Amy's Good Deed

Jeanette Nolan makes her second appearance on the series and again she brings out her best as she really makes this episode come to life. Ms Nolan plays an older mournful woman named Amy Slater that has come to Dodge for one purpose, that is to be killed by Marshal Dillon.

It appears that years ago Matt had killed someone in the Dakota Territories that obviously was close to Amy. Matt remembers being in the territories but cannot remember ever seeing Amy or have any clue to why she wants him to kill her.

During the story the reason become more clear but it take a rather rueful twist when Matt learns the real story of the so-called incident. Perhaps not the most exciting episode in the collection but one that gives you a nice feeling for watching. Good show.

I really loved the half hour format. The writers were able to develop a story and characters within the 25 minutes or so. The ending of this episode had a touch of Hitchcock which I loved.

Old woman in black (Nolan) confronts the Marshal, asserting that despite himself, he will kill her. Matt thinks she's crazy until she fires at his feet with a rifle and after that, with an old pistol. So what's Matt going to do, and why is she provoking him into shooting back.

It's an interesting episode, but more contrived than usual. Nolan is a very strong presence and well cast. However, I'm still wondering what Chester was pounding into the wall like a 5-minute jackhammer. It's a humorously annoying bit of business. The ending is unexpected and affirmatively satisfying. I just wish the script had left off Matt explaining things to Chester (the audience). A more memorable epilogue would have let the audience figure out Matt's motivation. All in all, it's an average episode that has its moments.