Original subtitles

To my colleague,

you are cordially invited to a most extraordinary showcase event.

For this is a chance to put your name in the books of history

as a pioneer in the continued growth and expansion of our destined society.

Either for commerce or for pride,

I ask that you present your most technical inspirations

in the advanced weaponries of war.

The showcase is to be held on a Saturday, 28th March, 1874.

Never forget,

for he who holds the fire holds the power.

How do we kill him, this Bass Reeves?

You don't. He's not to be harmed.

But General Rivenbark said--

I don't take orders from Rivenbark.

I'm the sheriff of this territory.

The Creator blessed us with these powers to protect our people.

Damn it, Ahni. Listen to me for once in your life.

Do not kill him.

Who is this man to you, that you fear killing him so?

Bass was dispatched by the US Army.

It ain't about who he is to me.

It's about who he is to them.

I sent Bass to Providence on a wild-goose chase.

Keep an eye on him, from a distance.

If he stumbles onto our trail, use your powers to steer him off.

Distract him, but do not let him see you.

If he does, it'll be the last thing he ever sees.

Ahni, listen to me. If you kill this man, you'll regret it.

You really wanna know me?

Take a number

Pretty purse on ya head

Might attract a bounty hunter

I'm not, I'm not, I'm not the shooter But you might wanna runna

I'm not the shooter But you might wanna take cover

Look in the mirror Do you recognize who's staring back?

I'm not your sh-sh-sh-sh-shadow But I'm just as black

I'm not your brother's keeper I'm not your nigger either

Don't fear the Reaper Not your shadow, shadow, shadow, ow!

Straight up, don't turn your back Boy, check your cardiac

Straight up, don't turn your back

Face up, don't turn your back

Too late you hear the clack

Check your cardiac

I'm not your sh-sh-sh-sh-shadow But I'm just as black

How am I supposed to get to sleep with you thinking so loud?

Sorry, Mr. Bass, but every time I close my eyes, all I see is…

Being a lawman is much different than I anticipated.

I thought I'd see you saving women and children.

Showing bad men the error of their ways. I…

I never thought there'd be so much, uh…

killing.

Do you ever get used to it?

No.

I honestly think if we had reasoned with those men

or tried some nonlethal strategy…

Then we'd be dead.

-I don't accept that. -Then you're gonna die.

You love your family?

Of course.

I mean, my Uncle Eugene's the only family I have left now,

but of course I love him.

That's why I'm out here in the Badlands.

That's why I'm out here too.

To provide for my family.

My wife and my two boys.

You… You have two sons?

Mm-hmm.

And another one on the way.

Before Glory came into my life,

I was a broken and bitter man.

-What is that? -Oh, horrible!

Oh my.

I lost everything in the war.

Disgusting!

I almost lost myself.

But Glory's goodness, her kindness,

it saved my life.

I don't intend on wasting our hard work by getting myself killed anyhow.

That's why I do whatever I have to do to survive.

Whatever I have to, to make sure I return to her.

Well, I love my family just like you, sir.

But I don't think my Uncle Eugene would want me killing anybody on his account.

Hell yeah he would,

if it was the difference of you returning to him or not.

But doesn't it matter what kind of person we are

when we return home to our families?

You're not afraid that what you do out here will stay with you?

Even when you return home?

That you might take things so far you come to some tipping point

where you lose yourself and can't get yourself back

where you become the version of yourself that you do not want to be?

Enough goddamn questions! Ain't none of that your concern.

You're going home tomorrow. Now be quiet and go to sleep.

I'm sorry, sir.

I know I ask too many questions, but I just…

I look up to you. I wanna understand because I…

I mean, questionable methods aside, you help people.

And I want to be like that.

I want to be…

I want to be like you one day.

Be like somebody else.

Uh, hello?

I need to buy a ticket for Central City.

We're closed for reconstruction.

Confound it all!

Who did this?

Stay put!

I'm a cowboy bounty hunter

Slick talk me I'mma go dumb

I'm a real one, bounty hunter

Bad man, dem Watch your tongue

Your shadow's telling you "hush"

Watch out for the barrel, son

Make you two-step with my gun

Make, make you two-step with my…

Hoo doggies, didn't that flame just bloom like a rose when that safe went up?

And you burnt up more than we took.

What fun is it to get rich

if we can't raise a little hell along the way?

If any of you don't like it, you can go back to your husbands.

That's what I thought.

Now, all of you

light up.

No witnesses. I don't want a splinter of this town left standing.

Huh?

Sharpshooters! We're surrounded!

Don't shoot! We surrender!

He ain't no posse, you cowards!

He's one man!

Reach for that bag, your hand's gonna look just like your nose.

Watch out for the barrel, son

This is Indian Country. You've got no authority here, lawman.

Bounty hunter. And you're the only one I see with a price on her head.

Now, do I have to kill the rest of you to bring her in?

Hmm?

Great shooting, Mr. Bass.

-You ever gonna listen to a word I say? -I did listen. I stayed put.

For the fight.

But there's no danger in me helping with the interrogation, is there?

I won't get in your way. I'm just going to…

Vomit. Oh, I'm just gonna vomit.

