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An Osage council votes to sentence Chief John-Two-Bears to death after finding him guilty of murder. The chief's daughter, Sarah, knows her father is innocent, but women have no standing within the tribe. (It is interesting that Sarah has little regard for the council's authority in this matter regarding her father.) Two-Bears has accepted his fate, although he knows he is not guilty. He considers obeying the council's decision more important than his life.

Sarah travels to Dodge City out of desperation in the hopes of soliciting "white man's justice" in the situation with her father. She visits the Marshal's office where she encounters Thad Greenwood. Thad is minding the office while Matt Dillon and Festus Haggen are away investigating a recent rash of horse thefts. Thad returns to the Osage reservation with Sarah, despite Doc Adams's advice to stay out of the matter.

Thad's arrival on the reservation is seen as an unwelcome intrusion. Thad does not understand the actions of the Osage council, and he does not respect the limited autonomy the Osage are afforded. Elias Franklin, the U. S. government agent assigned to liaison with the Osage, finds Thad's approach frustrating and places Thad under arrest.

Eventually, Matt Dillon's investigation points to Osage involvement in the theft of the horses, which leads him to Franklin and Thad. Thad is released to the Marshal, and Matt and Thad continue to attempt to discover the link between the thefts and the internal situation with Two-Bears and the Osage council.

This story is a bit of a confusing mess, but it is ultimately a conflict between Osage factions. The older members of the tribe want to maintain peace with "the white man," while some of the younger members embrace revolution to restore what they consider the past power and prominence of the Osage. The situation in this story is complicated by the cultural differences that exist between the Osage and "the white man."

To confuse matters even more, the writers chose to introduce a sort-of love story between Sarah and Thad, although this is only minimally explored.

The casting of this episode is odd. Noah Berry Jr. Portrays John-Two-Bears and George Keymas plays one of the Osage known as Thunder Man. I am not sure who thought applying a ton of makeup and having those two veteran character actors fill American Indian roles was a good idea.

Syrian actor Michael Ansara is once again tapped to fill an American Indian role as the character Grey Horse. Fans of television Westerns will certainly recognize Ansara from his stint as the Apache Chiricahua Chief Cochise in the series Broken Arrow, and the Harvard-educated Apache U. S. Marshal Sam Burkhart character in two episodes of The Rifleman and the short-lived series Law of the Plainsman.

Ralph Moody, who was frequently cast in American Indian roles for some reason, plays the elder Osage Chief Joseph-Walks-In-Darkness.

French actress France Nuyen is Sarah. While she plays an American Indian in this story, she would return in Season 12 as an Asian character in the Gunfighter, R. I. P episode.

Another aspect to this episode that works against it is Roger Ewing's prominent role. This is the first episode since Clayton Thaddeus Greenwood's arrival in Dodge where Ewing is included as a central character, and his performance flounders. There is absolutely no chemistry between Nuyen and Ewing. Even Ewing's performance in the scenes with James Arness comes across as stiff and awkward.

"Honor Before Justice" is distinguished as - at least arguably - the worst episode of Season 11. The perplexing script, the curious casting, and the unusually poor performances fell short of what Gunsmoke fans had come to expect.

Husband and wife Lee and Nina Sharkey live on a ranch about five miles outside Dodge City. To describe their marriage as troubled is an understatement. Nina's father is wealthy, and Lee-a lazy, loud mouthed, boor given to drink and verbal and physical abuse-married Nina with the expectation that her father's money would allow him to live an easy life. Nina's virtuous father-who never appears in the story-apparently does not care for Lee or the marriage and refuses to give Lee and Nina any money. Lee resents Nina for it.

Lee concocts a scheme to hire Jim Garza, a drifter he meets in the Long Branch Saloon, to stay on the ranch with Nina while Lee spends a couple of weeks in Wichita. When Lee returns, he will accuse Garza and Nina of having an affair, and Garza will confirm it as truth. Lee will then go to Nina's father and demand payment in return for Lee's silence regarding Nina's indiscretion. Lee reasons that Nina's father will be willing to pay money to protect the family's reputation. Lee agrees to pay Garza $250 for his assistance with the extortion plan.

Lee's scheme doesn't work out exactly as he expects, and a series of events are set in motion that will lead to an outcome that should not be too surprising for regular Gunsmoke viewers given this is a John Meston story.

This is the first of two Gunsmoke appearances for noted method actress Lois Nettleton. She would return for Season 12's "The Returning." Nettleton is outstanding in this role as the beleaguered Nina Sharkey.

William Windom plays the Lee Sharkey character. Windom, one of the more prominent character actors of the 1960s and '70s, excelled at playing this kind of overly dramatic slimeball type.

Actor Ron Foster portrays the Jim Garza character. Foster can be seen in several different television roles during his extensive acting career, but many of the parts were small. He is likely one of the few (if not the ONLY) of the Gunsmoke guests that also appeared in an episode of Sesame Street. This is Foster's second and final Gunsmoke role.

The usually menacing Johnny Seven appears here as a gunfighter named Harry Blucher. Seven's only other Gunsmoke participation was as one of Mace Gore's gang in Season 11's memorable "Seven Hours to Dawn."

This is the first of three episodes in the series directed by Tay Garnett. Garnett directed a number of highly regarded films in the 1930s and 1940s, including the original The Postman Always Rings Twice with John Garfield and Lana Turner and 1949's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court with Bing Crosby. With the increasing popularity of television in the 1950s and '60s, Garnett turned his talents toward that medium.

There are a couple of scenes that feature those endearing little touches often included in Gunsmoke episodes. The opening scene where Chester Goode tears the cloth on the pool table while Doc Adams is watching is one example. The other is later in the story when Matt Dillon and Chester are sitting with Kitty Russell in Delmonico's, and Matt and Chester order breakfast.

There is also a great exchange between Matt Dillon and Harry Blucher shortly after Blucher arrives in Dodge.

Matt (approaching Blucher in front of the Dodge House): "Blucher." Blucher: "Marshal." Matt: "Where you from?" Blucher: "Colorado. Pueblo." Matt (nodding): "Mm hm. Well that's not far. You ought to be back there in a week." Blucher: "What are you saying?" Matt: "I'm saying if you get on that horse and ride, you'll be there in time for church next Sunday." Blucher: "I don't go to church, Marshal." Matt: "Yeah, I bet you don't."

While the outcome of this story should not surprise viewers, the journey to the end contains some clever surprises and plenty of Meston's trademark tragedy. This is another example of an intriguing story with an outstanding cast and excellent performances.