For Deadwood fans, Whitney Ellsworth continues to be one of the most stalwart, capable, and endearing figures in a truly memorable ensemble. He began the series as a dusty and loquacious prospector content to keep his head buried in a gold pan, and ended it a valiant martyr who paid the ultimate sacrifice for sticking to his firmly held beliefs.
As straight of a shooter as Ellsworth was, there were aspects of his character that missed the mark. Whether it pertained to his involvement with the Garret claim or his beleaguering attitude around his second marriage, some behavior made the scales of consistency pitch wildly.
10 TALKING TO AL LIKE AN EQUAL
In the first season, it's made apparent to viewers that Ellsworth is one of the few people who warranted Al's respect. Despite the fact that Ellsworth was rude to the saloon keeper in their first scene together, Al doesn't act put upon in his usual ornery way.
This could be due to their shared dislike of the hypocrisy of polite society, or the fact that Ellsworth spends much of his fortune at the Gem, but for reasons unexplained in the series, he enjoys a rapport with Al shared by only a few others such as Cochran, Wu, and Merrick.
9 TELLING DAN HE WITNESSED BROM'S MURDER
When Dan Dority murdered Brom Garret, he intended to make it look like an accident and didn't count on anyone witnessing otherwise. But Ellsworth saw the cold-blooded deed and decided to tell Dan as much later on at the Gem.
At that point, Dan wasn't aware anyone had witnessed Brom's murder, so informing him seemed to do more harm than good since remaining silent on the matter would have all but ensured Ellsworth's safety.
8 MARRYING ALMA AFTER HER HUSBAND'S DEATH
Deadwood fans tend to forget that the kindly Ellsworth, who began Season 1 as a mild-mannered prospector who frequented the Gem, witnessed the murder of Brom Garret and chose to keep his mouth shut.
Keeping that secret helped him stay alive and in turn be there for Alma after Brom's death, but it seemed like the sort of thing that would gnaw at the heart of a man like Ellsworth. It was never brought up later when he married Alma, and he seemed surprisingly unaffected by guilt despite being painted as such a compassionate character.
7 NOT BEING MADE SOFIA'S GUARDIAN
When Alma was on her perceived death bed in Season 2, presuming she wouldn't survive childbirth, she named Seth Bullock as Sofia's guardian. She had an affair with Seth, but he had his own wife and step-son to look after.
She didn't select Ellsworth, who had doted on her every whim and pledged himself to take care of her and raise her child as his own even though he knew whom the child belonged to.
6 KOWTOWING TO ALMA'S WHIMS
Prior to Alma Garret's involvement in his life, Ellsworth was the sort of man to patron the Gem and declare his credit loudly, while drinking to the point of making him loquacious and not fretting about lavender gloves.
The "rigor of New York City" and the fanciful etiquette of the East Coast wasn't his concern, but suddenly marrying Alma seems to imply that all the coastal elitism should somehow matter to him.
5 ABANDONING ALMA AFTER HER MISCARRIAGE
No matter how Alma felt after her miscarriage from the opium that Doc Cochran prescribed, her effervescent moods belied a serious case of depression. She wore a tepid smile to keep from collapsing into tears and agony, and it was at this time that Ellsworth chose to move out of their house.
Rather than understand her grief or see why she might relapse into her addiction, he chose to leave her when she was at her most vulnerable. Ellsworth may not have had the sense to comprehend someone with an addiction, but he was an honorable and caring person capable of having an introspective dialogue.
4 BEING BEHOLDEN TO HIS NEW FAMILY
In the first season, Ellsworth made it clear that despite having once been the foreman for Hearst's mining operation in the Comstock, where he tirelessly led a rescue party when a shaft collapsed, he was determined to be "beholden by no human c********r" ever again.
When he becomes involved with Alma Garret and is managing her claim, as well as playing puppet father to her adopted daughter, he does the very thing he swore he would never do simply because a woman was attempting to cover up an indiscretion that had nothing to do with him.
3 NOT SLEEPING IN THE SAME BED AS HIS WIFE
Several scenes in Season 2 showed Ellsworth's suspicious lack of occupying the marriage bed with his new wife. In many ways he actively avoided being romantically involved with her, a point which got worse when she relapsed with her laudanum addiction.
While it was assuredly a marriage of convenience, Ellsworth for his part seemed to care about Alma in his own way, and assured her that they wouldn't need to fall in love right away. He never seemed to imply that they should never try to become more affectionate to one another.
2 REMINDING HEARST WHO HE WAS
Ellsworth's disdain for Hearst was evident to anyone who would listen to his tirades about the man. But Hearst himself wasn't made aware until his former foreman explained to him in no uncertain terms what he thought of him and his methods.
By showing his hand, Ellsworth gave himself away to Hearst, who would have had no idea who he was. Ellsworth had the sense not to utter a word about Brom Garret's death but he didn't have the sense or discretion to be silent around Hearst, thereby jeopardizing not only his own life but also Alma and Sofia's.
1 NOT TAKING PRECAUTIONS AGAINST HEARST
Ellsworth was made aware that the intention of George Hearst in having Alma Garret fired upon was not to kill her, but rather to get him to act irrationally. When he came to her aid and vowed revenge, Hearst knew it would be much more justifiable to kill him then.
Even after coming into possession of these facts, Ellsworth continued to live apart from Alma and spend most of his time out minding her claim. He knew how dangerous Hearst was even before he had Alma's life threatened, yet he was blindsided and gunned down by one of Hearst's goons.
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