TRUE WOMEN {PART 2 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
The second installment in this two-part miniseries, based on the book by Janice Woods Windle, following the stories of several women in 1800s America. In this part, Tarantula arrives in the nick of time and rescues Sarah and Tildy, treating Sarah's arrow wound with medicine from his necklace pouch, which he then gives to a stunned Euphemia. Elsewhere, Peter Woods reveals that he knows of Georgia's secret one-quarter Native heritage and is unbothered by it, and when he adds that he is leaving for Texas soon, Georgia boldly proposes to him. Georgia accompanies him on the trip with Martha in tow, admitting that she knows nothing about running a cotton plantation. In Texas, Euphemia learns that a group of local women, including her friend Matilda, are to be sold back to their families in accordance with a new treaty with the Comanches, but she is horrified to find that Matilda was tortured and burned by her captors, further cementing her hatred of natives. Sarah is heartbroken when Bartlett suddenly dies in an accident, and she soon sends Euphemia away to school, desperate to be alone with her grief. Georgia, arriving in Texas with Peter, is startled to spot her old friend riding past her on the street, and Peter is quickly summoned to help treat a cholera outbreak. Georgia witnesses a slave girl's painful death in childbirth and declares that she does not want children of her own, regretful of accepting a challenging life in Texas, but Peter soon persuades her otherwise.
Sometime later, Peter finds that the river is contaminated with cholera and begs a pregnant Georgia to move away, but Georgia refuses to abandon her crops. Euphemia writes to Sarah from school, complaining that too many important women like Sarah herself are left out of the history books, and Sarah finally manages to find closure with Bartlett's death. Euphemia returns to Peach Creek and reunites with her sister, finding that she has transformed her home into an inn, and she finally pays a visit to her old friend Georgia. Georgia is thrilled to see her, though is surprised to learn that she never received her letters from years ago, and the reunion quickly sours when Euphemia tells her firmly that she does not approve of her owning slaves, regardless of the fact that she treats them with kindness. Euphemia continues seeing William King, though informs him that her life plans do not necessarily include a husband, and Georgia is utterly devastated when her infant child dies of cholera. Her head slave Ed Tom, Martha's husband, returns from a sale with vast profits, and Georgia tries to distract herself by expanding and developing her plantation further.
Euphemia eventually marries William and has several children with him, though she is prevented from officially freeing Tildy, as it would reflect poorly on her husband's social standing. Angered, Euphemia declares that Texan women deserve the vote, and when she and Georgia encounter one another again, the two former friends have a heated debate about Sam Houston's bid for President and the future of Texas, with Euphemia informing her that slave-owning "cotton rats" are destroying the state. Georgia, however, points out that Euphemia's fellow Texans were responsible for the also-racist slaughter of many natives. When the Civil War dawns, William, Joel and Peter all ride off to serve and the women are left behind to make bullets and other supplies as they debate the politics in which they have no say. Sarah advises Euphemia to recruit Georgia to her suffrage efforts, pointing out that she is a charismatic orator, and Georgia soon begins to rethink her position and reads Frederick Douglass' book. Sarah suffers another blow when Joel is killed in the war, and in 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation is officially ratified and Georgia releases her many slaves, though Ed Tom and Martha point out that they are still not truly "free" to do as they wish.
Peter and William soon return home to their wives, though Peter is soon sent to Austin as a delegate to help keep the peace as Reconstruction begins. Georgia is stunned when a number of Yankee soldiers oust her from her home, declaring that it is their new headquarters, and one Captain Haller takes a special interest in Georgia's daughter Cherokee, named for her grandmother. Her other daughter Little Sweet attempts to shoot the soldiers as they storm her home, and Haller, who is suffering from tuberculosis, assaults Georgia and demands sexual favors from Cherokee in exchange for not prosecuting Little Sweet. Cherokee seemingly agrees and lures him out to the barn, where Georgia and Ed Tom ruthlessly execute him and bury the body together. She tells Euphemia that he simply "disappeared," though Euphemia seems to guess the truth, and she requests Georgia's help in fighting for the women's vote. In Austin, the Attorney General explains why women's "genteel qualities" make them unfit to participate in politics, but Georgia furiously condemns his words and highlights women's many capabilities. Her home is burned down in retaliation, and Euphemia soon discovers that her friend has TB, thanks to Captain Haller. Euphemia gives her Tarantula's necklace, declaring that she was wrong to hate all natives as she once did, and Georgia bids a loving farewell to Peter, Martha, Ed Tom, her children and finally Euphemia as she dies. Sometime later, Euphemia encounters an elderly and weakened Tarantula in town and immediately gives him her horse, defiantly showing her disapproving neighbors that she is not afraid to show kindness to a Comanche. She and Sarah, now old women, visit the graves of their loved ones, reflecting that they have endured many hardships together. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: 1997/05/xx 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:28:53
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:84497
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; Native Americans; U S - History - Civil War; Indigenous Peoples Collection
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Craig Anderson … Executive Producer
- Lynn Raynor … Producer
- Terence A. Donnelly … Co-Producer
- Christopher Lofton … Co-Producer, Writer
- Karen Arthur … Director
- Janice Woods Windle … Based on the book by
- Bruce Broughton … Music by
- The Sinfonia of London … Music by
- Nancy Biehler … Choreographer
- Dana Delany … Cast, Sarah McClure
- Annabeth Gish … Cast, Euphemia Ashby (adult)
- Angelina Jolie … Cast, Georgia Virginia Lawshe Woods
- Michael York … Cast, Lewis Lawshe
- Jeffrey Nordling … Cast, Dr. Peter Woods
- Salli Richardson … Cast, Martha
- Tony Todd … Cast, Ed Tom
- Terrence Mann … Cast, Captain Haller
- Julie Carmen … Cast, Cherokee Lawshe
- Matthew Glave … Cast, William King
- Michael Greyeyes … Cast, Tarantula
- Anne Tremko … Cast, Matilda Lockhart
- Powers Boothe … Cast, Bartlett McClure
- Charles S. Dutton … Cast, Josiah
- Khadijah Karriem … Cast, Tildy
- Oriana Huron … Cast, Cherokee (at 18)
- Karey Green … Cast, Little Sweet
- Richard Dillard … Cast, Sheriff
- Sean Hennigan … Cast, Speaker
- Gil Glasgow … Cast, Attorney General
- Julie Mayfield … Cast, Foundry Lady
- Gene Ray Price … Cast, Foundry Woman
- Richard A. Jones … Cast, Doctor
- Andrew S. Lankes … Cast, Joel (at 24)
- Reed Frerichs … Cast, Travis McClure
- Kyle Scott Jackson … Cast, Norwood
- Sonja Parks … Cast, Nellie