangerous quest for gold which results in the young man's death and has his head Pinkerton Barret savagely beat Merrick in response to posting a notice about the poor working conditions of Hearst's employ. He also spends the entire season doing everything he can to force Alma to sell the gold claim he covets so much, reacting furiously to her reasonable negotiations with threats of rape, then has her shot at in the thoroughfare and ultimately orders the death of her husband, the most good-natured man still living in town. When Trixie tries to kill him, he orders Al to murder her, which results in Al killing a complete innocent to fool him. When TheMovie comes around, he's become even ''worse'', swaggering back into the town with more power than ever. He hires two assassins to murder Charlie Utter and then lynch the only witness, and when those assassins fails, he has ''them'' killed to prevent them from talking. On the more petty side of his actions, he bullies the likes of Cy Tolliver and EB Farnum with sadistic relish. All in all, Heart is a merciless animal who cares only about what he can take and in doing so earns the hatred of everyone who knows him.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The opening theme song has a suitable Western feel that alternates in mood throughout. Each episode also ends with a unique musical selection, which ranges from hidden gems to big stars like Creator/BobDylan and Creator/BruceSpringsteen.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: The opening theme song certainly is epic.

* CompleteMonster: Season 3's BigBad, [[CorruptCorporateExecutive George Hearst]], slaughtered the Cornish workers in his employ for unionizing, cut off Al Swearnegen's finger as a show of power, and attempted to have Captain Turner kill Dan Dority in a public street fight that is long and drawn out, both to emotionally torture Al and demonstrate that Hearst holds all the power in town. He also hires an army of Pinkertons to terrorize the town, sending Odell Marchbanks on a dangerous quest to find gold which ends up getting him killed. He has the head Pinkerton Barret savagely beat Merrick in response to posting a notice about the poor working conditions of Hearst's employ. Hearst then orders the death of heroic prospector Ellsworth to force Ellsworth's wife to sell the land Hearst wants to him. To demonstrate his power, he also forces Al to murder his favorite prostitute for trying to assassinate Hearst. It's implied he may know Al killed a lookalike girl, but simply doesn't care, more than happy he broke Al completely.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Mr. Wu.

* OneSceneWonder: Creator/PeterCoyote rolled into ''Deadwood'', was a badass, told SmugSnake Cy Tolliver that he'd have him hanged if he could, and rolled out leaving a trail of Badassery in his wake. In one episode.

* CatharsisFactor: TheMovie serves as this for fans, with many characters getting a satisfactory ending. [[spoiler:Sol and Trixie get married in the Gem surrounded by all their friends and Al gets to die gracefully with Trixie and Jewel by his side while shooting off a final retort at God. Perhaps best of all, the impossibly smug Hearst gets long-awaited karmic retribution for all his vile deeds with seemingly the town itself coming to life to beat him down: his arrogance allows him to be exposed by Bullock, humiliated by Merrick, called out by Jane and beaten to within an inch of his life by an angry mob who utter reject his way of the future talk; the fear in his eyes as the mob gathers is something to behold in someone so smug, and then he's tossed in jail by the ear just as Bullock did many years ago.]]

* MagnificentBastard: Al Swearengen slowly earns this title over the course of the second season when it becomes clear he's trying to bring order to the horrible frontier town in order to protect his dominance. Sure he orders hits on little girls, kills innocent people and generally does horrible things to everyone, he's practically a populist man of the people compared to Hearst and his cronies.