American Primeval – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review

Episode 4

Episode 4 of American Primeval begins with Young declaring that with the violence against Mormons, they need to find their Zion which is Fort Bridger. To push Jim into selling the land, Hickman buys all his livestock and offers to sell it at double the price. Jim simply stabs his leg and takes back the animals.

Dellinger continues to write and believes the land is alive. Abish watches Red Feather with his son while the Shoshone celebrate. His mother, Winter Bird promises to return Abish to her people but she wonders if anyone is alive. They discuss the bloodshed and how there is no end.

Elsewhere, the bounty hunters find the French outlaws’ camp. There is a survivor and Virgil learns of Sara killing them all and escaping. Jacob almost confronts Cook but is interrupted by Tilly mocking Lucas as usual.

Devin’s horse has an injured hoof and struggles. They stop for camp and he confesses to Isaac that he and Sara killed a man. Isaac assures him that self-defence is not a sin.

Meanwhile, Red Feather finds a second scout and is further enraged as he is a Native. Winter Bird tries to stop Red Feather on his bloody path but he claims his gods have enlisted him to enact vengeance on the Whites for killing their people. Some of the Natives including Red Feather’s son are swayed by his speech.

That night, Sara dreams of Virgil choking her. She startles awake and Isaac helps her get warm. She requests him to stay by her side and asks him about his family. He was bought by the Shoshones as a kid but they ended up becoming his family. As for her, she confesses that Holloway used to hit her but when he hit Devin, she killed him. 

The next morning, Abish begs Red Feather to sue for peace for the sake of his son and his tribe. He wonders if someone like him deserves peace and she says yes.

Her husband is on another path as he picks a fight with Tilly before Cook takes him away to calm him down. Cook tries to convince him to forget Abish and Jacob redirects his anger. He drowns Cook and takes the watch. Lucas is shocked while Virgil doesn’t believe his claims of Cook being part of the attack. He leaves Jacob behind out of fear that he may be insane and kill him on a whim. Lucas hopes Jacob finds his wife and leaves him with some food and a mule. 

Back to the Natives, Winter Bird too convinces Red Feather to take the non-violent approach. He agrees to give the US soldiers a chance if Dellinger listens to Abish. The group reaches Dellinger’s camp and he is surprised to see her. She tears upon learning Jacob is alive and searching for her. She explains that the Shoshones are not responsible for the Fancher attack and Dellinger accepts Red Feather’s offer of peace.

As Red Feather leaves, he gives back the locket to Abish. Later, Dellinger confides in Abish that other people may still attack Red Feather because of his past crimes against White people. 

He then takes her to the Mormon Militia and notes her shock at recognising Wolsey from the attack. Hickman welcomes Abish and claims Jacob will be home soon. But Dellinger refuses to let her go till they find the culprits. Hickman glares at Wolsey who is confident that she doesn’t remember him.

Once they return to camp, Abish is upset that Dellinger used her to confirm his theory that the Mormon Militia is behind the Fancher attack. He bitterly declares that they are all being used. She is their only witness but she doesn’t care and leaves camp. Dellinger lets her go and writes a letter to Colonel Johnson about the attack.

However, the messenger is a mole as he hands it over to Hickman instead. They agree that Abish has just kickstarted a war between the American government and the Mormons.

In the mountains, Virgil is close behind Sara’s group. Devin’s horse flails and Devin falls. The horse breaks his leg before Isaac can kill it. He rushes Devin to a cabin nearby. The boy is in excruciating pain and even Isaac’s pills don’t help him. He writhes while Isaac and Two Moons set his broken leg right at the end of American Primeval Episode 4.

The Episode Review

American Primeval Episode 4 gives Red Feather his time to shine as he is conflicted between getting revenge for his people and ensuring their safety. It also explains Isaac’s connection to the Shoshones and how they turned out to be his adopted family. It seems that Abish too was starting to feel like a part of the tribe by partaking in their customs and wearing their clothes. We do wonder who she has gone to find – Jacob or to warn Red Feather.

As for poor Jacob, he really didn’t think it through, did he? By killing Cook and with no one else to corroborate his claim, he has lost his only supporter in Lucas and his chance to find Abish. But now that he is stuck in one place, hopefully, she can find him.

The chapter also completes the puzzle that is the Holloway murder and how it is linked to Devin. An abusive stepfather who takes his anger out on a powerless, disabled boy who is not his own definitely calls for murder in the 19th century. It hasn’t been smooth sailing for him though now with his accident. With Virgil so close on their trail, the penultimate episode is about to be a wild ride.