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9 thoughts on “558 – Cotton Clad Calamity”

  1. Raznaak

    Yup, he’s a bastard XD

  2. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Are those pajamas available in XXXL in the gift shop?

  3. Otaku

    It’s been a while, so let me ask: Did we get a reason for him to WANT Susie dead? Not to backseat, but if we didn’t, I’m worried were about to move into “Stupid Evil” territory. Now, stupid happens, don’t get me wrong. It’s not bad storytelling for that to be the case here.

    You’ve just done a good job NOT having that be a driving factor, so the “Kill off the stars of my successful reality TV show.” seems shortsighted, otherwise. Oh, I guess I could be mistaken about the in-story reality TV show’s success. Like, if the company behind them is losing money, or they think a change in management at the ranch would make the whole thing more popular/profitable, then I can see the above scenario happening as well.

    I REALLY think I’m just forgetting something important, but that I don’t have time to deep dive to remind me of, hence the comment. >_<

    1. Deoxy

      It certainly has been stretched out over quite a while, but there have definitely been hints from quite near the beginning that whoever is running the reality TV show definitely wants her dead.

      But I certainly don’t recall any reason why.

      1. Clint

        Yeah it’s fair to not remember since it’s been a hot minute (many, many minutes) but if you feel like a refresher the most relevant bits would be the beginning of Episode 8 and the end of Episode 15. We haven’t explicitly spelled out exactly what The Exec means by his “side hustle” or who was on the other end of that phone call, though.

        I’m hoping that when the whole thing is eventually available it will make sense, or at least enough sense to have hung this narrative on.

        1. Otaku

          Thanks for the replies, Deoxy and Clint. Yeah, I’d totally forgotten about those things. Good to know!

  4. Evervigilant

    Seems about time for the two people who aren’t there to make a surprise entrance as the ace Susie didn’t even know she had.

  5. Scarsdale

    There’s still 3-5 people on her side that might be planning something. This guy is a megalomaniac with a god complex, so letting him think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed sets him up for a fall. Everything depends on those cameras, and I suspect their little stop over by the charging coffins had something to do with her actual plan, not the one the a-hole thinks it is.

  6. lyra

    Really enjoyed the opening of Zombie Ranch. I like the combination of the western setting with the zombie concept, it gives the story a really distinctive atmosphere. I’m a freelance illustrator and animator, and I’d be interested in seeing how some of these scenes could translate into motion, especially as a short animated teaser or character scene.

    If you’re ever interested in something like that, you can reach me here:

    IG: eve_verse_
    Email: [contact.lilaclines@gmail.com](mailto:contact.lilaclines@gmail.com)
    Discord: Lyralilac_

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558 – Cotton Clad Calamity
Posted on August 26, 2026 by Dawn

What would you call this? Armchair assassination? Merk-from-home?

Well, Suzie ain't dead (or undead) quite yet, so we'll just have to see if his gloating is justifiable.

The Ballad: Boom, or Buster?

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Clint

Pardners, y’all may or may not be aware of this, but I’m one of those heathen souls that didn’t care for True Grit. The Coen Brothers remake, that is. Loved the book, love the original film, and normally I cozy right up to the Coens’ signature surrealistic stylings. True Grit being a quirky story in its own right seemed like a natural fit, but… well, I’ll let 2011 me explain if you feel the notion. The best way I would describe it now would probably be that, being familiar with the pre-existing material, I was highly aware of the particular Coen spin upon it and it was just too dang much. “Seeing the wires,” as it were.

But that’s then, and this is 2018, and it turns out the Coens weren’t done with the Western genre just yet. Nossir, not by a long shot. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, now available on Netflix for your viewing enjoyment, represents their explicit return West of the Mississip and South of the Twentieth Century, and it is a charming and disarming effort that at long last has provided me everything I might have hoped for in a confluence of Coens and Cowboys.

What’s the difference? Well, for one thing–and I had no notion of this going in–it turns out that this film is actually six films in one. An anthology of tales that are unrelated save for their particular time and place in the American Old West, much like the big collection of Zane Grey that sits on my bookshelf, and in fact presented exactly as if they were short stories in an oversized prestige edition, illustrated bookplates, frosted separator pages and all. If you’re old enough to remember such affairs (or perhaps at least have run across one in your local library or family home), the nostalgia will hit you hard before Tim Blake Nelson has sung his first horseback stanza.

Yes, only the first tale features the titular singin’ cowpoke Buster Scruggs, and unfortunately I suppose it’s a bit of a spoiler to say, since I managed to not know and because of that was rather intrigued by outcome. Following on are five more vignettes of varying tone and theme which run the gamut not only of the Western genre’s storytelling potential but the various moods and fringes of the Coens as well, where you might be pleasantly reminded how the same men who brought you Raising Arizona also brought you No Country for Old Men.

That was my reaction, anyhow. I would contend none of the stories presented would be capable of holding up a feature film in their own right, but as short subjects they are right at home, and neither they nor the Coen stylings they feature overstayed their welcome. “Meal Ticket” was the story that perhaps most threatened to become tedious for me, but was also paradoxically the most emotional for me when it hit its marks, and when its abrupt ending finally came it left me feeling almost guilty instead of relieved.

Anyhow, if you’re a fan of the Coens, the Western genre, or both, there’s something in Buster Scruggs you’re going to like, and I believe that’s true even if their most recent cinematic efforts haven’t given you quite the thrill you used to experience. It makes me want to see the Coens do more collections like this, but exploring different genres every time: pulp horror, perhaps, or fairy tales. But in the meantime I’ll be selfishly happy it was the Westerns that got the nod, here. Recommend.