Hell on Wheels has specialized in various moments of insanity for awhile now, but my favorite is easily from Season Three’s finale. In it, Elam tries to find Cullen and bring him back to the railroad camp. But on the way to find his friend, Elam is attacked by a bear. So Elam fights the bear. With his bare hands. And it was glorious. But even more insane than this weird twist that came out of absolutely nowhere, is that Elam actually won. We ended last season with Elam taking what could have been his last breaths next to a dead bear, victorious in his final moments of life.
Well, Elam is still alive, as we come to find out in “Bear Man.” Given that Common had been taken out of the main credits, I had just agreed with everyone in Cheyenne who assumed that Elam had died. Instead, “Bear Man” gives us a look at what happened to Elam since the crazy bear attack, when he was taken in and nursed back to health by a Comanche village.
The Comanche believe that if you kill a bear, you take on the magic and strength of the bear that you murdered. According to the Comanche, Elam is now—in theory—invincible. If you want to let power go to a person’s head, tell him he can’t be defeated, which is what they do to Elam.
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