He tries moving forward with his plan. "Sign these documents," he says, indicating the affidavits to which she formerly agreed, "and leave unharmed." Miss Iz is none too ready to sign, however. She says she doesn't trust the situation. Uh, here we see that the kinder, gentler Al Swearengen we had come to know and love following his gleets experience...is no longer in play. In other words, what little patience he's seemed to have lately is now lost, just as if it had been thrown to Wu's pigs. And it's oh, so nice to have him back. "That applies to you most, sittin' in that fuckin' chair, distractin' my fuckin' thinking," he tells her, without further ado. "If I have to come over there, I'll cut your fuckin' throat for you, pen yet put to paper, or not." Whoa.
You gotta hand it to Iz, though, because she handles it fairly well. I mean, she probably just wet her petticoats, but she's keeping her usual cool. Johnny and Trixie, still in the room, wait in silence while Al jerks a bottle of whiskey from his drawer and stomps out, calling Iz a "half-smart fuckin' c*nt." In the hall, Al finds Dan and tells him to bring Adams's "shadow" to see him. "Fuckin' Hawkeye," Dan says, most likely remembering the time he almost beat the little leprechaun to death.
Merrick walks up, shaking his head about the accident that has occurred with William, and Al belligerently asks the newspaperman what he wants. "The sheriff's tragic preoccupation is also inopportune," he reports. "Commissioner Jarry returns to Deadwood." Al asks him how he knows this, and Merrick goes into a roundabout speech about how he kind of, you know, accidentally, maybe, got a look at a telegram on Blasanov's desk -- addressed to Cy and Wolcott -- saying that Jarry would be on the coach. (I warm my hands with evil glee, thinking my chance to see the hated Jarry get stabbed is nigh.) Merrick goes on, philosophizing on the irony that having turned his newspaper "to partisan purpose," he then, within the day, "progressed to betraying, without regret, the sanctity of private communications." Oh, Merrick. What a tangled web you are now weaving. Al regards this soul-searching with an "ah, well," and interrupts to yell down to Dan. "Unless he's being of aid to Bullock," he says, "bring the Jew up here, too."
Merrick has continued, meanwhile, with his deep thoughts. He asks Al if he thinks it was his rumor-mongering newspaper story that prompted Jarry's return. "Yes," Al says, impatiently. Merrick wonders if, wishing to pre-empt Montana and Wyoming, Jarry will push harder with Yankton's proposal to annex Deadwood into Dakota. "And to sweeten the deal, we'll strike," Al says. "These interests we've fabricated must be given face." Squinting, Merrick looks into the distance, dramatically foretelling that "thus, the uncharted journey continues." Al's got no patience for the drama at all today. "Merrick, please," he says, exasperated. "As we'll be more often in each other's company, when given to utterance of that type, consider drinking."