A pretty good character study episode, centering on Tom Wilson (Rory Calhoun) a handsome drifter who saves Adam from drowning after he's fallen into a fast flowing river during the rescue of a calf.
This is an "Adam" episode in which he is gradually forced to see the serious flaws in Wilson, the man he owes his life to. Wilson is a person with no ethical moorings, one whose moral compass must be very rusty, if he ever had one at all; someone who goes through life in the easiest way possible, who will use and discard others, while avoiding hard work, getting along by taking what life offers, with no qualms about dubious or illegal means being required to meet his ends; a man with the fortunate advantages of strong fists, a quick mind, a glib gift of the gab (he can tell a good joke!) and a magnetic allure for women which suits his Don Juan tendencies. For Wilson, life is about amusing himself, and his rescue of Adam (which he approaches in a meandering, easy going manner, without any indications of urgency or concern, giving us some early hints about the sort of person he is ) we come to see is something he does because he thinks it will be to his advantage, rather than from any altruistic motivation. Certain incidents - stealing, cheating at cards, carrying on with a Cartwright pal's girlfriend - force Adam to reevaluate the man he had liked and wanted for a friend, and eventually he has to confront the awful truth that Wilson is also a murderer.
Tom Skerritt, who would appear as Little Joe's would be nemesis in the final "Bonanza" episode in 1972, here plays the part of the young man whose girl (played by the very cute Linda Foster) falls head over heels for Wilson. It looks as if women tend to chase Tom Wilson rather than the other way round - an infatuated saloon girl is perpetually draped over him in some scenes - and he's happy to oblige if they suit him.
It's fitting that the episode comes full circle, and the climactic events take place by and in the river, near the spot where Tom Wilson had rescued Adam.
This is an "Adam" episode in which he is gradually forced to see the serious flaws in Wilson, the man he owes his life to. Wilson is a person with no ethical moorings, one whose moral compass must be very rusty, if he ever had one at all; someone who goes through life in the easiest way possible, who will use and discard others, while avoiding hard work, getting along by taking what life offers, with no qualms about dubious or illegal means being required to meet his ends; a man with the fortunate advantages of strong fists, a quick mind, a glib gift of the gab (he can tell a good joke!) and a magnetic allure for women which suits his Don Juan tendencies. For Wilson, life is about amusing himself, and his rescue of Adam (which he approaches in a meandering, easy going manner, without any indications of urgency or concern, giving us some early hints about the sort of person he is ) we come to see is something he does because he thinks it will be to his advantage, rather than from any altruistic motivation. Certain incidents - stealing, cheating at cards, carrying on with a Cartwright pal's girlfriend - force Adam to reevaluate the man he had liked and wanted for a friend, and eventually he has to confront the awful truth that Wilson is also a murderer.
Tom Skerritt, who would appear as Little Joe's would be nemesis in the final "Bonanza" episode in 1972, here plays the part of the young man whose girl (played by the very cute Linda Foster) falls head over heels for Wilson. It looks as if women tend to chase Tom Wilson rather than the other way round - an infatuated saloon girl is perpetually draped over him in some scenes - and he's happy to oblige if they suit him.
It's fitting that the episode comes full circle, and the climactic events take place by and in the river, near the spot where Tom Wilson had rescued Adam.