Jess Harper + Wolfpupy

I'm in such a Western Whump hole right now. And it's surprising how many times you can read about fevers and getting shot off a horse but still not get bored

s1:e21 - Company Man

Y'all, this is the episode for angsty Jess expressions. And Slim looks so beautiful in these shots, too. ❤️💙

Long story short, a new stage line superintendent, Jack Slade (excellent character name, btw) shows up to fire Jess due to his "history". Slim of course jumps in to defend him, which leads to this hilarious exchange:

JH - "Thanks, Slim." SS - "Don't thank me. The privilege of firing you belongs to me, and nobody else."

Unfortunately, Slade won't be deterred, and hangs around for the entire episode, assisting with getting back their stage line horses from thieves who struck the night before.

One of my favorite conversations between Slim and Jess happens in this episode. Jess is brooding in their bedroom and Slim comes in to see what's going on. Slim gets straight to the root of the issue: Jess isn't worried about being killed by Slade, despite Slade's reputation. He's worried about killing Slade and bringing the ire of the stage line down on Slim.

SS - "This place wouldn't be the same without you and your troubles." JH - "You really mean that?" SS - "Yes, I really mean that."

At the end of the episode, Slade endangers the entire household in a standoff with the horse thieves, but fortunately everyone is OK except for Slade. He thanks Jess for his service to the stage line before dying, so we get kind of a mini-redemption thing and almost feel sorry for the guy. Almost.

P.S.: It's worth noting that a fictionalized Samuel Clemens (yes, Mark Twain) is a stage passenger in this episode, and gets some fun snarky dialogue, especially with Slade.

Rest in peace David “my opinion of the show is that it’s a love story between two men” Soul. You would have loved the scenes of male tenderness that play out in my head between you and your best friend. By the way thanks for taking literally every single available opportunity to gently stroke his face and/or look fondly annoyed by him. King.

Laramie (1959-1963): S04E29 The Marshals

Laramie with no context part 1: THIS SHOW IS LITERALLY PORN.

S2/Ep 17 “Stolen Tribute”

oh so they do like each other

I. Laramie "lost" scene

Laramie 1.31 Men of Defiance

In a scene removed for unknown reasons from the STARZ collection, Jess Harper talks about the fate of the majority of the Harper family at the hands of the outlaw Banister when Jess was only 15.

A few scenes were removed from this episode, I'm assuming to create a more cohesive storyline that focused on Men of Defiance more than Laramie. I might post others if anyone is interested.

Laramie (1959-1963): The Confederate Express S03E18