EPISODE: Journey Remembered
Reviewed by Lynne Coulson
Guest stars: Inga Swenson, Gene Evans, and Kevin Hagen
Written by: Anthony Lawrence
Directed by: Irving J. Moore
SUMMARY:
The episode opens with Ben coming out of the house, calling for Hoss. He finds Hoss in the barn tending to a mare who is about to give birth. Ben is anxious to leave, as he and Hoss are supposed to be meeting up with Adam and Joe, who are bringing in a herd of cattle. Hoss refuses to go, because of the mare, and asks Ben to fetch him some medicine that is on a shelf in the barn. As Ben goes to get it, he sees an old journal that he kept when he and Hoss’ mother were making the long trek west. (Seems a funny place to keep such a treasured possession, but there you go). Ben recalls that Inger kept a lot of people waiting for just the same reason as Hoss because she was delivering a foal. Then we go back in time.
A much younger Ben (Lorne with his silver mane darkened) is watching Inger caring for a mare, owned by Mr. Simon. In the background, we see several wagons and the settlers are anxious to be moving on, but Inger won’t go. Ben says that they should leave it to Simon to look after the horse, but she says that Mr. Simon has entrusted the mare to her care, just as Ben has entrusted her with the care of his son, Adam. Ben can see that she is not going to change her mind (she was obviously just as stubborn as he could be) and so they wait until the colt is born.
Inger apologizes for the delay, but Ben says he wouldn’t have had it any other way and hugs her, sharing in her delight. Just then, Adam (cutely played by Johnny Stephens) and a little friend run up to tell Pa that he thinks the wagon master is dead.
Opening credits
It turns out that the man, Wilkes, is not dead, only dead drunk and this isn’t the first time that he’s been that way. The settlers all stand around complaining about him, but Ben, who seems to be their leader, says they had no choice but to hire him to guide them, as they had all agreed that they wanted to make California that year. (Of course we all know that Ben eventually returned to Utah territory, which became Nevada Territory, but his original destination was California).
Ben says he will talk to Wilkes once the man is sober, but there is nothing he can do until then, and so he sits under a tree and writes up his journal. Inger (the wife I like the most, and the one I think was best suited to the life they were heading for) comes to join him and smiles when she sees he is writing again. He says it is a habit from his time at sea, when he had to keep a log. Inger tells him that her father kept a journal of their travels from Sweden, and says that she kept it for years, as it was a reminder of her father. (What a shame that she didn’t keep it for Hoss, so that he could have known more about his mother). She recalls the happy times of her childhood. Ben says that he wishes his journal was happier and that he feels he is letting down the settlers and Inger, what with all the delays. However, she is optimistic that all will be well.
Wilkes is sobered up with coffee, and is unrepentant when Ben points out that his drinking might mean that they arrive too late to meet up with the main wagon train at Ash Hollow. If that is the case, then Wilkes won’t get paid, but he assures them that they will get there.
It is now the middle of August and they are making pretty good progress. Adam rides with Inger on the wagon and she sings Swedish songs to him (Maybe this was when he first started liking music).
When they stop for the night, Ben talks to Inger about their dream and says he is afraid that they are aiming for the impossible, but she tells him that it isn’t impossible and restores his faith. He asks her to take things easy, saying that she does too much, but she says that she does no more than anyone else does. However, Adam’s little friend has been sick and Inger has been helping to nurse him (another trait that Hoss has in common with his mother -- always happy to help a person in need).
In the meantime, Wilkes is off alone, drinking, and is startled when a man sneaks up on him. The man is called Rockwell and Wilkes owes him money. Rockwell has been following them and demands that Wilkes pays him, but Wilkes says he has no money until he gets paid for leading the wagon train. Ben arrives on the scene and breaks up the fight between them and Rockwell tells Ben to give him the money that he was going to pay Wilkes. Ben refuses to do so until they get to Ash Hollow. Rockwell says he will follow them, to make sure he gets paid. Wilkes tries to shoot Rockwell, but Rockwell kills Wilkes instead. This leaves them without a guide.