You seen this fella? Eugene Starr?

I've never seen this man.

I don't know nothing about no Eugene Starr.

She doesn't know anything.

The next one he questions might. I'm ending this.

Wait! We should stay unseen like Lighthorse says.

The storm will wash him away.

It can wash away his corpse.

Me? In cahoots with Bully Shaw?

I wouldn't piss on that man if he was on fire.

And I don't care if you believe me or don't!

I believe you.

Mr. Bass, no. What are you doing?

Bringing in a bounty.

You don't have to kill her.

You want me dragging her along on our mission? Slowing us down?

Having to rest in shifts so she don't kill us in our sleep?

Then… …can't you just let her go?

So she can blow up more innocent people?

Maybe come after us, blow us up.

No.

There's just… there's got to be a better way.

Uncle Eugene says there's always a better way.

Look, I told you. Out here, you do whatever you have to do to survive.

Close your eyes.

No.

Dana?

No. If you're so sure killing her is the right thing, then do it.

Do it right here in front of…

Well, we can't be blamed.

That was an act of God.

That don't look like God.

Go get Rio. We're leaving.

I know what you are.

I have counted the Holy People among my friends.

You speak our words, but you are the white man's dog.

He whistles and you fetch.

You could have served your people.

You could have fought the white man.

Now look at you.

You have lived for nothing.

Now you will die for nothing.

Is that you?

N… Nanye?

What did you say?

Hold on, sir. Just hold on.

Nanye! Nanye!

Mr. Bass, you're awake.

Oh, thank goodness.

Oh, sir, we were so worried.

We thought you'd never wake up.

That girl. That girl, where is she? Where is she?

Don't worry about the lightning girl.

Me and Rio got you far away from her.

We intended to drag you to get help,

but your arm is heavy, and Rio got a bit tired,

so we stopped here to rest.

But we left the lightning girl far behind.

We have to find her. We have to go back.

Uh, unfortunately, you're not going anywhere, sir.

Not until I figure out how to fix that arm.

Tell me you ain't been tinkering with it.

I had to. It was sparking something awful.

You were out, and I couldn't move you until I had it running again.

Please don't be mad at me.

I ain't the one you got to be worried about.

Mmm.

Rio, take me to Etta.

And who was that woman that attacked you?

I've never seen anyone with a device that could control electricity like that.

I mean, did she use a lightning rod or some other instrument?

Choctaw call them "Chahta Hvshtahli," the Holy People.

Women born with mystic powers over the elements.

Passed down from mother to daughter.

Magic? I'm not sure I believe that.

Well, you don't got to believe it. You just saw it.

How do you know so much about them?

Mmm. We're losing daylight.

This garden is ingenious.

The sprinklers, the irrigation system.

But how does she keep the wildlife from taking all the fruit?

Uh, should we knock?

Nuh-uh. No need.

Listen, when we go in, don't be asking a bunch of questions.

That's a bit like asking a bird not to fly, a fish not to swim.

No, it's like asking a bird not to get plucked or a fish not to get fried.

Pester her, and she'll turn us out.

No questions.

Mmm. I'll try, sir.

Whoa!

Etta, been a long time.

Traveling around with little white girls now?

You ain't got enough people looking to kill you?

If I ran across any of your bounties,

they're outside fertilizing my garden.

You're welcome to 'em.

Now put back any crops you dig up, then get gone and stay gone.

Got work to do.

Oh, come on, look at me. I'm hurt, Etta. It's the arm.

Show me.

Oh, you poor thing. What have they done to you?

Hey, it's fine. I'm okay, Etta.

I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to my arm.

Knew I shouldn't have built it for such a careless, clumsy fool.

You built Mr. Bass's arm?

Oh!

Where did you get the Aianhli? How do you forge it?

How do you power it? How does it work?

Can you build me one?

I'll buy that from you. Name your price.

Keep talking and you're next.

Bring him to the lab, Rio.

What is this thing?

What's it do?

Can I touch it?

Oh, Lord, even the muzzle won't shut her up.

Where'd you find this one? And why didn't you leave her there?

Tried. Several times.

Hmm. Big words.

Gadget bag?

What do you call yourself? Scientist? Inventor?

What is this?

Are you asking me a question? You asking permission?

I asked you who you are, so why are you asking me who you are?

Garbage.

Ridiculous.

Nice idea. Poorly executed.

Embarrassing.

Sad.

You're not completely hopeless. So, I'm gonna take the muzzle off.

When I do, you get to ask me three questions. Just three.

Unless the first one is stupid.

Then you get none.

Think. Hmm?

Make them count, okay?

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

You'll regret that.

Hmm.

Thank you, Miss Etta.

I'm sorry for before. Bass warned me not to pester you.

It's just the questions come into my head so fast.

And, you know, I just feel like I'm gonna…

Told you.

This is my lab.

My lab has three rules.

Don't touch anything.

You built this all by yourself?

Yes, and that's one of your questions.

Oh, fuh… fiddlesticks.

Rio, drop him off on that gurney there.

Girly, strap him in.

Bass, you trust this girl?

