Damnation is a new show on USA Networks set in the 1930’s during prohibition, the dust bowl era, and the social unrest during the unionization and strikes that accompanied the corruption of that time. It’s an intriguing look at a moment in American history when people began to wrest control away from a government bought and paid for by industrialists, only to have their movement squashed by the collusion of moneyed interests and the politicians they’d paid for. The series begins in Holden, Iowa as farmers have formed a blockade around the town so no more shipments of produce can reach the city. The powerful banker in town, who owns the newspaper and the Sheriff, has bribed the market in town to keep his food prices low, to price the famers out of making a profit on their crops so they’ll default on the loans he’s given them. A preacher in town fans the flames of the farmer’s unhappiness and gets them to revolt against the banker. Who is this mysterious preacher, and what does he have planned?

Damnation is gorgeous to look at, and cinematographer turned director Adam Kane does wonderful things with the bleak endless prairie of this Iowa setting. There are times in the show, especially in some of the sunrise silhouettes, where you can’t help but be reminded of Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven. Damnation also highlights a mining strike in Harlan Kentucky that appears to be related to the preacher’s activities. The attention to detail in both the mining camp and the town of Holden really pays off, with the both towns having a real, lived in feeling. Building legitimate sets instead of relying on bad CGI to flush out the town, does wonders for the authenticity of the show, and sucks you into the world it takes place in.

Tony Tost created Damnation, and it’s the first project he’s brought out after finishing up his duties as a writer and producer on Longmire. He does a great job setting up the world of Damnation in the pilot, which can be a tricky thing. A lot of pilots are heavy on exposition in order to tell the viewer quickly what’s going on, but Tost leaves things half said or alluded to in order for the mystery of the show to take center stage. Instead of telling us right away everything about preacher Seth Davenport, we’re shown glimpses, and things are alluded to. Even his wife Amelia (Sarah Jones) is unaware of what’s in his past or who he really is. It isn’t until the end of the episode that it really becomes clear what his relationship is to the strikebreaker who arrives in town and stirs up so much trouble.

It’s clear Damnation owes a debt to both Carnivale and Deadwood, but it’s a different kind of show that branches out into new territory. It’s part western, part social revolution tale set during the agricultural uprisings in the Midwest in the 30’s. Seth, as the preacher and moral conscious of the town, uses the idea of a revolutionary Jesus as a model for helping the beleaguered townsfolk take their power back. As you can expect, the powers that be are not inclined to willingly give in, which is where the Sheriff, the newspaper, and the strikebreakers come in. Damnation is clearly well researched, and the true-life stories it uses to flesh out its world are there to service the narrative, not overburden the show. 1930’s America was a desperate, bleak time, where moneyed interests controlled everything. The game was fixed back then, with politicians in the pocket of industrialists and wealthy bankers. The people had nothing more to give, since the wealthy had taken nearly everything from them. It’s a very relevant tale. Almost the same exact thing is going on again in present day America, which I would imagine, is one of the points of Damnation.

Does Damnation refer to the fire and brimstone preachings of Seth Davenport, and the eternal punishment the Bible doles out for sinners? Or is it more like “damn nation”, as in this nation is so corrupt that unless the people do something to turn things around, it will be lost for eternity? It’s hard to say. Thematically there’s a lot going on in Damnation. There’s certainly allusions to the David and Goliath story in the Bible when it comes to the farmers and the banker who controls the town, as well as Cain and Abel with the story of two brothers at odds. The preacher is a Christ like figure, but only if Christ had been more revolutionary and less appeasing to God’s wishes for him to be a sacrifice. It’s the difference between a leader and a martyr, but time will only tell what Seth Davenport becomes.

The mysterious strike breaker shows up in town unexpected, as a local farmer attempts to bring his dairy goods through a blockade lead by Sam Riley. When the blockade confronts the farmer, the strike breaker (who we find out is named Creely Turner) shoots Sam Riley dead, and then terrorizes the rest of the farmers until they let the man pass. Most of the episode revolves around who this man is, and who sent him. He appears only to have come to town to stir up trouble, since later he murders the dairy farmer and pins it on the son of the blockade leader he killed earlier. His actions put him at odds with the local Sheriff (Christopher Hayerdahl) who confronts Creely at a brothel he’s taken up residence in. When Creely reveals he’s a Pinkerton agent, the Sheriff backs off, since the Pinkerton’s were powerful and not to be trifled with. It’s unclear if Creely can’t read, or if he just wants a prostitute to read letters for him, but he also has a strange desire for her to cut him under his armpit with a knife. From all of the scars he has, this appears to be a habit of his. Does he do it as penance for his sins?

Creely’s attempts at strikebreaking in Iowa are mirrored by another woman in Kentucky attempting to bring down the mining strike there. She works for a competing detective agency, and her methods are just as deadly as Creely’s. The Harlan Sheriff wants the Governor to send the National Guard out, but that can’t be done without losing face unless there’s a violent reason for the Guard to arrive. This woman provides the needed bloodshed by picking off both sides of the striker/strikebreaker camp with a sniper rifle, sending the entire town into violent chaos. The thing both Creely and this woman have in common is a past with the preacher Seth Davenport. Seth confronts Creely, and threatens to kill him, which is when we find out these men on opposite sides of the struggle are brothers.

The rest of the series will clearly cover how these two brothers ended up on opposite sides of the conflict, and what happened in their past that led them to where they are now. Whoever sent men from Chicago to kill Seth will clearly send more men once they realize Seth and Amelia killed them. Is this same person responsible for sending Creely and the woman in Harlan? Seth isn’t ready to go down without a fight, and nailing Sam Riley’s body to the bank, crucifix style, for the whole town to see wearing a placard that reads, “Which side are you on?” is clearly meant to get everyone’s attention and kick start his movement. Will this movement have legs, or will the Pinkerton’s and others kick the legs out from under Seth and his followers?

Season 1, Episode 1 (S01E01)

Damnation airs Tuesdays at 10PM on USA

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For six months out of the year Jeff is holed up in his home with nothing to do but shovel snow, watch television, write, and dream of warmer climates.

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Jeff Iblings | Contributor