The next morning, Inger is talking to one of the other women and the woman asks her if she has told Ben about the baby she is expecting. Inger says that Ben has a lot to deal with at the moment and so doesn’t want to worry him, but the woman says that Inger spoils Ben. Inger’s reply is that she loves him, pure and simple. (What a wonderful woman she is! I’d be demanding my ante-natal visits and be spending 75% of my time in Mothercare by now)
Ben and the other men decide to ask Rockwell to lead them and that way they will have a guide and Rockwell will get the money he was owed. Rockwell agrees, but he tells them they are foolish to be going west, as it is not the land of milk and honey they are hoping for. Ben tells him that they have sold everything to fund this trip and they are determined to make a success of things.
The next part of the journey takes them into an arid area and it’s hard going. (I am full of admiration for anyone who actually made that trip, and can only say that they must have been made of stern stuff to do so, as it certainly wasn’t a picnic). They go past some Indians, but they don’t bother with each other.
Rockwell pushes them to go faster, and Ben is worried about Inger, as he fears that she is ill. (How he doesn’t realize she is pregnant I don’t know, as we all know that Hoss was a big baby and so she must have been showing quite early on, plus there are other signs and he had been married to a woman who had a baby, already).
On September 1st, the little boy whom Inger has been helping to nurse dies and they bury him, covering the scent of the body by burning gunpowder over the grave and walking the stock across it. (That must have been even more heartbreaking for the parents, seeing their son’s grave treated like that, but it stopped the wolves and Indians finding it. As an aside, there was a story circulating that while they were filming this episode, Lorne removed his toupee, as he had his hat on in most of the scenes. When they came to film the graveside scene, Ben was supposed to be in shot, but that would have meant him removing his hat. As Lorne would never allow anyone to see him without his hair, he persuaded the director to shoot the scene with only the parents of the child present, so he was able to keep his bald head covered)
They encounter some problems getting the wagon up a fairly steep incline and Inger gets out to help push it, against Ben’s orders. She is knocked to the ground and as Ben goes to pick her up, she tells him about the baby. He is cross with himself for not realizing (but then Inger is still as skinny as a rake LOL) and tells her she must rest. She says that her mother worked all day, plowing, before giving birth to Gunnar, Inger’s brother, in a field, and she was hoping that things would be that easy for her. She is sorry for delaying them (what a girl…’d be demanding a hospital bed LOL) and says that the baby is not due for months yet. Rachel, one of the women, goes to sit with her and Ben talks to the rest of the settlers about what to do next. They are anxious to move on, as they are not equipped to face a winter on the trail and Rockwell agrees that they must continue. Ben wants to give Inger time to rest, but she calls out from the wagon that she is a lot better. She has felt the baby move and knows that all will be well (that puts her at about 18 weeks, so that means that Hoss was born around the end of January, but that is unlikely, as they are on the trail when he comes and the weather would have been too bad in January for them to travel).
They continue on their way and the weather begins to get colder. When they stop to eat, Inger, now with a little bump, has cooked for the camp and Ben is praising her cooking. The other members of the party ask about names and Ben says that this son (he is sure it will be a son) will be named after Inger’s father and the next one after his father, Joseph. The other men tease him about already having a name for his third son, when the second one isn’t even born yet.
Inger takes some food to Rockwell, who stays on the outskirts of the camp and doesn’t mix with the others. Inger tries to make conversation with him, asking if he has a wife and children, and he snaps at her to mind her own business.
During the night, Indians raid the camp and they knock out the guard, who is asleep, and steal some horses and Rockwell’s belongings, including some whisky. Ben goes with Rockwell to retrieve the stock. Rockwell says that the Indians will have stopped to get drunk on the whisky, and so will be easy targets and this proves to be the case. Rockwell shoots one of the Indians and the others run off. Ben is angry that Rockwell has killed one and they have a fight. (I’m not sure why; they were rustlers, but Ben says they didn’t have a chance). Rockwell says they don’t deserve to live, as they killed and scalped his wife and children. Ben wants to know why Rockwell is helping the settlers when he has such disdain for them, but Rockwell says he wants them to suffer like he has and lose their families, too. (I think we can say, without fear of contradiction, that Rockwell is a very bitter and twisted man).
