Vengeance!: Part II

In the first part of this story, Bob Johnson sees his world shattered by the actions of a rancher named Parker because he and his two cohorts were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Johnson refuses to seek legal recourse for the injustices perpetrated and chooses to exact his own measure of vengeance with no regard for the consequences.

In a moment of foreshadowing, Johnson tells Angel, the woman he loves, that everything he touches dies, and then he proceeds to take actions that will make his prediction come true. The old adage of "live by the sword, die by the sword" comes to mind.

There is another important scene where Johnson tells Parker all of the events that have transpired to that point are the results of Parker's arrogance and foolhardy actions. In a bit of irony, Johnson's subsequent actions result in a similar outcome.

In the earlier John Meston/Norm MacDonnell days of Gunsmoke, tragic stories were commonplace, but the tragedy was often the product of forces outside the control of the people experiencing the tragic events. In this story, the seemingly inevitable outcome is purely the product of Bob Johnson's actions.

Although we briefly met the Lukens characters, as played by Royal Dano and Victor French, in Part 1, they play a bigger role here. Both men were amazing character actors with the ability to portray all manner of characters. Their relatively small contribution to this story is a significant part of the plot in Part 2. Their scenes are surprisingly brutal and difficult to watch.

Part 1 is the more pleasant, more upbeat part of this story, which makes it easier viewing. Part 2 is a sad spiral into hopelessness, and it is tougher to watch. There is no funny banter in the Long Branch Saloon. There are no humorous arguments between Doc Adams and Festus Haggen. It is just a rapid descent into a Hell of one's own making. In the final scene, Matt Dillon provides a nice summary of the story.

While this episode focuses on the actions taken by Bob Johnson with the other reviewers pontificating on the wrongness of his actions, they all neglect what set the whole thing into motion. The initial insult was the actions of Parker who declared them guilty of cattle rustling despite having been told the truth about the calf being lame. He and his men then set upon them. One died (tho it was because he hit his head when he fell) but what they did was totally uncalled for and completely unjustified. And with a puppet sheriff to give cover to their criminality. This is what set everything in motion.

The point of departure is between moral justice and legalism. The creation of law is the promulgation of the moral code that exists in the moral reciprocity between people as expressed in the Golden Rule to treat others as you would wish to be treated.

That Parker's own arrogance causes the immediate of death of one, the eventual death of another, and the ultimate deaths of Johnson, Parker, and many others is the actual crime here. Everyone talks about the decisions Johnson makes as he steps thru dealing with what has happened, and though I would have preferred him aligning to do what was truly just against a corrupt land baron (who might have got off anyway since that's how the legal system works far too often).

I agree with others who feel the episode should have wrapped in part 1 instead of playing out the inevitable tragedy in part 2. The two lovers dying in the end make me think of Romeo and Juliet.

There is no justice in this episode. Only lessening amounts of humanity that cause even more death at the depraved hands of the two men who are reminiscent of the Bobsy Twins in an earlier season. It's a shame too. There was a lot of potential here for the redemption of both Johnson and Angel in their budding relationship despite the tragedy that brought them together.

People went on about Johnson and the bad choices he made. But what of Parker and the effect his complete power drunk arrogant attitude and actions have on others?

Bob Johnson is a trick shot and he uses his skill without any ethics or morality to kill anyone in the way of his vengeance. I think he represents 1960s youth as Machiavellian and remorseless.

Angel (Kim Darby of the original 1969 True Grit) plays a highly manipulative girl who takes advantage of Festus' trust a couple of times and lies to cover for Stacy. She has no consideration for any of the people that trust her and give her credit for being an honest woman. She is a Machiavellian character, like her boyfriend, Stacy.

Beginning with the mean Parker (John Ireland) and his ruthless clan, to the anti-hero Bob Johnson, played by James Stacy, the characters have no sense of boundaries, they are Machiavellian jerks. The Lukens brothers (Royal Dano & Victor French) are greedy evil Machiavellian people who torture Angel. For all the characters, the ends justify the means.

The only two characters in this two part story that are not Machiavellian are Sandy McPeek and Morgan Woodward. Sandy McPeak (Catwoman's lackey The Giggler on the 1960s Batman TV series) gets killed at the beginning of Part 1 by Parker and his men when he falls and hits his head on a rock. Also at that time, Morgan Woodward is severely injured by the Parker clan, and Bob Johnson (Stacy) takes him into Dodge to get treatment by Doc.

Woodward dies soon afterwards, and starts Stacy on his mission of vengeance. Woodward was Stacy's (adopted) Father. It was ironic to see Woodward in the role of a victim, since he was usually playing tough guys and villains in his several appearances on Gunsmoke. This time, he is just a good guy, a Father figure, who tells Stacy to forget about vengeance, and to move on. Stacy ignores that advice, and all hell breaks loose.

This two part episode is very good. The second part is the most action-packed, since that is where almost everyone gets killed off, as Gunsmoke tradition required.

The only good thing about Stacy's character was that he killed off Buck Taylor, the creepy little entitled son of Parker, in the first part. Overall there was a pretty good body count.

A pure moral play, and well written and acted to make the central lesson effective.

For a civil society to function, a person cannot make his own rules or laws. Essentially, what could have been was rendered destroyed, because the central character continued to make the choice of rejecting civilized redress to criminal actions carried out against him.

Through his charm and otherwise solid character, he turned a one man revenge tale into a far more tragic ending, when a completely innocent person becomes victimized.

In one particularly poignant scene, the central character openly asks what the difference was between him and Matt Dillon. He never answered his own question, but instead remained convinced it was a mere matter of "luck of the draw."

The episodes' finality illustrated the true difference. Even at the end, Dillon urged the man to "drop the gun belt," and surrender. One man never wanted to follow the law, while the other was honor bound to enforce it as well as adhere to it. That was the reason why the two characters ended up totally different.

Another of the episodes that made Gunsmoke immortal. An excellent piece of morality expertly played out, with a valuable lesson provided.

The story continues from part one as Bob Johnson is set on taking more revenge out on the man, Parker, that was responsible for killing his his friend and only father-figure he ever knew. Bob arrives in Parkertown only to be meet with a hanging platform and Parker's cowpokes. In an almost surreal gunfight scene, Bob, by himself, is able to gun down about five of the cowpokes and then make a nifty fall from his horse enabling him to seek shelter and take down the rest of the men. Matt and Festus arrive and take Bob, that has a wound, away to stand before Judge Brookins.

But before the Judge arrives in Dodge, a young woman, Angel, helps Bob escape as both of them seek shelter from the posses that Matt has formed. And with some strange advise from Doc Adams they know exactly where to look. Matt will try to bring Bob Johnson back without any more killing.

Most of the time the second part is the better of the two since it concludes the story and brings peace back to the village. But this is a rare time where part one seemed to be a better story, by itself, than the combination of the two. Not taking anything away from this show, since it was a nice view, but there were times in this second part that the writer stretched the imagination of the viewer. But even with some odd events in this session, it was a nice way to lead viewers through the tragic events of the entire story that encompasses both episodes.