Trixie is one of the most fascinating characters of Deadwood. And that’s saying something! She is one of many sex workers, and is largely the most sympathetic character on the show. She’s easily one of the most moral and compassionate citizens of Deadwood, and she’s often beaten and abused at the hands of Al Swearengen.
Despite all that, she has an absolutely wicked vocabulary, and you don’t want to be on the receiving end of one of her more foul-mouthed and caustic verbal takedowns. She has a brilliant way with words.
Did You Teaching Me Make Me Accountable For My Whereabouts?
One of the more promising and touching relationships seen throughout Deadwood is that of Sol Star and Trixie. She acknowledges his budding love for her, and he teachers her how to bookkeep. He’s therefore discouraged to see her back with Al, saying, “And I come, too, and find you like you never left this place to learn your numbers.” The result is the typical Trixie venom, as she asks, “Did you teaching me make me accountable for my whereabouts the rest of my days?”
The Bank’s Founder And President…
This is another fantastic bit of dialogue between Trixie and Sol Star. Trixie refers to him as “The bank’s founder and president, Chief Officer as well, of air-headed smugness and headlong plunges unawares into the abyss.” And there’s not much else to say about that. It’s just a gorgeous piece of writing, and it proves the incredible talents of David Milch, his team of writers, and his performers.
You Gotta Like Their Friends…
While having a drink outside with Calamity Jane, Jane starts talking about spiriting the orphan away from camp to protect her against Al. This leads to a wonderful bit of dialogue from Trixie: “Think they’re any different if they’d [been] cut on? They ain’t no different. You gotta like their friends or they won’t teach you numbers or every other regulation they set!” This confuses Jane, but it greatly amuses us!
I’ll Pop From The Wall Like Grandma Groundhog
Trixie and Sol’s interactions are just too good.
In the third season episode Ready for Blood, Trixie lays into Sol, telling him, “As you lay in your beddy-bye, I’ll pop from the wall like Grandma Groundhog in a storybook.” There’s far more to her caustic speech than that, but the uses of “beddy-bye” and “Grandma Groundhog” are just too funny. We don’t like to see Trixie so agitated, but then again, her takedowns are often very, very funny…
Do What You Gotta Do To Me
The first episode is a masterclass in building character, as is the specific scene between Al and Trixie. After shooting someone for beating on her, she goes to Al and explains her reasoning. However, Al is unsympathetic, telling her that shooting customers is bad for business. After examining her wounds, Trixie dejectedly states, “Do what you gotta do to me,” before being abused even worse by Al. It paints Trixie in a highly sympathetic light, and Al in a highly negative one.
Haunts Me, Jen’s Face Does
Al is quite a schemer, and when it comes time for appeasing Hearst’s bloodlust, he plans to dispose of Jen and pass her off as Trixie. While Al defends his actions and tells Trixie “I took that young girl’s life to save yours,” Trixie responds in a brutally heartbreaking manner: “Please, Al, don’t say it again. Haunts me, Jen’s face does.” It’s another haunting glimpse into the sorrow-filled mind of Trixie. Speaking of which…
I Don’t Deserve The One Minute Of Happiness My Newborn Gave Me Coming Into The World
In this same scene between Al and Trixie, Trixie feels defeated over her role in the Hearst fiasco and Jen’s death.
And one of the biggest developments of the Deadwood movie is the birth of Trixie and Sol’s baby. However, Trixie is feeling too morose over her role in Jen’s death, telling Al, “I don’t deserve the one minute of happiness, my newborn gave me coming into the world.” It’s a brutally sad quote, even though we know better.
Lovely Little Boy
OK, one more quote from that brilliant Trixie-Al scene. Immediately after Trixie apologizes to Al “for everything,” Al sarcastically tells the “Heavens to open up” before relenting and asking about her baby. She responds with “Lovely little boy,” a beautiful reminder of the love and happiness that Trixie has finally attained through her son. And Al responds with perhaps the most touching quote in all of Deadwood: “As born of his mother, he would be.”
I Convey To You…
Trixie can be hilarious, and she can be horrifically tragic. But she can also be absolutely scathing. While Senator Hearst is riding through town, Trixie brings him down a peg: “On this 10th anniversary of them being butchered, I convey to you, Senator, memorial greetings from the minor Ellsworth and prostitute Jen. But two of the who knows how many you’ve done for while making your moneyed progress!” Now that’s a gorgeous-sounding personal attack if we’ve ever heard one.
Well You’re A God Damn Jew Fool
This sounds incredibly harsh, but it’s actually one of the more touching and humane lines spoken by Trixie. It comes about when she and Sol are first hooking up, and she requests that he kiss some of her more particular body parts (as she is used to from her customers). Sol decides to kiss her lips instead, and she responds with, “Well you’re a God damn Jew fool.” It’s her own unique way of accepting his kiss. And his love.
