"To Bloom For Thee" ... "let me count the ways ... ."
Hoss finds true love in Carol Attley, a lovely young New York native and newcomer to Virginia City who's there for a fresh start. The relationship goes well, and it's not long before Hoss is beaming with pride: He's engaged!
But unknown to him, Carol is a deeply troubled woman with a past darker than he could ever imagine. But when Ben finds out the truth and gets Carol to tell her story — she shot her abusive first husband in New York, after he nearly killed another man trying to defend her — can she tell Hoss without hurting him ... or will she resort to something that could hurt him even deeper?
And can he ever break through to a woman who seems to be distrustful and paranoid that someone is following her?
Tropes seen in this episode:
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Even with Ben's advice to Carol to tell him the truth about her background, she still cannot tell him exactly what happened on the night her husband died, instead telling him she played him for a fool. She even manages to get the marshal to play along, posing as her suitor and advising the "farm boy" to leave now for his own sake.
- Broken Tears: Although Hoss does all he can to hold it all in at episode's end as he's trying to make sense of Carol and her deception, it's very clear he's on the verge of these. (Ben and Joe excuse themselves to let Hoss grieve privately.)
- Cant Hold Her Liquor: In the hotel scene, as Hoss is ready to take Carol to the chapel for what he thinks will be their wedding, Carol is in the suite, drunker than a skunk and going on an incoherent ramble about herself and her love for Hoss and how she played him for a fool. Hoss thinks she's certifiably nuts, but never fully realizes that she could never find the courage to tell him the truth about her past. (Word has it that Ben — who becomes aware of Carol's true character — does.)
- Cartwright Curse: Although it doesn't end in a death, it is very clear by episode's end that Hoss will not be getting married to Carol, and it has something to do with some very dark secrets Carol is trying to hide from the groom.
- Dark Secret: Carol has many, many of them: A woman teetering on mental illness and alcoholism, she killed her abusive first husband in New York and is fleeing the murder charge.
- Domestic Abuse: Carol's first husband savagely abused her.
- Kill It with Fire: Literally, what Hoss does with his engagement ring he was to give Carol, when he throws it into the fireplace. The metaphor is quite clear: Sometimes, when love is built on lies, it's best to burn it, forget it (and grieve if need be) and move on.
- Was It All a Lie?: When he realizes that Carol is not who he thought he was — in an earlier scene, Ben had gotten his potential future daughter-in-law to tell him the truth about her being a killer — Hoss goes through a period of deep grieving at episode's end, throwing his engagement ring into the fireplace.
