Drama
The Agency
Given the violence, sexual content and foul language, navigating this spy thriller is nearly as dangerous as life in the CIA.
“The Ingalls are coming, hurrah, hurrah!”
So sing Laura and Mary Ingalls, the daughters of Charles and Caroline.
To where are the Ingalls coming? The Kansas frontier. Why are they coming? The promise of free land.
At least, that’s what the posters scattered throughout Wisconsin said. Free, farmable land to any settler fast enough to claim it. And for a man like Charles, it’s a way to build a new life with his family away from relatives who won’t forgive the mistakes of his past.
The land in question is a bit southwest of Independence, Kansas. When the Ingalls family arrives in the fledgling settlement, Charles becomes concerned that there’s no land office at which he might acquire his right to a parcel of land. Railroad developer Eli James, however, assures him that it’ll all be solidified soon, and Charles can just go ahead and claim his land now.
So he does. Charles builds a log cabin. He begins planting crops. He installs a small stable for his horses. The Ingallses build friendships with the people of Independence.
And then Charles learns that the land he’s developed is not free at all. It’s Osage territory. Eli clarifies that the government plans to offer the Osage people a deal for the land, and everything will get sorted out.
Of course, that’s all just speculation.
Have you ever wondered why the Kansas state song, “Home on the Range,” starts with the lyrics “Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam”? I’d wager it’s because building a home for yourself there wasn’t the easiest task.
That’s the thing about prairies: There isn’t much lumber to go around. Add to that the wildfires and the windy blizzards and you can begin to understand why, in 1819, explorer Stephen Long described the state as “almost wholly unfit for cultivation, and of course uninhabitable by a people depending on agriculture for their subsistence.” As a Kansan myself, that’s pretty harsh, Mr. Long.
But none of that stopped settlers in the westward expansion—and neither did it stop the Ingalls family. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s semi-autobiographical reflection of her short time living in southern Kansas, Little House on the Prairie, has been a mainstay in American literature since it was first published in 1935—reinvigorated somewhat by the 1974 TV series of the same name.
And now, Netflix tries its hand at adapting the novel, debuting with an eight-episode season. It’s pretty well known that Wilder changed some historical details in Little House on the Prairie to tell a better story, and, taking a cue from the author, this version does the same. Most notably, we’ll meet a whole host of new characters—some based on people from the book, some entirely invented—all of whom have compelling stories. This includes an expansion into some Osage characters grappling with the settlers slowly appearing on their doorstep, a storyline which trusts its audience to draw conclusions rather than becoming preachy.
Also like the original story, Netflix’s adaptation avoids getting too grim with its content. Yes, it deals with some historical topics especially common in that era: Civil War soldiers suffering from PTSD, marriage scandals, alcoholism, death of family members. All of these feature moments that any other Netflix original might have salaciously indulged in with unnecessary shots of gore and sex—but not so with Little House on the Prairie, which does its best to keep things relatively clean with only winking nods. The worst we’ll see in the first season, in terms of content, is when Caroline loses her grip on a log and crushes her foot, resulting in severe purple bruises and light blood. (We’ve gone ahead and reviewed every episode of the first season, too, so you can check them out below more fully.)
In lieu of salaciousness, Little House on the Prairie offers a sanitized and wholesome experience with compelling characters and heartfelt moments—all scattered between moments of stress, worry and peril that result from frontier living.
Is this the most realistic depiction of homesteading? No, of course not. But it’s an enjoyable watch, one that promises that though trials come, the skies here won’t be cloudy all day.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
The Ingallses arrive in Independence, and Charles searches for land to start building a home.
Caroline loses her grip on a log, and it falls on her foot. We hear the bone crunch, and we later see her foot bleeding, swollen and purple. The family nearly capsizes their wagon while crossing a river, and the family dog is swept downstream. (He later finds his way back to them.) Town doctor George Tamm bandages a bloody wound on Caroline’s hand. Someone warns the Ingalls family that “wolves and men” are equally likely to steal away Laura and Mary. A man draws a gun, and Charles disarms him, knocking him to the ground.
Charles and Caroline kiss. George asks Caroline if she’s had any menstrual bleeding, and she reveals she is pregnant. Caroline says she’s had a few miscarriages before.
Caroline vomits behind a tree. Men drink alcohol.
Charles and fellow settler John Edwards begin work on Charles’ home, but Caroline discovers that John is an alcoholic.
There’s a reference to “men of God” moving out west. Charles calls John a “godsend.” Someone calls the Civil War “godforsaken.”
