Why is bohannon robbing trains

They're both in different ways in charge of security in Hell on Wheels and you have a man who's led men before and a man who hasn't. And that doesn't matter what color skin you are at a certain point. One has experience and the other one doesn't. So will they be boxing each other this season? There're some fights here and there, but I don't think between Elam and I yet. The Swede Christopher Heyerdahl had it in for Cullen in the first season and now that he's in the lower position he's in, will these two still butt heads?

Oh yes, man, the Swede is going to be really interesting. Look, he's starting at a very low place, but of all the characters in the show, I would say the Swede is the most emotionally intelligent and, therefore, dangerous character.

And he's going to some really interesting places this season that you're probably not even getting a glimmer of yet in the first two episodes. Cullen was deeply affected by killing the wrong person at the end of Season 1, but was he ever all that happy or satisfied after killing any of the men who were responsible for the deaths of his family members?

That's a great question, man. I'm glad you asked that. I decided pretty much before ever finding out that Harper was going to turn out to be the wrong man, that at the end of the season, when and if Cullen does get to put his hands around the throat of someone, when he completes the deed, it's not going to be the release or the relief that he thought it was going to be. He is later told the men will not stand trial. Bohannon learns that Mei took on the guise of Fong in order to escape a forced marriage to the rebel leader who burned their village in China, and that if Chang were to recognize her, he would inform the rebel leaders in China of her location.

Chang succeeds in organizing a strike among the Chinese workers, as the men who attempted to hang him are taken by wagon out of town. Bohannon states that will never be allowed. Toa helps Bohannon to make a deal with the chinese to continue working at their current rates if the Central Pacific agrees to pay to ship the deceased back to China, as their custom dictates they must rest in China or wander forever.

Chang and Bohannon arrive in Truckee with more Chinamen to employ and items for the Empress festival. It is then that Bohannon informs Chang that Tao is taking over the payroll and employee hiring. Chang, on the guise of cooperation, tells Bohannon he has been selling the Swede rifles hidden in crates of rice. Bohannon goes to investigate while Chang allows Tao to be shot dead at the festival dinner.

Bohannon travels with Fong, who intends to take Tao's body home. Their train gets delayed on the tracks so they set off on a different path, only to face danger at a river. They eventually must bury his body and both return to Truckee.

Bohannon is then told that there is a great meeting between, Durant, Huntington, Brigham Young, and President Grant regarding the hubs and meeting point of the railroad. He takes off for Salt Lake City to join the meeting. At the meeting Huntington asks Bohannon to mislead the president on their progress, as the President trusts Bohannon, Durant asks Bohannon to come back to the UP, even though he swore he would never take him back if he left again, and Young asks Bohannon to push for the railroad hub to be in Salt Lake City.

Bohannon originally states Salt Lake is not good for the railroad, even though the Mormons need it for their travelers. He comes back later and changes his mind, promising Young to push for the hub to be in the city if Young tells him where Bohannon's family is. He tells Bohannon where they are in exchange for the push at the meeting.

At the next meeting, it's suggested that Promontory, Utah, be the terminus. Bohannon states that there shouldn't be one and that the race should be for Ogden, and the railways should bypass Salt Lake, enraging Young.

Later Young's son, Phineas, attempts to kill young. However it is found to be a ruse so that the Swede can locate and murder Naomi and her family. Bohannon rushes to beat the Swede to the farm. The Swede finds his way to the Hatch farm, kills Naomi's father and sister, and stalks her and baby William into the woods.

Bohannon, though, is not far behind. However, The Swede shoots him in the leg and they struggle in a river. Bohannon has the opportunity to drown him but doesn't, after seeing him smile from underwater. Against Naomi's wishes, he takes him on a two-day journey to Fort Douglas, a military garrison, for trial. The perilous trek weakens Bohannon, and the two men fight before reaching the fort.

Bohannon manages to shoot The Swede in the side and fire shots in the air to bring soldiers. Four days later, The Swede has been found guilty of the Hatch deaths and is scheduled to hang.

He pleads instead for justice and forgiveness from Bohannon but is led to his gallows death as Bohannon watches. Bohannon returns to the Hatch farm to be with his family, only to realize that, Naomi has remarried the farmhand Isaac Vinson. Bohannon promises to escort them and speak with Young. When they arrive Naomi says they should stay together, as thats what her father would have wanted.

But Bohannon decides, very emotionally, to leave them to a happier life with Isaac. Upon arrival, Young considers Bohannon an apostate for returning the "gifts" God has given him to die "a lonely, wretched thing". Bohannon manages to get Young agree on blessing Naomi and Isaac's wedding, then leaves Naomi and William. When Bohannon returns to Truckee Mei arrives in his cabin, excited he has returned, and the two sleep together.

