Episode Guide - Julia Bulette
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Title Julia Bulette
Episode No: 6 Season: 1
Summary: Joe falls in love with a very unsuitable older woman – Julia Bulette, who hails from New Orleans. Ben is furious, there’s a jealous ex-lover in town and, just to cap things off nicely, a deadly fever hits Virginia City.
You’ll like this if: You like angst, vulnerable Joe, family conflict and some intriguing possibilities...
Synopsis: Joe returns from a trip to San Francisco. He is met off the stage by Adam and Hoss who declare that they will take him to Julia’s Palace. At once, a shot rings out and a man staggers out of Julia’s Palace, shot by John Mullain. Adam and Hoss, in a rush of niceness, carry the stricken man to Doc Martin’s, (who is wearing his BIA approved head) while Joe drifts inside. He sees Mullain slap Julia and in a trademark heedless fashion, Joe launches himself over a gaming table to thump him. This leads to Julia inviting Joe for supper and falling for him, big time. Sensible woman! Who could possibly argue with her? Ben isn’t too happy about this, and he and Joe have words, which ends in Joe moving into Julia’s. Goodness, gracious me! How unlike the homelife of our own dear Queen – though rather similar to that of Prince Charles…
It soon transpires that Ben and Julia have a previous relationship – and that rather more than hand-holding was involved. Naturally, Ben is furious to learn that Joe is now escorting Julia around town. The implication is obvious – Joe and Julia know one another in the biblical sense…Things are resolved when fever strikes the town and Julia shows her true nobility of character when she is the only one willing to help. Joe asks Julia to marry him, but she refuses. (Yes, that’s right, dear readers – she passes up the chance to have the wonderboy of the Ponderosa all to herself. Obviously there is something seriously wrong with this woman and she cannot possibly be allowed to survive intact….
Heartbroken, Joe goes back home, only for the new marshal to arrive the next morning with the news that Julia was stabbed by Mullain. Adam and Hoss go hunting him while Ben and Joe go to see Julia. Of course, she dies and Joe returns home, heartbroken but perhaps just a little wiser…until the next time he falls impetuously in love.
Clothes:
Adam: Adam wore dark trousers, cream shirt, black waistcoat and grey hat. Avid fans of 1950s fashion will be intrigued to note that his dark jeans have the fashionable turn-ups of this era.
Hoss: No change of wardrobe for poor Hoss. He still has the hideous hat, tan waistcoat and brown shirt and trousers. He is looking rather svelte here, but the decision to tuck his trousers into his boots is not the wisest move he ever made.
Joe: Since this is season 1, Joe is not wearing his ‘uniform’ yet and we see a variety of interesting clothes, including a dark shirt; his mushroom coloured cord jacket; his brown suit, brown silk waistcoat and a smart white shirt. He has on his little black hat and black boots and we see his flat black ‘fighting’ boots, too. (Plus cute white sox). Lots of black eyeliner on show, too!
Ben: A white shirt, tan waistcoat for day to day wear, but a sharks tooth checked jacket when he goes out to the town meeting. It is positively op-art in its impact and one can only wonder if the wardrobe department had visited a Bridget Reilly exhibition. Surely hoards of viewers must have rushed to adjust the horizontal hold of their televisions when this ep was first screened? His trousers have an incredibly high waist…
JPM: Several moments when Joe and Ben are together – well, it’s an angst-ridden episode, with lots of opportunities for Ben to fume and Joe to pout, which we all know are the precursors to a fine JPM!! The best has to be at the end, as Joe leans on his horse, looking up wistfully at Julia’s windows. The light goes out and he knows she is dead. Ben turns his head, sees where Joe is looking, glances up, then puts his hand on top of Joe’s for a moment. Joe looks at his pa, and nods. Unspoken understanding flashes between them and all the previous differences dissipate. Quick, pass the hankies!
Token Female Interest: Julia, played by the wonderful Jane Greer, is feisty and reminds Joe of his dead mother – there’s a surprise now! Is this the worst chat-up line ever? While Ms Greer may appear significantly older than her young lover, she was born in 1924, making her just 4 years older than Pernell Roberts.
Marvellous Medicine: None required for Joe in this ep, although he does get involved in a tussle at the opera house. And Doc Martin doesn’t seem to prescribe much more than fresh water, bed and regular sponging with a damp cloth for all the victims of the fever.
Where am I? Difficult to tell if Joe’s bedroom resembles any other bedroom he ever had, as the only bit that’s seen is the mirror above his dressing table.
