Johnny Stevens, the Postman's first recruit, drowns while trying to recover a mailbag that falls into the river. This comes right after he survives several chapters of being a prisoner or a fugitive of the Holnists. And then Gordon has to tell Johnny's grandfather about his fate.
Gordon's attempt to recruit the Umpqua Valley faction is a miserable failure at first. Most of the letters he tries to deliver are addressed to people who have died in recent years, and therefore, his visit stirs up little but sadness.
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Bethlehem decides to level the town of Benning after the townspeople defy him, due to feeling emboldened by The Postman's presence. The Postman tries to plead for mercy on their behalf, but Bethlehem rejects this and then coldly twists the metaphorical knife in further.
Bethlehem: These people made it through the bugs and the riots and the three-year winter. But they're not going to survive you.
The retaliatory executions in Pineview. The Postman can only watch helplessly as Sheriff Briscoe is lined up to be shot. To make things worse, one of the letter carriers accompanying him recognizes one of the other condemned hostages as his father.
When The Postman disbands the postal service, it's a sad moment on multiple levels. First, because of the crushing disappointment of his recruits. Second, because of how few of those recruits are left to hear his speech after the Holnists have spent the last several weeks targeting them.