After spending the night together, Bohannon and Fong return to work on the railroad. There is tunnel work to be done, and Bohannon suggests using nitroglycerin to do the blasting.

James Strobridge, the railroad superintendent, teaches the Bohannon how to make the bombs and the Chinese how to make blasting caps, but does not agree with the usage of the dangerous material, as that is how he lost his eye. Following the death of a tunnel worker mishandling the nitroglycerine, Bohannon suggests they continue to use the explosive, but that he and James will clear future blasts. James refuses to participate and is fired from the railroad. The tunnel is later completed, and Chang becomes suspicious when he catches Bohannon exiting Fong's tent.

Fearful that Chang knows Fong's true identity, Bohannon sends her to Cheyenne. Bohannon then suggests Huntington remove the Chinese from the railroad construction and hire Irishmen to finish. Huntington counters by saying China is the future, and Bohannon should think beyond completing the railroad. Bohannon then tries to buy Mei's contract from Chang, who refuses, stating Bohannon rejected his previous offer to own a share of the railroad. Bohannon send Mei off to Cheyenne for safety, but gets a telegraph from her, who is in Washoe City, Nevada saying that Chang has attacked and is attempting to kill her.

Chang arrives and Bohannon must kill him and the group who came with him. Mei tells Bohannon that she will still be hunted and doesn't want that life for him. While he manages to dissuade a Chinese general from looking for her, she leaves to return to China but writes him a note in Chinese. As both railroads near the end, The Union Pacific has ten miles left, while the Central Pacific has only six. However Strobridge has taken both the Irish and Chinese workers in as miners.

Mickey manages to convince his countrymen to return to railroad work, while Bohannon fails to convince the Chinese. Within the last few miles, the Chinese return to help Bohannon, while Durant's urgings cause Psalms and the freedmen to switch teams.

The Central Pacific reaches the end marker first. However Durant forces Huntington to give up the honor, upon the promise that the coming ceremony will be held on the CP side. After evading Louise's questions about his future, Bohannon drunkenly collapses in his train car, reflecting on all that he has lost. Following the golden spike ceremony, both Durant and Bohannon are given summonses to appear before Congress in Washington, D.

While in Washington, President Grant offers Bohannon a position as army colonel and undersecretary for the western territories. Bohannon states that he is a railroad man, to which Grant counters that he is a soldier "without a war to fight". Later, Dressed in his Union Army uniform before Congressmen, Bohannon refuses to implicate Durant, repeating that their railroad could not have been built without Durant. Bohannon then goes to the church where he killed a man in the first episode, and a priest asks if he seeks salvation.

Bohannon breaks down, thanks him, and leaves. Bohannon asks a Chinese worker to translate Mei's note: it's an address in China. The show ends as Bohannon disembarks in San Francisco and boards a ship for China. Cullen Bohannon is a rugged, stone-cold southerner. He shows great pride for his homeland, and is also extremely proud of his involvement in the war, fighting for his homeland and the southern way of life. Bohannon, as many southerners are, is well mannered, but also, as Lily Bell describes him, an "insufferable ass"; due in part to his pride and prejudice.

Bohannan also appears to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder , or as he describes it, "the soldier's heart". He is battle hardened and very skilled with weapons. His main firearm is his Griswold and Gunnison revolver. Numerous times he has been seen walking straight into gun-fire, engaging enemies that outnumber him 10 to 1, and utilizing his advanced knowledge of firearms to take charge.

He was clearly an officer during the war, as he is an excellent commander and a skilled tactician. He also commonly indulges in vast quantities of alcohol, namely whiskey.

Home About Cancelled Favorites Chuck. TV Addict Watching just about everything. Stay updated via RSS. Like this: Like Loading August 18, at pm. August 19, at am. October 4, at pm. The television series Hell On Wheels is a western with the building of the railroad as a backdrop. Grittier than the westerns of the 50s and 60s, it has been closely compared to another modern western, Deadwood.

Were the camps and towns that followed Hell on Wheels as it expanded west as depicted in the series as true in real life?

To a certain extent, yes, particularly on the Union Pacific side, as the railroad moved west, little camps and towns would spring up every few miles or so and serve as a base camp for the workers.

Along with this came merchants, bar owners, brothel operators, doctors, dentists, churches, virtually everything you might find in a small town. When the workers received their pay, they would often need a place to blow off steam. In these make-shift towns, workers found the relief valve they were looking for in the taverns and brothels.

As the railroad expanded westward, many of these tent cities would fold up and be loaded onto flatcars to be moved further down the line. Towns might go from a population of 10, down to within a few days. In fact, there are many ghost towns along the line that follows the Transcontinental Railroad. And, while some towns ceased to exist, others became premier stops along the way. Cheyenne, for example, was built on an area of a major river crossing.

Cullen Bohannon, as depicted in the series, was not a real person.