History Characters / DeadwoodHearstCompany

* HumiliationConga: The film is effectively one disaster after the next for him. [[spoiler:His arrogance and pride allow Bullock to expose and sabotage his operations, all of his murders are exposed to the town, a humiliating photo of him being arrested by Bullock is taken and finally an enraged crowd gathers and gives him an incredibly brutal beatdown that he just barely escapes from. To put the cherry on top, he is then tossed into jail by the ear, just as Bullock did many years ago. At the end he languishes in a jail cell utterly broken, enraged and humbled.]]

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: [[spoiler:At the end of the third season, Hearst gets everything he wants despite all the evil things he's done, and smugly leaves town to go on and live a successful life. However, karma catches up with him in the movie, where his evil deeds are exposed, and just before being thrown in jail he is the victim of some nasty vigilante justice.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Hearst pretty much gets what he wants despite all the evil things he's done, and smugly leaves town to go on and live a successful life.]]

* BigBad: Of Season 2, although Hearst is the BiggerBad who instructs him. Wolcott drives much of Season 2's conflict, sending the camp into chaos through his manipulations.

* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:After George Hearst fires him, Wolcott is briefly seen trying and failing to enjoy the jubilant atmosphere of Alma's wedding to Ellsworth. This really seems to hammer home Wolcott's total alienation from the rest of mankind, and the next time we see him he has committed suicide.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: He gives a eloquently vicious one to Cy Tolliver.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When Hearst is introduced in the Season 2 finale, he is outraged and appalled by [[SerialKiller Wolcott's]] [[DisposableSexWorker behavior]] and fires him for it, [[EvenEvilHasStandards implying that there are certain lines he isn't willing to cross]]. Come Season 3, however, any such principles are absent from Hearst, who is portrayed as a deranged sociopath [[TheUnfettered willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals]].

* {{Greed}}: An odd subversion. Hearst has a strange fetish for gold that borders on some kind of crazed fever, but isn't overly bothered with his own material wealth. It's a tool to get more gold, so that he can use that gold to get more gold.
* HateSink: He's by far the most contemptible individual in the series, which, considering some of his competition, says quite a bit.

* NotGoodWithPeople: A very dark version of this trope; Hearst has nothing but disdain for his fellow man, and as such prefers the company of dogs due to their supplication.

* MoralityPet: Subverted. He seems to treat Aunt Lou kindly, but the reality is that he has no deeper concern for her feelings and his behaviour toward her is often condescending. Aunt Lou puts on the 'mammy' act to placate him but secretly she hates him as much as anyone, perhaps even more.

-->''"Elections cannot inconvenience me. They ratify my will or I neuter them."''
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: [[spoiler:Hearst finally decides to leave the camp after being shot by Trixie. He manages to take Alma's claim, thus acheiving his objective, and he hated staying in Deadwood anyway. The gunshot seemed to convince him that, as invincible as he seems, he's still mortal. All it would take is someone with nothing to lose to kill him.]]

* HateSink: He's by far contemptible individual in the series, which, considering some of his competition, says quite a bit.

* GreatorScopeVillain: In Season 2. He's not seen until the finale, but he's [[MouthOfSauronWolcott's]] employer and the mere whisper of his name inspires fear in the characters.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When Hearst is introduced in the Season 2 finale, he is outraged and appalled by Wolcott and Lee's atrocities,[[EvenEvilHasStandards implying that there are certain lines he isn't willing to cross]]. Come Season 3, however, any such principles are absent from Hearst, who is portrayed as a deranged sociopath [[TheUnfettered willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals]].

* BiggerBad: In Season 2.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Hearst might be a misanthrope, but he admits that things go smoother when he wears a smile. The second things start to go a little wrong, however, and Hearst shows himself for what he is. There are times when he capably feigns charm and on occasion he acts close to a human being in his treatment of Aunt Lou, his very human homesickness and moments of introspection...but there's always something darker just beneath the surface. It's as if he recognizes what it is to be a human being, but finds it impossible to do so.

