The second I heard something called “the manipulator” was in play to deal with hysteria, I knew this episode was going to be wildly inappropriate and ridiculously funny. I also love that Kate Frisbee‘s Wanda gets a little more face time. Hoyle actually deputizes her so she can help him find the person responsible for the murder of her boyfriend. And can we talk about that awesome Kung Fu sequence?
When I talked to John Lehr about the episode, he stressed that if “you weren’t a white, Christian, straight male you were completely screwed over†in the Wild West. It’s always been important for him and co-writer, co-showrunner and director Nancy Hower “get some sort of diversity going” and they’ve always a diverse cast no matter the project. They knew they wanted to include the “Chinese railroad and its relationship to Kansas†as well as “the opium trade.†And “on the fictional side,†John was a huge fan of Kung Fu shows growing up and knew he wanted to include that as well. Because we “don’t see a lot of Asian actors, we really wanted to do that†and this story “seemed like a great place to go.†They “wanted to put Wanda and Hoyle together, make her his deputy for an episode†so they “mashed it all together and started breaking the story.†They also wanted to bring “fan favorite†Ralph Garman back as well.
When I asked John who came up with the manipulator story, John tells me their “historical consultant John McCray sent us a picture of the actual manipulator, which is even more outrageous†than the device on the show. It was essentially a “table with a slot cut in it and a phallus that moves up and down from a steam-powered engine.†These devices “were actually used around that time to treat hysteria, a fictional disease that men decided women had.†And as far as he could tell it was “pretty horrific.†He and Nancy decided to fictionalize that part of the story and make it so women actually enjoyed the experience. And because they always like to use their stories to make a comment on society today, they “loved the idea that the manipulator is so great that the women don’t even care about men anymore. It’s making penises obsolete.†The story became “less sexist†when Vernon Shank got in on the action and his participation in this storyline “wasn’t planned.†Bob Clendenin was “just hanging out on set†and Nancy, who John calls “the brains behind this entire operation, threw him into the scene and†it â€made the cut.†And I think the episode is that much funnier for it.
What did you think of the episode? Hit the comments and let us know.
Quick Draw airs Thursdays on Hulu.
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