‘1883’ Throws a Curveball Nobody Saw Coming [Spoiler Alert]
The latest episode of 1883 will leave viewers reeling in surprise. Episode 8 of the hit Western began streaming on Paramount+ on Sunday (Feb. 13), and it offered up a plot twist that fans could never have anticipated.
The episode begins with the immigrants trying to repair the wagons and salvage whatever they can after the tornado that struck last week. The budding relationship between Elsa (Isabel May) and Sam (Martin Sensmeier) is blossoming as he teaches her first how to herd mustangs, then how to hunt buffalo, as she begins to leave her previous life further behind and become more permanently ingrained in life where there are no formal rules.
Meanwhile, more tension unfolds between James (Tim McGraw) and Shea (Sam Elliott), as Shea entertains doubts about the journey West and the immigrants' ability to weather it. He debates whether to take them to Denver and leave them there instead of pressing on to Oregon — a prospect James firmly rejects, saying that he'll go on alone with his family and "I sure as hell ain't going back" where they came from.
When Shea presents his idea to the rest of the wagon train, they, too, reject it, prompting James to step in and offer to take Shea's place and lead them to Oregon. They decide to follow him, still enticed by the lure of free land, and while it appears that Shea may go his separate way, he relents and decides that he, too, will complete the journey to Oregon after Thomas (LaMonica Garrett) directly asks him to, indicating that he does not intend to leave Noemi (Gratiela Brancusi) hanging and that he needs Shea to finish the job. Shea agrees — but in a surprise move, he tells James that he must step up to lead now, while Shea will step back.
In a stunning twist, Elsa decides that she will not make the rest of the journey to Oregon, opting to stay with Sam, marry him and make a life together. It's a decision that garners a great deal of pushback from James and especially Margaret (Faith Hill), who is not ready to relinquish control over her daughter yet. Elsa ultimately relents to a degree by agreeing to finish the journey before riding back to re-join Sam after seeing her family safely to Oregon.
Unlike Episode 7, which was driven by relentless action and chaos, Episode 8 is more of a series of character studies, taking place in one location and driven primarily by revealing new aspects of the main characters. The episode ends with Elsa and Sam making a dramatic public declaration of their love, which is met with disapproval from some of the others on the wagon train. But, as Elsa observes in a voiceover, their pity and disapproval "means nothing" to her.
"I will not weep," she intones. "I am the wife of a warrior now. Which is to say, I am a warrior. And warriors don't cry."
With just two episodes left in the season, Episode 8 leaves most of the same questions hanging that Episode 7 did. Can Elsa and Sam really make a go of such an unlikely pairing? Will Shea be able to accept his new position, or is more tension coming between him and James? Do the immigrants have any chance at all of making it to Oregon alive? And what about that arrow that Elsa took in flash-forward at the very beginning of the season — are we going to find out how that plays out this season, or is it a precursor to another season altogether?
New episodes of 1883 stream every Sunday via Paramount+.
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