The Swede... - Hell on Wheels (2011) Discussion

[–] sandy47 8 years ago

Pretty sure you're supposed to hate him.

That's why he survived his leap from the bridge when our hero was about to string him up; why, given all the places there are to disappear on a continent the size of North America, he just couldn't stay away from the railroad and why he's still conniving and contriving and generally creating as much mayhem for as many innocents as he's able.

He is the tale's principle antagonist; he will be around, scheming and conspiring and driving the plot, right up 'til the bitter end. Then he'll die - probably horribly. The revenge fantasies of all who live for them will be fulfilled in season five, episode thirteen or fourteen.

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[–] Sophitia36 8 years ago

Well, there's hating him, and there's being tired of him and thinking his time is long overdue.

I used to like hating the Swede as an antagonist, but honestly, he should have died at the end of season 2. There's nothing he can ever do that will be worse than gratuitously murdering Lily Bell.

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[–] jrw1999 8 years ago

Well, there's hating him, and there's being tired of him and thinking his time is long overdue...but honestly, he should have died at the end of season 2

My feelings exactly!

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[–] CarinaBlonsky 8 years ago

Amen.

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[–] bluefalcon60893 8 years ago

He does nothing for the show. He was a good antagonist in the first 2 seasons but since then it's just more of the same. He's the same character he was in season 1. He's just annoying now. I get characters that are meant to be hated (Joffrey) but that's not the Swede. He has served no purpose for almost 3 seasons now. Every time he's on the screen I just roll my eyes and think this idiot again. He honestly makes the show worse.

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[–] eisphoenix-655-672150 8 years ago

Well, he's basically a (pretty cheap) means to move the show in a specific direction, nothing more. And he's extremely annoying, I hope he gets killed off in the next episode, seems to hint that way.

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[–] mjd_subs2 7 years ago

For me, that was his one saving grace. I disliked Lily Bell immensely.

-----
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[–] pure-conscience 7 years ago

The revenge fantasies of all who live for them will be fulfilled in season five, episode thirteen or fourteen.

Close. Season five, episode eight.

But what do I know. I'm just a girl.

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[–] Angelynn-jensen 8 years ago

There's hating a character, and then there's being so repulsed by them you skip episodes...or at least fast forward through every scene he's in...that's me with the damn Swede. Hate his whole vibe. Not just evil, but insults the intelligence of the viewer by his ridiculous multiple character incarnations. Real schizophrenic personalities aren't like this guy. He's just...ANNOYING.

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[–] de3206 8 years ago

Angelina, I'm with you, and did exactly that.....the character has no redeeming qualities at all, and I also skipped episodes, and finally decided it wasn't worth it.

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[–] SrEditor 8 years ago

The beginning of Season 5 I thought they might be trying to give the character a redemption arc, which would have *really* made me angry. But of course, it was a short-lived concern.

But currently, he still has a dog he seems to care about, and that *is* a redeeming feature.

EDIT: I am only on ep 5.

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[–] rjbiggs1 8 years ago

The Swede was a character you hated right from the get go.Really hated him when he
killed Lilly Bell.The relationship between her, Cullen and Durant was dynamic.Almost
stopped watching when she was murdered. I'm glad I stuck it out.

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[–] silvercometred1 8 years ago

He's actually from Norway; but nobody pays attention to him when he tells them that.

Personally I think he's from Hell. One of Satan's best.

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[–] rj-27 8 years ago

Personally I think he's from Hell. One of Satan's best.

Good observation. I think he is an excellent personification for the devil and all his lies and empty promises.

That is why he has such staying power. Believers empower liars.

Democracy is the pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. H.L. Mencken

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[–] lantzn 8 years ago

Yes, they aren't paying attention, he's Loki the god of discord who runs around making trouble for everyone.

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[–] branwese 8 years ago

Come on Bohannan just kill him already.😠

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[–] silvercometred1 8 years ago

Bohannan: I'm trying! But this sonubitch from Norway just. Won't. Die.

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[–] branwese 8 years ago

😀

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[–] Anthoney999 8 years ago

He should have killed him in the river. It would not only been right and legal but the smart thing to do. They turned Cullen all namby pamby. I didn't need an entire episode of listening to the Swede run his mouth. It was to late to give us some sympathetic back story.

At least I got to see him piss himself.

No Sitcoms! No Sports! No Reality!

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[–] deer1 8 years ago

Watching hell on wheels has been intresting, but this Swede character was a long overdue. I think the logical end for him would have been in that bridge. Sadly writers chickened and let him live. Imo his presence after that served no purpose and he had very little importance to the main story.

I do find his character intresting, but there wasn't much point keeping him alive this long. Imo it felt like they were purpossly dragging his story arc. Bohannon simply not killing the bastard much earlier after all the suffering the swede had caused to him made no sense to me.

And imo seeing him hang now didn't really have much impact on me, because this was supposed to happen many seasons ago. Sadly writers had no balls to do it. They didn't belive in their own stories enough back then to kill a major character.

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[–] brianlingle-83256 8 years ago

Cullen limping along, exhausted, dragging the Swede toward his execution, painfully dragging it out - I think it reflects the writers' self awareness and sense of humor.

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[–] ktsparks 8 years ago

Thank GOD that story line is finally over. Glad it didn't drag on for every freakin' episode.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought, when they saw Cullen and the Swede on horseback setting out alone, "Are you kidding me? Alone?? So how is the Swede going to get away from this one?" So glad the writers finally had the balls to kill the guy off and not create yet another way where he miraculously escapes.

And whew, glad I got to look into Cullen's gorgeous eyes again. That is one handsome man....

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[–] Sifo85 8 years ago

Personally I like what Christopher Heyerdahl did with the character, allthough as several of you mentioned his story didn't always make much sense after he jumped off the bridge.
I do think Mr. Heyerdahl is an excellent actor though,and the Swede is one of my favorite roles of his.

I am Norwegian myself and him insisting he's from Norway and not Sweden, and his short phrases and sentences in Norwegian mixed in with his Norwenglish, made it extra interesting. He said some really funny stuff at times.

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[–] MovieLuver365 8 years ago

I had the strangest dream last night. A fortune teller told me I was a Norwegian Queen in one of my past lives...I was like, "Really? Norwegian?", trying to make sense of it. And the Swede popped up and said, "...Norwegian, from Norway!". I think I woke myself laughing. Just can't seem to escape him, no matter how irritating he was!

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[–] maugrim81 7 years ago

He gets his just deserts

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