They return to the camp with the horses to find that Inger has had the baby. Little Adam is in the wagon with her, and Inger, looking remarkably well (and with eyeliner and hair all in place), is holding a baby that looks about three months old (Not sure how one that size fitted into the little bump that she had, under her apron).
Adam says ‘Look at the size of him, Pa’ and wants to name him. Inger says she would like to name him Erik, after her father, but Adam says that Uncle Gunnar wanted them to name a son Hoss. Ben says they will give him both names and see which one sticks. (Of course, we know it will be Hoss, but I wonder if Erik might have been used more had Inger lived)
They carry on their journey and Ben notes in his journal that the baby is strong. Adam helps out driving the wagon, as Inger rests in the back. Ben joins her and holds Hoss. Inger seems very happy and thanks Ben for all the things that he has taught her. He says that it is nothing in comparison to what she has taught him: love, compassion, and understanding. He says that he knew she was going to be a good influence on him when he first met her in her father’s store (told in Inger, My Love) and she says he was like a character from a childhood fancy. She used to dream of a man who would come along and whisk her up into his arms, as if she weighed no more than a sheaf of wheat, and Ben was that man.
They eventually get to Ash Hollow, but the Indians are not far behind and they are out for revenge because Rockwell killed one of their braves. When the group talks to the station manager, Calder, he says that the Ryan Company has already left, as Ryan received word that the supplies he was hauling were urgently needed and winter was nearly upon them. The other settlers blame Ben for them being late, saying that Inger’s pregnancy slowed their progress and they begin to worry about how they will survive the winter. Then the Indians arrive and they have to worry about them, too.
Everyone heads for the way station and get ready to defend themselves. The Indians attack and Adam goes over to the window, but Rockwell yanks him away. Inger, Adam and Hoss cower in the far corner of the room, as the men fire on the Indians. Rockwell gets a bullet in his shoulder and Inger takes his place, leaving Adam holding Hoss (Aw bless). As Inger turns away to reload the rifle, she gets an arrow in her back and dies in Ben’s arms, as she talks about their home in the mountains. Ben is crying (this is so sad). Rockwell talks to Ben and tells him that he must go on, for the sake of their boys. Rockwell goes outside to give himself up to the Indians and so spare the lives of the settlers (the man done good, in the end; must be Ben’s decency rubbing off on him)
Ben buries Inger, with a bewildered Adam looking on (that little boy is so sweet) and then we are taken back to the present day, to Ben and Hoss, in the barn.
Ben reads out the next part of the journal, in which he wrote that he did carry on as Inger wanted him to. Hoss is sitting by Ben’s side as his father reads this, and when he looks over at the mare, she’s had her colt.
Hoss goes to the stall and pets the colt (looking slightly older and drier than a newborn, but no matter) and Ben says that Hoss’ mother would have been mighty proud of him.
REVIEWS:
“Inger was the perfect pioneer wife. She would have worked right alongside Ben building the Ponderosa. If she would have lived, they would have had a whole houseful of children.” Ginny
“I always thought this episode reinforced what a wonderful pioneer wife Inger was. She doesn't let a little thing like being pregnant stop her from pushing wagons. She's the Earth Mother, taking care of everyone and everything. Ben, on the other hand, appears unsure of himself in this episode, in my opinion. I suppose this was done to show how Ben had to "grow into" his role as being in charge. But I really wanted Ben to bark out orders and knock some heads together.” Susan Grote
“Inger was just the right kind of woman to venture across the land with Ben.” Deb
“To me Inger was the best match for Ben. She had a nice combination of gentleness and strength, and was able to keep Ben in hand!” Sue W.
“Inger was the right kind of woman to show Ben he could open up his broken heart to risk being in love again after loosing Elizabeth.” Robin
“Inger did seem to be the wife that would have survived the journey and be tough enough to handle all there was to encounter. The death scene is quite sad, like Adam's mother's death. Kind of breaks my heart more because you see young Adam and the infant Hoss by Ben's side. Very sad!!!!” Nancy
“Inger was a great wife for Ben, right from the beginning of the episode I had decided she had spunk…The scene where she dies in Ben's arms…Gosh...I sat here in tears all over again. I felt so sorry for Ben and recalled how the camera then showed little Adam holding Hoss.” Miss Maggie