Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Hell on Wheels: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 19, 2016

If, as both the slipcover and keepcase insert of this new release allege, “all roads lead to hell,” there’s still perhaps a detour or two delaying that ultimate destination, if for no other reason than Hell on Wheels’ final season has indulged in the same bifurcated broadcast and release strategy as some other notable series like The Sopranos: Season Six, Part I and The Sopranos: Season Six, Part II and Mad Men: The Final Season, Part 1 and Mad Men: The Final Season, Part 2 . There are other detours as well, with Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) traveling to the supposedly sunnier climes of California as well as matriculating to the Central Pacific Railroad. Tasked with conquering the Sierra Nevada mountains, Cullen has a new slew of workers to corral, including a large population of Chinese, something that allows the series to populate itself with a coterie of new supporting players (some of the show's most iconic characters in fact don't really show up until later in this first half of the final season). Hell on Wheels continues to be a gritty and at least occasionally complex character study, but there are some signs that this journey is encountering a bit of lethargy even as it wends its way toward its endgame.

For those wanting to catch up on the story thus far, our review of previous seasons of Hell on Wheels can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Hell on Wheels: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review

Hell on Wheels: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray review

Hell on Wheels: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review

Hell on Wheels: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray review

Cullen seems to have finally found his happily ever after (not to mention his family) as the fifth season opens, and it’s interesting to see him at water’s edge, after four seasons of what is often at best muddy, dirty surroundings. This vignette turns out to be a waking dream of sorts, though, and in fact Bohannon is next seen scaling an impossibly steep cliffside with a coterie of other workers. A wonderful reveal (especially for those of us who grew up in a certain major city in Utah) shows that Cullen has managed to find a route to the Salt Lake valley. That’s just the “tease” of the first episode, but it nicely separates the tale and indeed even the setting from what fans of Hells on Wheels may be used to.

Note: One very minor “spoiler” is revealed below, but it’s one that occurs very early in the season and will probably be obvious to anyone with eyes. That said, those averse to such reveals are encouraged to skip down to the technical portions of the review, below.

The series quickly sets up its new environment, with Cullen going to work for the Central Pacific Railroad’s Collis Huntington (Tim Guinee), and then having to figure out how he’s going to deal with a slew of Chinese workers, all of whom are under the near slavelike employ of Chang (Byron Mann), a kind of “westernized” dandy who is nonetheless extremely ruthless, something that informs several subsequent episodes as he and Cullen butt heads. Two other Chinese figure prominently into the storyline, Tao (Tzi Ma), one of the foremen of the Chinese crew, and Fong (Angela Zhou), Tao’s supposed son who has a bit of a secret up his sleeve (which the name of the performer essaying the role may provide a clue to).

While the relationship between “Fong” and Cullen turns unexpectedly tender, even moving, as the season progresses, other nemeses show up, including the Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl), in what is arguably a less artful “reintroduction” of a character from previous seasons. In fact the whole artifice of bringing Cullen and the Swede back together doesn’t really feel organic, though it of course provides tons of opportunity for scheming and shifting alliances. A really weird subplot, at least for erstwhile Utahns like myself, involves the “prophet” Brigham Young (Gregg Henry), who has to deal with a coup of sorts that I certainly don’t remember ever being talked about in any of my elementary school history classes (which were largely focused on tales of the Mormons).

This first half of the final season is one of the more scenic in the series’ history, with gorgeously wide vistas of what is supposedly Nevada and Utah. One of the more whimsical episodes of this volume exploits that scenery to a high degree while offering an almost Fitzcarraldo-esque vignette of trying to hoist a steam enging over an impenetrable mountain pass. Performances continue to be strong, though it’s notable that some series regulars like Colm Meaney and Robin McLeavy are shunted to the sidelines for at least part of the time as the series establishes its new setting and glut of new characters.

Hell on Wheels: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hell On Wheels: Season 5 Volume 1 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Entertainment One with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The series continues to be an eyeful, and in fact this season is arguably one of the most scenic due to some of the new locations employed. Incredible depth of field is on display in some of the awesome mountain scenes, and generally this first half of season five tends to be a little less drab, dusty and dirty than some earlier years. As with previous seasons, occasion color grading comes into play, but by and large things look natural, if occasionally not especially vivid, with a lifelike if sometimes rather cool palette and consistently good detail levels. There are some long sequences in various episodes that take place either at night or in dimly lit environments, but detail levels are typically only minimally affected. Contrast and black levels are both strong and consistent and fans of the series should continue to be well pleased with the look of the show on Blu-ray.

Hell on Wheels: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hell On Wheels: Season 5 Volume 1 continues the series' good attention to sonics with a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Surround activity is utilized fairly consistently in every episode, especially when action heavy sequences provide opportunities for things like crowds of workers struggling to complete the line or some of the physical interchanges that accrue at various points. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and is generally well prioritized. A number of foreign languages are employed in various episodes with forced subtitles on occasion.

Hell on Wheels: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Look at Season 5 (1080p; 4:57) is a promotional piece that actually doesn't have any major spoilers.


• How the Chinese Built America (1080p; 3:14) is a way too brief overview of this major plot strand for the fifth season.


• Set Tour with Anson Mount (1080p; 3:23) is a fun tour which also features Production Designer John Blackie.


• Inside the Episodes offers (spoilerish) featurettes covering each episode:

  1. China Town (1080p; 5:31)

  2. Mei Mei (1080p; 4:58)

  3. White Justice (1080p; 5:03)

  4. Struck (1080p; 5:08)

  5. Elixir of Life (1080p; 3:45)

  6. Hungry Ghosts (1080p; 4:40)

  7. False Prophets (1080p; 4:33)

Hell on Wheels: Season 5, Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hell On Wheels: Season 5 Volume 1 can't quite hide the fact that it's struggling at times to set all the pieces in place for what may be a rather calamitous endgame. I personally found the reemergence of the Swede to be among the less effective gambits of this set of episodes, though it provides Mount and Heyerdahl a lot of great opportunities for vicious interchanges. The subplot with "Fong" and Cullen is rather sweet, giving the series a nice emotional tether that it sometimes lacks despite a hero who certainly is the very definition of angst-y. Technical merits continue to be strong, and Hell on Wheels: Season 5 Volume 1 comes Recommended.