Lawmen Bass Reeves Episode 6: What Edwin Jones REALLY Wants From Bass

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Lawmen Bass Reeves episode 6.

The self-righteous Edwin Jones finally reveals his true intentions for waiting to meet Bass in Lawmen: Bass Reeves. Throughout the series, Edwin has proclaimed and advocated for his vision of safe areas of the United States made specifically for black communities. He, along with Jennie’s old friend Esme, traveled down to Fort Smith from Chicago to spread the word of Edwin’s seemingly altruistic plans. Esme had recently run into Jennie after years of not seeing each other, but Jennie would soon discover what brought Esme back into her life in the first place.

When Edwin finally gets the chance to meet Bass in Lawmen: Bass Reeves episode 6, he gets straight to the point in his attempt to pull Bass into his lofty ideas. Bass had just arrived home from a very dangerous night out in Checotah where he nearly died at the hands of Jim Webb’s gang of outlaws. Weathered and distraught, Bass tells the performative Edwin to get out of his chair, immediately indicating that Bass was not excited to meet him, at least under those circumstances. Edwin’s persistence in winning over Bass reaches a tipping point as the two men clash over their ideologies about their duties in America.

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Lawmen Bass Reeves: Is Edwin Jones Based On A Real Person?

Edwin Jones is a powerful speaker with big dreams in Lawmen: Bass Reeves that may end up clashing with the legendary Old West lawman’s principles.

Edwin Jones Wants To Use Bass To Market His All-Black Communities

After an uncomfortable and eventually combative conversation between Edwin and Bass, Jennie finally discovers why Esme had been pushing so hard for the two men to meet. Esme is revealed to be a business associate of Edwin’s, although it appeared that she had been his wife or, at the very least, that they were together as a couple. Edwin begins talking directly about his business plans to create all-black communities in Indigenous Territory, trying to rope Bass in as a celebrity endorsement for his ventures.

Edwin appears to be a legitimate advocate for the black community, which he certainly is to some extent in Lawmen: Bass Reeves. However, his conversation with an unimpressed Bass reveals what he is above all: a businessman. Both Edwin and Esme appear to have done well for themselves financially, indicating the significance of material wealth to them both. They quietly mask their push for black communities as a scheme to sell land which, as Bass points out to Edwin, doesn’t belong to them but to Indigenous Peoples.

Why Bass Reeves Is Unconvinced By Edwin Jones’ Vision In Episode 6

Bass Reeves is nearly as interested in money as he is in upholding law and order. Bass doesn’t masquerade through his professional ambitions like Edwin does and knows his duty as a lawman is to protect all citizens, not just members of his race. While Edwin certainly has some good points that justify his push for safe black communities, it’s revealed that the main prospect is to make money and steal more land from Indigenous Peoples in the process. Bass, who has deep roots in Indigenous Territory in Lawmen: Bass Reeves, sees right through the seemingly charismatic and virtuous Edwin Jones.