In Ben’s study, the window is on the right-hand side wall, rather than on the back wall. But fear not – the banjo-barometer is in its normal home on the wall of the down-stairs bedroom!!
A young forest appears to be growing in the front-yard of the Ponderosa and the bunkhouse is still tacked on to the kitchen. But not for long!! We just know it will soon slope off to the other side of the house…maybe it knocked down the trees during its perambulations?
Family Relationships
A wonderful scene where Joe arrives home and literally throws himself into Hoss’ arms and then wrings Adam’s hand, beautifully demonstrating the relationships. And the scene where Adam and Hoss dispassionately watch Joe fight Millain, dryly commenting on his pugilistic style is just perfect. The crowning moment is where Adam throws Joe over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift, then calmly finishes off his beer before sauntering out, while Hoss gathers up his unconscious brother’s belongings, watched by Millain, who is clearly terrified the middle brother will seek revenge!
Listen carefully – this is one of the very occasions where Adam refers to “Little” Joe.
The scene where Ben watches Joe get ready for his first night back in town illustrates the father-son dynamics beautifully and is echoed at the end. These two scenes frame the uncharacteristic bickering and antagonism that characterises the middle segment of the episode.
Continuity; what continuity?: Joe tells Julia he’ll get the carriage – he disappears off but comes back a moment later and no carriage is to be seen. They then walk over to the Palace – why did Joe feel a need to get the carriage when the Palace is only across the road? Why was he signing contracts in San Francisco if he was – as David Dortort said – only 17 in episode 1?
In the fight scene with Millain, the camera pans in on Adam’s boots – which are black, then brown, the black again!
Why does Julia drink brandy out of a sherry glass? And don’t you just love the way she speaks French with a perfect American accent?! More worries creep in when she refers to Joe as “mon cherie”…ever such a slight problem with her genders! Is there more to Julia than meets the eye? Well, yes – of course there is!!
Have you been following the plot?
In many ways, this is a coming of age episode. Joe returns to town after a successful business trip and enters into a scandalous relationship. This episode clearly demonstrates that Joe is not a boy, but a man. Indeed, he says “All I want is the chance to decide a few things for myself” and totally rejects his father’s advice, going so far as to move out of the house.
Did Joe and Julia become intimate? Of course they did! Julia makes it very clear from the start that she is not exactly interested in sharing tea and crumpets with Joe when she offers him the opportunity to spend “a few minutes with him or an evening with me”!! Subtle or what?
Soon Joe and Julia are publicly living together and do not care about the scandal. Neither of them even try to avert scandal by claiming they have separate bedrooms and plainly Joe does not care what the people of Virginia City think – he even starts a fight in the Opera House after Julia is slighted.
Of course, Julia already has a disreputable occupation, so what is there to loose? Who could possibly resist Joe, who looked so stunningly handsome, if very young? Of course, an 18 year old in 1860 was regarded very differently to an 18 year old today. It is a common mistake to ascribe modern judgements and sensibilities. Coming of age was exactly that – the age at which one became responsible for oneself and Joe is fighting vigorously for the acknowledgement that he is not a child but an adult.
There’s a great deal of chemistry between the lovers that transcends the age difference. Just watch the way Julia looks at Joe as he lies sleeping in the alley-way – that is the tender regard of a woman regarding her lover.
The deathbed scene is incredibly touching. Julia tells Ben that she will give him back his son and tries to do just that, lying to Joe…but the true intimacy of their relationship is shown in the way he refuses to listen to her and the looks that are exchanged between them. Julia may be dying, but she dies with the knowledge of a pure and honest love – perhaps the first she has ever known. She tries to hurt Joe, knowing that this will be less painful than her death – but Joe is steadfast, showing both his maturity and the depth of the love they shared.
The Crucial questions no-one asks: How well did Ben really know Julia? What exactly does she mean when she tells Ben that Joe is “the only weapon I can use against you and win”? (For an answer check out Beauty Is The Lover’s Gift by Rona)
Other snippets about the family’s past emerge too – we learn that Marie died when Joe was “very young” and that “there were a lot of people who hated her”, thus opening a host of intriguing possibilities for fanfic writers to explore. Joe says that he would like to go to New Orleans “one day” – clearly indicating he has never visited the city, unlike in The Storm, where Joe says he lived in New Orleans as a child! The only instance of this storyline ever being developed was in the one-season wonder (or damp squib) that was the Ponderosa…and look how long that lasted!!!
Since Julia appeared to have been in VC for quite some time, how come Joe didn’t know all about her? And why was she becoming honorary member of Fire Company no 2, when they were just setting up Company no 1?