West and Gordon are sent to find the cause of souring relations with tribes in Cheyenne territory. General Titus Ord Baldwin, commander of the local fort, doesn't like Indians and tells West so. An attack by tribesmen occurs soon afterward, but the agents' investigation leads them to suspect that the raid was staged by Baldwin and his soldiers. Then President Grant arrives unexpectedly - it seems Baldwin is contemplating a run for president on a platform of wide-spread slaughter of Indians. The agents are tasked with stopping Baldwin's plans and convincing Chief Strong Bear to keep the peace.
Disguises used by Artie: Lieutenant Jonathan Greeley , Cavalry Officer and "son" of Horace Greely
(13:30); Drunk Prisoner(33:50); Strong Bear; Indian Chef(43:45)
Tropes present in this episode:
- The Ace: Baldwin was this when he and Grant were classmates at West Point.
- Briar Patching: How Artie escapes from a stockade: he changes his disguise and pretends to be a vagrant who snuck in to steal food. A guard ends up physically dragging him out.
- Cute and Psycho: Aimee is a pretty, seemingly naive "slip of a girl" who turns out to be a murderous sociopath.
- False Flag Operation: Rogue Army troops pretending to be Sioux warriors to spark another round of Indian Wars.
- Frame-Up: West is framed by both Aimee (for Attempted Rape) and Oconee (for killing Strong Bear).
- General Ripper: General Baldwin really, really hates Native Americans. He essentially intends to pave his way to the presidency with their dead bodies.
- Get into Jail Free: Jim gets thrown in jail. Artie needs to get in, talk to him and help him escape without making anyone else suspicious. The solution? Pretend to be drunk and start picking fights until you're arrested and thrown into the next cell.
- Half-Breed Discrimination: Oconee, General Baldwin's liason to the Sioux, is a "half-breed". This is presumably why the general (just barely) trusts him enough to deal with him, but between Baldwin's bigotry and both men wanting war, their strained relationship is clearly Teeth-Clenched Teamwork.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Subverted by Aimee Baldwin. She appears to play the trope straight - young, beautiful, innocent daughter of a madman - but turns out, in the end, to be the madman. Er, woman.
- The Man Behind the Man: Aimee Baldwin, who wants to see her father in office and manipulates him to get him there.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: All of the villains like to spend their time kicking around the tribespeople (except Oconee, who's one of them).
- Southern Belle: Aimee's about as straight an example as possible.
- Unwitting Pawn: General Baldwin. His daughter, Aimee, is engineering all the trouble in order to help get him into office, and he doesn't realize it.
