Conviction by Contradiction: When Andrea Strasser, a woman who is along with Marshal Dowd and Adam as they are traveling to California to bring murder suspect David Walker to justice, unshackles Walker from his bed, he takes the chains planning to brutally beat up Marshal Dowd for all the times he got whipped and punched by him. He then accidentally lets slip to Andrea that he murdered Dowd's wife. Adam walks in on the confession and realizes why Dowd was treating him so brutally.
Heel Realization and My God, What Have I Done?: When Marshal Dowd sees Adam beating up his prisoner (and Adam's now-ex friend) David Walker, he comes out and stops him from continuing the punishment, threatening to shoot him if he continues. Dowd then admits: "For almost a year now I've lived for nothing else. But you just made me realize what I was turning into."
Hero Antagonist: As the episode progresses, it becomes clearer the brutal, ill-tempered Marshal Dowd isn't naturally this way, but it isn't until the final scene when it becomes fully clear to viewers: He was a good lawman, gruff and perhaps a little too focused on his job but still one working for justice. Then, when the man he wants in custody (David Walker) kills his wife during a shootout, he becomes an embittered, brutal thug, determined to kill Walker before he can be brought before a jury in San Francisco. Adam and Hoss realize this only after Walker shows his true colors.
Police Brutality: Marshal Dowd beats up Walker every chance he gets. Even if he was justified, this would be frowned upon by every jurisdiction these days.
Revenge: Marshal Dowd is hell-bent on bringing David Walker to Los Angeles, preferbably dead, for the murder of his wife.
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: David Walker ... unknown to Adam until the final scene. Adam is so convinced that Walker is innocent of murder and rather is a victim of unjust brutality that he doesn't see that he is a cold-blooded criminal (and responsible for at least two murders) until the end of the episode, when he overhears Walker boasting about how he killed "the marshal's wife."
