North and South Book III (1994)

Review

North and South is an American mini-series based on the trilogy of novels by John Jakes which were set before, during and after the Civil War, and followed the various fortunes of the Main and Hazard families. The third and final instalment of the series was not made until 1994 and there were significant changes made to the cast, the most notable being the absence of Patrick Swayze. Ironically, the character of Orry Main did not survive the Civil War in the books but a decision was made to keep Orry alive on the series. Since negotiations with Swayze failed, Orry was killed off at the very start of the first episode. Most of the cast from the previous two series are also absent with some others reduced to a token guest part.

The third book, subtitled Heaven and Hell, is mainly focused on the character of Elkanah Bent and his continued vengeance on the Hazard and Main families, as well as Charles Main’s adventures in the west. There are only three episodes in this series and it takes place over a shorter span of time, however it was not well received by critics or audiences alike. The friendship between George and Orry was always at the heart of the series and the third instalment suffers from its absence. The introduction of Cooper Main is also out of place as he is never mentioned once during the previous two series, although he does exist in the books. The part of Charles Main was given to Kyle Chandler who is too fresh faced to be believable as a grizzled war veteran who has seen too much and his storyline is lacking in interest.

Elkanah Bent, having survived the explosion at the munitions depot, carries out his revenge against George and Orry who he perceives are to blame for his failures. Bent goes to Richmond where he stabs Orry to death and a shocked George arrives at Mont Royal to mourn his friend, while Bent takes advantage of his absence to kill Constance. There are already hints that George and Madeline are developing romantic feelings at this stage when just feels completely wrong as George was so deeply in love with Constance. Confused by his feelings, George rushes home just in time to find his wife dead. Brett makes a brief appearance to persuade George to let her take the children back to California with her but he is not keen. Brett must get her way as George is soon reunited with Madeleine and the children are never mentioned again.

Orry’s older brother, Cooper Main, an embittered man, turns up at Mont Royal after hearing about Orry’s death but he has no intention of helping Madeline rebuild the mansion. Instead, Cooper joins the Ku Klux Klan who are undermining the work Madeline is doing with the local poor blacks. Before long, Cooper is in cahoots with Isabel Hazard who seems to have suffered no consequences for her part in producing the shoddy cannons for the union army and skimming the profits from Hazard Iron. Isabel persuades Cooper to have the land at Mont Royal analysed as she believes it to be rich in natural resources and she makes plans to evict Madeline when the survey proves her right. Isabel has never shown the slightest interest in Mont Royal or the Main family so it is plot device to make her the villain of the piece.

George and Madeline head to Washington to confront Stanley and Isabel, but it seems Stanley has finally found his backbone and is not involved. Stanley forces Isabel to sell her shares in the mining company to George and then tells her to take whatever she wants from the house as he is applying for a divorce. It’s nice watching the hateful Isabel finally get her comeuppance. With their new found wealth, Madeline and George return to Mont Royal where they hire freed slaves to work the mine for a fair wage but they continue to receive threats from the local Klan. Working in such close proximity to each other, George and Madeline realise they have fallen in love but just as they settle into their new relationship, a letter arrives revealing Bent has kidnapped Charles’ young son, Gus. A son who looks about five now despite being a baby at the end of the second series and only a few months having passed since the end of the war.

George heads west to find Charles who is fighting against the Cheyenne with a group of buffalo soldiers. The two men track down Bent and hang him for murdering Orry and Constance. George and Charles then return to Mont Royal where the Klan have abducted Madeline and Cooper is ordered to kill her. When Cooper refuses, he is killed by Gettys LaMotte, the vindictive leader of the local Klan, who is in turn killed by George. The series ends with George and Madeline making plans for a future together. All rather pointless really.