Anna Brown

In the Season Three premiere, Deadwood's first true elections are approaching, with the offices of sheriff (Bullock vs. Harry Manning) and mayor (E.B. Farnum vs. Sol Star) to be contested. Tonight, the candidates are expected to state their case to the townspeople--protocol that unnerves one taciturn incumbent while exciting a more glib one. At the Gem, one of Hearst's Cornish workers is killed, raising Swearengen's suspicions that the incident was a staged Hearst power play. Complications involving Alma's pregnancy alarm Ellsworth and Doc Cochran. Adams' orchestrated foreclosure gives Star a new home, with discreet access next door for Trixie. Jane prepares to share with the camp's children her experiences scouting for General Custer. Dismayed by her inability to make a clean break from the gut-stabbed Tolliver, Joanie contemplates the easy way out. Hearst offers Bullock his political backing in exchange for Bullock's promise to exert influence over certain areas of the camp.

A cryptic note delivered by Captain Turner tips off Swearengen to another bloody incident at the Gem; later, Hearst makes his intentions known in a more straightforward message. While Jane finds a captive audience for her oratory skills, the candidates for mayor and sheriff aren't as fortunate. Alma's health raises the issue of Sofia's stewardship; newly reformed Andy Cramed pays an unexpected visit to Tolliver, with a different agenda and outcome.

As Deadwood is overrun by Hearst's men, Bullock issues contingency plans to Martha. Wu, caught in a Pinkerton stampede, delivers a cryptic message to Swearengen; it takes Burns, of all people, to decipher it. Barrett makes Merrick pay for embarrassing Hearst in The Pioneer; Morgan Earp calls out one of the "Pistoleros"; Commissioner Jarry arrives from Yankton to solicit Hearst; Aunt Lou gets some bad news; and Joannie survives an encounter with her former boss. As night falls, Langrishe mines Deadwood's talent pool with an amateur-night performance in front of his future theater, financed in part by a loan from Alma's bank.

Bullock holds an impromptu morning meeting to determine which emergencies warrant wiring him in Sturgis, where he and Harry are delivering campaign pitches. The first summons doesn't take long, as Hearst follows up Alma's close call with one that's decidedly more on-target. In the aftermath, Alma takes refuge at the Gem, again, while Trixie decides to take matters into her own hands. Langrishe has a falling out with Hearst, giving him little time to huddle with his new lineup of actors. Dismissing the likelihood of ever seeing 23 mercenaries promised by Hawkeye, Swearengen turns to Wu to deliver more reliable, if not quite weapons-tested, reinforcements from Custer City.