* {{Jerkass}}: He's a smug, condescending jackass.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Jarry seems to be heading the same way as Hearst, escaping Deadwood unscathed. A subversion is implied when he alludes to being in some trouble with the law for defrauding the county.]]

* ArchEnemy: To Mr Wu.

* BadBoss: Lee treats his employees like tools, subjecting them to a neglectful kind of cruelty.

* TheStoner: [[spoiler:Wu kills him while he's out of his head on opium.]]

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hearst Hearst is, of course, a real historical figure perhaps best known for being the progenitor of the (in)famous William Randolph Hearst. It should come as some relief that he was not the ruthless monster he is in the show.]]

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When Hearst is introduced in the Season 2 finale, he is outraged and appalled by Wolcott and Lee's atrocities, hinting that [[EvenEvilHasStandards implying that there are certain lines he isn't willing to cross]]. Come Season 3, however, any such principles are absent from Hearst, who is portrayed as a deranged sociopath [[TheUnfettered willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals]].

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When Hearst is introduced in the Season 2 finale, he promptly cuts ties with Wolcot and Mr. Lee after learning of their atrocities, hinting that [[EvenEvilHasStandards there are certain lines he isn't willing to cross]]. Come Season 3, however, any such principles are absent as Hearst is portrayed as a deranged sociopath willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goals.

->'''Played By:''' Creator/GeraldMcRaney

->'''Played By:''' Creator/GarretDillahunt

!!'Aunt' Lou Marchbanks

->'''Played By:''' Cleo King

->'''Played By:''' Alan Graf

->'''Played By:''' Creator/StephenTobolowsky

->'''Played By:''' Philip Moon

* {{Badass}}: He might be an evil bastard, but he's a solid badass who never shows fear and [[spoiler:very nearly murders Dan Dority.]]

A bottomlessly corrupt high comissioner whose two goals are to ensure that Deadwood is annexed to the territory of Dakota and that Hearst's agenda is fulfilled, in no particular order.

%%* SassyBlackWoman

* OddFriendship: She quickly enters into a genuine and heart-warming friendship with Richardson, Farnum's idiotic ButtMonkey. The intelligent Aunt Lou could probably do better when it comes to friends, but Aunt Lou seems to appreciate having someone she can be herself in front of, and Richardson is starved for kindness.

Mining magnate and one of the richest men in the world at the time[[note]]If you are wondering, he is the founder of ''that'' Hearst family[[/note]], George Hearst arrives at Deadwood with the purpose of adding its rich gold deposits to his empire... and if that means destroying the whole town and [[KickTheDog kicking as many puppies]] as they get in his way, [[TheSociopath so be it]].

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler:Seems genuinely distraught when Captain Turner is killed,although he may have simply taken it as a grievious insult.]]
* EvilOldFolks: Hearst is feeling the effects of old age, but it hasn't impeded his ability to be an evil, evil, evil, '''evil''' bastard.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Hearst might be a misanthrope, but he admits that things go smoother when he wears a smile. The second things start to go a little wrong, however, and Hearst shows himself for what he is.
* ForTheEvulz: Sometimes it isn't just for the money.

* StoutStrength: He's a frighteningly strong man.

Head geologist and trusted field agent of mining magnate George Hearst, Wolcott arrives in Deadwood to clear the way for his boss. He also hides quite a few disturbing secrets.

-->''"Believing yourself past surprise does not commend you to me as a friend. A man inadequately sophisticated or merely ignorant, or simply stupid, may believe himself past surprise, then be surprised to discover, for example, that Mr. Hearst already knows of my inclinations and finds them immaterial. Suggesting as a corollary that your skills for blackmail and manipulation no longer are assets to you, and for your fatuous belief in their efficacy, in fact have become liabilities. In short, you've overplayed your hand. Now I should think, in consequence, now recognizing yourself as a man past his time, that during this last transitional period you would devote yourself with grateful and quiet diligence to such uses as others may still find you suitable."''

%%* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness

* YouLookFamiliar: Played by the same actor that portrayed Jack [=McCall=] in the previous season. This is lampshaded when Ellsworth recognizes him but points out that he "didn't have a beard then".

* EvilCounterpart: To Mr Wu.