This started out as a good story. A bandit and his girlfriend waylay two cavalry soldiers bringing food and the company pay to Fort Dodge. The first question I had was why would the bandit bring his girlfriend to watch him murder two men in cold blood?
The story builds up when the incompetent Fort Dodge commander shows up in Dodge City to dump the blame on Marshal Dillon. Dillon asks, why weren't there soldiers protecting the supply wagon? The arrogant commander says he always has all his soldiers on military manouvers. It sounds so stupid that is plausible, since any commanding officer can do whatever he wants back in the Old West stories.
The townfolks all find out that there might be Martial Law in Dodge, and they get feisty. The rest of the episode goes downhill because too much time is spent on bar scenes and not enough is spent on Dillon tracking down the Army payroll, and interrogating Ruta Lee.
Ruta Lee is the key, and as soon as Dillon homes in on her, she crumbles because it bothers her that she saw two men getting killed.
The gun fight is lame, since the guy with the rifle, with a great clear shot, sitting in ambush, misses Dillon, who is riding a horse and shooting with a handgun. The ending does not feature the Army Corporal being caught, or a scene where Dillon shows up the Fort Dodge commander. It is one of those endings where you have to imagine that everything probably happened the right way.
The story builds up when the incompetent Fort Dodge commander shows up in Dodge City to dump the blame on Marshal Dillon. Dillon asks, why weren't there soldiers protecting the supply wagon? The arrogant commander says he always has all his soldiers on military manouvers. It sounds so stupid that is plausible, since any commanding officer can do whatever he wants back in the Old West stories.
The townfolks all find out that there might be Martial Law in Dodge, and they get feisty. The rest of the episode goes downhill because too much time is spent on bar scenes and not enough is spent on Dillon tracking down the Army payroll, and interrogating Ruta Lee.
Ruta Lee is the key, and as soon as Dillon homes in on her, she crumbles because it bothers her that she saw two men getting killed.
The gun fight is lame, since the guy with the rifle, with a great clear shot, sitting in ambush, misses Dillon, who is riding a horse and shooting with a handgun. The ending does not feature the Army Corporal being caught, or a scene where Dillon shows up the Fort Dodge commander. It is one of those endings where you have to imagine that everything probably happened the right way.