Revelations

"Revelations" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American television drama series Hell On Wheels; it December 18, 2011 on AMC and was written by the series co-creators Joe Gayton and Tony Gayton, and directed by Michelle MacLaren. In the episode, Thomas C. Durant (Colm Meaney) and Lily Bell (Dominique McElligott) travel by train to Chicago, for different reasons; the Irishmen from Hell On Wheels intend to kill Elam (Common) to entertain themselves, but Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) interferes and helps Elam escape. Plot The episode opens with a flashback. Young Elam Ferguson (Amadou Diallo) reads aloud from the Bible. Elam's "owner" and father (Trevor Leigh) has made a bet with his friends that slaves can be taught to read. The master's friends voice their concerns over this, but the master proves that Elam does not comprehend anything he just read. Later, with his fellow slaves, Elam recites another biblical passage. This particular one is about God's promising to deliver the Israelites from slavery. In the present, Thomas C. Durant escorts Lily Bell to Chicago. She plans to meet with her deceased husband's family, while Durant plans to meet with Senator Crane (James D. Hopkin) to settle the railroad's financial difficulty. Meanwhile, Eva (Robin McLeavy) begs Cullen to save Elam. The Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl) is allowing the Irish crew to hang Elam as entertainment. At the saloon, Toole (Duncan Ollerenshaw) strings Elam up, while Cullen charges in on horseback, shoots one man holding the rope, and tells Elam to ride off on one of the horses outside. Cullen cautions the Irish against pursuing them, then he and Elam ride out of town. Later, Bolan (Ian Tracey) and Dix (Diego Diablo Del Mar) lead a posse, which includes Toole, after the wanted men.