In this deeply stirring episode of The Passage, the Ferryman, brought to life by the rich voice of Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, The Walking Dead), encounters a soul carrying the weight of a nation's tears and a people's fractured spirit. Suate Standing Deer, a composite character representing the complex web of loyalty, betrayal, and survival during the Cherokee removal, steps into the spirit realm, his presence a testament to the immense suffering endured on the Trail of Tears.
As the Ferryman guides him through the fog of history and sorrow, Suate Standing Deer, voiced by the legendary Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans / Geronimo: An American Legend) recounts the tumultuous times of the Treaty of New Echota of 1835. He speaks of Major Ridge and the Treaty Party, who, under the suffocating pressure of the federal government, believed that ceding their lands and relocating west of the Mississippi was the only path to preserving Cherokee rights and existence. The divisive treaty not only fragmented their land but also the very soul of the Cherokee Nation.
In the wake of forced removal and the tragic journey that became known as the Trail of Tears, Suate Standing Deer finds himself entangled in the repercussions of the treaty. Blamed for the loss of the ancestral Cherokee lands and the countless lives lost during the removal, Major Ridge's fate becomes a symbol of the deep wounds inflicted upon the Cherokee people.
Suate Standing Deer, chosen as an instrument of retribution according to the Cherokee Blood Law, grapples with the haunting question: Was his act of assassination an assertion of justice and autonomy in the face of overwhelming oppression and despair? Or was he the victim of an infectious bloodlust spread by the encroaching influence of the white man?
As the narrative unfolds, the Ferryman listens, his silent gaze a mirror reflecting the tangled interplay of cultural erosion, survival, and the search for identity in the face of unspeakable loss.
In this episode of The Passage, listeners are invited to traverse the blurred lines between vengeance and justice, between the preservation of tradition and the corrosive impact of external forces. Written by Michael Owl.
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