Sweet and Sour

This episode is about manipulation for the benefit of one's ego and/or profit. It could be a man or a woman, but in this case it happens to be about a woman. Beware of manipulators. I've run into them my whole life and I've hated them my whole life. They are nothing but trouble. You can't just punch them and shoot them like you can on TV westerns, so they are much more difficult to deal with in real life, especially when they win the confidence of one of your family members.

Matt Dillon runs into a beautiful young woman and rescues her from a trouble maker. Then the woman turns up in Dodge needing a job. Matt wants Kitty to hire her at the saloon, but Kitty doesn't want to saying she thinks the girl is a manipulator and that Matt is being suckered by her pretty face. And of course Kitty is right and Matt is wrong. Dead wrong. But Matt persists and Kitty gives in and hires the girl, warning that somebody is going to get hurt because of her.

I'll stop right there, but anybody can probably guess what's going to happen. A pretty girl right in the middle of tough guys in a country awash in guns. Gee, what could possibly happen?

Anyway, this is a very good episode. And a good lesson for all of us. Beware of manipulators. They are everywhere.

This episode has one of my favorite lines from Matt in the whole series:

Ab Laster: "you're gonna wish you never met me..." Matt: "I'm wishing that already!"

I believe this is the first episode where it is stated that Kitty is "half-owner" of the Long Branch.

Rena is a real beauty, one of the best Gunsmoke has to offer. I have seen this many times in life- you are trying to figure out what women want from a man- very often, they just want attention.

Others have reviewed this episode very well so all I will talk about my experience as it relates to this episode. Having played guitar in every sort of Honky Tonk bar, I have seen it all when it comes to a beautiful woman causing a real stir. Some reviewers are saying this episode is way over the top. NOPE. Mix alcohol, testosterone, and a sexy woman and you have a real problem. I have never seen a death but have seen guns, knives, fists, and even a chain saw pulled out over a woman. All a woman had to do was look at a man, and her boyfriend or husband was ready to fight. The plot of this episode happens all over the world. Some bars I played in asked you at the door if you had a gun or knife before they let you you in. If you replied NO, they said well in that case we'll loan you one. LOL

Anyway this was an interesting episode to me and that Karen Sharpe really lived up to her name. What a looker ! If you are in the mood for a little something different, don't miss this one. This 30 minute episode goes by like it was only 5 minutes long.

A young beautiful woman named Rena Decker rides a stage into Dodge with Matt and Chester. Matt sees that the young woman is vulnerable and has already stopped a man that was getting fresh with her. So Matt take the young girl under his wing and tries to get her a job at the Long Branch.

But when Kitty tells Matt that something is not right with the woman, it makes the entire Marshal's office laugh. The girl is too nice and good looking to cause any trouble in Dodge. Kitty goes ahead and hires the woman and it only takes a few minutes before Rena makes a liar out of someone.

A different plot that centers around a young woman entering the rough town of Dodge. With some fine acting and creative writing, this show was interesting throughout. Good show.

You know what? I definitely think that screenwriter, John Meston really went way-way-way overboard (right to the extreme) in this episode of "Gunsmoke" when it came to illustrating Rena Decker's overall power to seriously manipulate men.

Like - Talk about, literally, overplaying things here with Rena (to the max). I ain't kidding.

I mean - We're dealing with a woman here who was totally getting the guys (who were good buddies with each other) so riled-up and randy over her that they were actually resorting to committing the most fatally drastic act imaginable (against each other) in order to be the one who Rena (being such a P.Y.T.) would eventually choose to be with.

Like - Hello!? - C'mon, now! Let's get real here, folks!

Yep. I'd certainly say that this episode of "Gunsmoke" was downright ridiculous, preposterous, and yes, totally demented (on all counts). Yep. It really, really was.