The perpetrators of the Mountain Meadows Massacre spent a lot of time in American Primeval tying up loose ends. Now, it’s the show’s turn. The penultimate (and shortest) episode mostly sets up the finale. Will Isaac manage to rescue Sara? Can the Nauvoo Legion cover up its crimes? Will wolves break through the flimsy walls of a hunting cabin? We’ll get the answers in the season finale.
First, Sara and Virgil. Things don’t look good for Sara at the start. Tied to a horse, she wakes up and tries to make a deal with her captor. But Virgil doesn’t buy her promise that her “husband” in Crooks Springs will pay him handsomely if he takes her there. No deal. Her only hope is Isaac, who manages to catch up to them, thanks to outsmarting Tilly, one of Virgil’s men. But catching up is one thing, rescuing her is another.
The showdown between Brigham Young and Jim Bridger has been building up, and it seems like it’s about to boil over. But then, it doesn’t. Turns out Bridger can be bought. Young offers him a huge bag of cash to side with him and tells him his plans to burn Fort Bridger to the ground.
Young’s reasoning? Fort Bridger works better as a ruin than a standing fort. That might not matter if the truth behind the Mountain Meadows Massacre were to come out. American Primeval has kept some mystery around whether Young was involved in covering up the massacre—until now. Told by Wild Bill Hickman that the best course is to have Abish, a living witness, killed in an attack on the Shoshones, Young tells him to get it done.
In the meantime, Wild Bill picks up Jacob, who’s gone completely off the rails since their last meeting. Jacob babbles about Brother Cook stealing a watch, which makes no sense to Wild Bill, who brings him back to camp. Despite Wolsey’s reluctance, Wild Bill recruits him to join the fight against the Shoshones, assuming he won’t survive. But, as expected, none of this works out.
Virgil thinks his plan is solid, but it all falls apart. Sitting by the fire, he practically counts the bounty money when a familiar horse rides into camp—Tilly’s dead body in tow. But the real threat is Isaac, who frees Sara and kills everyone in the camp. Almost everyone. Lucas, Virgil’s brother, watches it all go down and is clearly shaken. (Did we know they were brothers? I didn’t catch that if we did.)
Things continue to fall apart when the Nauvoo Legion heads into the Shoshone village, only to find it empty. It’s a trap. The fight doesn’t end well for Wolsey, who dies, but not before taking out Red Feather, or at least dealing him a fatal blow. Jacob also kills Abish by mistake, and in his grief, takes his own life. The episode ends with a bloody montage. Even Winter Bird falls victim. Despite their efforts, both peaceful and violent, the massacre continues.
Meanwhile, Hickman and Young get what they want. With the evidence covered up, they can claim Fort Bridger as their own—at least for now.
Then it’s party time. Bridger decides to close Fort Bridger with a blowout, though it’s cut short when a mob shows up with torches. He takes a moment to mark the occasion, saying, “It’s closing time. For us all.” Whatever fragile peace existed between Natives, settlers, and Mormons is about to be destroyed. But hey, free booze! Bridger insults Wild Bill one last time, grabs his shovel, and vanishes as the Mormons expand their influence.
Back at the cabin, things seem safer for Two Moons and Devin, but wolves come out at night. They fight them off in a quick, violent scene. The next day, Isaac and Sara are back on the road, heading toward Crooks Springs. The journey starts off peacefully as Isaac opens up about his past, including the names of his wife and child. Watching Devin and Two Moons play, he calls it “beautiful.”
Sara then makes one last plea for Isaac to stay with her. Is he really too broken to start over? She has feelings for him—does he feel the same? He does, but he can’t go with her. They kiss and part ways. Then Sara makes a discovery: Isaac left behind the money she paid him. Isaac, however, finds something more chilling: the doll from the French-Canadian camp, which was recently in Lucas’s possession. Lucas, no longer tenderhearted, tries to claim the bounty on Sara. They’re rescued, but Isaac is fatally wounded in the process. After a respectful funeral, the survivors head off to California.