Do I have to answer?

Huh! That means yes.

Good. Because to fix my arm, I'm gonna have to put you out.

And you talk in your sleep, so drink this.

Listen to me. You mind Miss Yellowtail while I'm out, yeah?

Thought of another question?

Yes.

How does one forge Aianhli?

Congratulations. You managed to ask a question that wasn't stupid.

Come on. I'll show you.

Our greatest invention was the Aianhli forge.

Only Aianhli burns hot enough to melt Aianhli.

The process is a secret to our people.

White folks call it magic,

but that's their word for things they don't understand.

It's not magic.

It's our science.

Thought of your last question yet?

Yeah.

Um, can you tell me about Nanye?

That's what you want to ask me?

Not how I built this place?

Not how I heat the Aianhli forge?

You want to ask me about Nanye?

Bass was calling out her name in his sleep.

Mr. Lighthorse said she was a hero, but he didn't say how.

It's just that I don't know much about him.

Maybe learning about his first wife will help me understand him more.

I wasn't the first person to make an arm for Bass.

He lost his real arm in the war.

And then he was captured by a Confederate scientist.

That's what he called himself.

But really, he was a butcher, a snake.

He never experimented on the white soldiers, no matter which side.

Just the Black ones.

Didn't want to risk a precious white life until he perfected the process.

He threw Bass away like the others when his clumsy prosthetics didn't work.

Bass was supposed to die there…

…but the son of a bitch was always stubborn.

That's when he met her.

That's when he met Nanye.

She saved him.

Brought him to me.

So I fixed up the botch job they did on his arm.

Upgraded him from steel to Aianhli.

Didn't expect him to live, but like I said, stubborn.

Nanye was just as stubborn.

Wouldn't leave his side.

Hmm. Twenty years. Still the only time I seen the son of a bitch smile.

Soon as he was on the mend, he returned with her to her people.

They married, had a child on the way, and then…

then…

Then what?

You're out of questions.

No, I think I understand.

Perhaps all that trauma, all that loss,

is what drives him to be so--

You leave that alone.

There's no accounting for why a man does what he does.

And people ain't arithmetic.

They don't add up.

Bass is a hard man, no doubt, but he's a good one.

You tell him I said that, I'll muzzle you for good.

Anyway, it's time to--

Etta Yellowtail. We'd like a word.

Visitors and cockroaches, they always multiplying and…

Uh-- Who are those men?

Cavalry. Ex-Confederates. Been sniffing around my Aianhli forge for months.

Give this to Bass. It'll wake him up.

But it's too soon. He's not ready to fight.

His arm isn't even healed yet.

It's my arm!

And I don't want him to fight. I want both of you to run.

Now take Bass out the back, and don't y'all come after me.

But what will you do?

You're overdrawn on your questions, little girl.

Do what I say.

Goodness me.

So many gentlemen callers.

And me over here worrying I had lost my feminine allure.

Lovely as you are, madam, our intentions towards you are otherwise.

I believe you received several such correspondences?

But I have not accepted your invitation.

I'm afraid my employer insists.

Please pass along my apologies if you survive.

There she is. Get her!

Wake up, Mr. Bass. Please, wake up.

Dana, what… what the hell's going on?

Some armed men just broke in. They're after Miss Etta.

We have to save her.

Mmm.

Mmm. Mmm!

Stay put.

All right. I'm gonna need your help.

Hmm.

Holy smokes.

You fools are headed the wrong way.

I told her to take you out the back.

What are you doing here?

Called myself helping you…!

Mr. Bass!

You're in no shape to save anybody yet.

You fire another shot, it'll kill you.

Then what do we do, Miss Etta? How do we save you?

-Mmm. -There she is.

-We've got her, boys! -You don't.

Not yet. I get captured.

You help Bass with his arm.

In a few days, when he's healed, come find me here.

No. No, Miss Etta. We can't just leave you.

Who's gonna teach me how to be a real engineer?

Listen to me, you stupid little girl.

Stop asking the world permission to be who you know you are.

You're not an engineer the day you impress me

or get some diploma or win some award.

You're an engineer the day you decide that's what you are.

Hear?

When I leave you in this cave,

I want you to remember one more thing.

The most important thing.

Listen carefully.

Don't touch anything.

Eh?

How long was I out?

Sir, I found him. My uncle.

It's all connected. Etta, Uncle Eugene, everything.

They're all in the same place! Look!

Dana.

Oh, right.

Sorry. It's about a science exhibition in Tuskaheegee.

That must be the opportunity my uncle was talking about.

It says, "The showcase is to be held on Saturday, 28th March, 1874."

"Never forget, he who holds the fire holds the power."

-Ow! -What? What you say?

-Read that last part again. -Mr. Bass, what are you--

Read it!

Uh…

"For he who holds the fire holds the power."

Sir, no. What… What are you doing? You still need to rest.

Miss Etta says it'll be days before you're healed.

Ain't got days. Ain't got no time at all.

Neither does your uncle, and neither does Etta.

He'll cut them apart. Turn them into monsters.

Like he did my men.

Like he did me.

The man who has them

is Rivenbark!