Two women and a man attempt to kidnap Mary and Laura, but the girls are saved when a man pulls a gun on the trio. When she first gets grabbed, Laura bites the hand of her would-be kidnapper.
John makes and sells his own whiskey, and a woman tells Caroline that John is a drunk. Later, when Caroline finds John drinking out of a flask, he says he only does it in the evening so as to not interfere with the building of the cabin. Caroline tells John of when a drunk boat captain ended up getting his men drowned, and she warns John not to do the same to her family.
Someone suggests that John and a woman “know” each other, implying a more intimate relationship. In one scene, shirtless Native American men walk by the family.
The Ingallses go into town to celebrate the opening of a new post office, and they receive letters from their family in Wisconsin.
Charles and Caroline kiss a couple of times. General store owner Emily tells the town’s doctor, George, that she’s “always been interested in anatomy.” Then, realizing the unintentional flirtatiousness of her sentence, she says, “the science, in general, I mean.”
Osage men break into the Ingallses’ home and rob them, terrifying Caroline and Mary. A girl faints from illness.
Someone says a man “hasn’t even been to church.” A man asks Charles if he’d like to help build a church for Independence, and Charles says he would be honored. A Catholic man sends a letter to Mitchell, an Osage man who attended Catholic school. A cross hangs in Mitchell’s home.
As malaria strikes Independence and the Ingalls family falls ill, George desperately searches for quinine to treat the townsfolk. Meanwhile, the Ingallses hallucinate in their illness.
An Osage woman prays in her native tongue that her god would protect Laura. Later, she offers a morning prayer thanking Wah’Kon-Tah, the Osage supreme life force, for the past, present and future. The woman, White Sun, is married to Mitchell, and she, too, attended Catholic school. They have a cross on their wall, so it is unclear if White Sun holds solely to her Osage beliefs or has syncretized the two faiths. The Ingallses sing the hymn “Life Let Us Cherish.”
A scene heavily suggests that a PTSD-ridden Civil War veteran drowned himself in a lake. (Footprints in the sand lead into the water.) People fall ill and faint.
George discovers a woman has been hoarding a stash of quinine, but she refuses to give it up when he asks for it.
When Caroline takes Laura and Mary to a Women’s Society event, the rugged Laura struggles to fit in with the prim and proper girls. Meanwhile, Charles and the men of the town build a church—until they’re forced to hunt down a horse thief.
A man named Adam helps Charles to dig a well, but he faints and nearly dies after breathing contaminated air that has collected in the hole. (Charles pulls the man out, saving his life.) Someone grips a man with bruised face coated in dried blood, claiming he stole horses. An Osage man prepares a dead fox.
A man and woman flirt with each other. Girls gaze at paintings of Osage men dressed in breechcloths, and one of them says they shouldn’t be looking at “half-naked men.” Charles and Caroline kiss.
Eli says that, when he first stepped onto the land of Independence, he felt the Lord. “Let’s give this town a place to worship!” he proclaims. We are told that an American representative to the Osage is a Quaker. Women discuss bringing a reverend to town for the church. John sings the hymn “In the Sweet By and By.”
The woman leading the Women’s Society tells Emily, a Black woman, that attendance is only for married women, turning her away. But when another woman states that she isn’t married either, Caroline deduces that Emily was denied entry because of her skin color. Girls gossip about a boy who was left behind by his parents on the trail West, and they mock him.
A man talks about overcoming his alcoholism. Men drink liquor.
We hear one use of “a–.”
As Christmas draws near, the Ingalls family gets snowed in just as Caroline goes into labor. Meanwhile, George and Emily share a Christmas Eve meal together.
When talking about favorite Christmases, Charles slyly references a time just after he and Caroline were married when they got snowed in, and Caroline quickly shushes him. A man recounts leaving his wife under shameful circumstances, noting that he is embarrassed to be divorced. A man and woman kiss.
Caroline goes into labor, and while we hear the occasional moan of pain, she delivers behind a hanged sheet.
Caroline states that Christmas isn’t just about presents—and Laura quips that it’s also about food. The girls set up a Nativity scene. Charles states he isn’t yet willing to let the girls stop believing in “Christmas magic.” And when they receive much-needed money in the mail, Charles jokes, “I guess magic’s real after all.” Various Christmas songs are sung or played, including “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
A boy says his dad was a drunk and a grifter who abandoned him while sleeping on the journey West. “I don’t know if he got tired of me, skipped town, or if he got drunk and drowned,” he says.
As the Osage gather for a tribal council to determine whether to accept the government deal for their land, Laura and her Osage friend Good Eagle worry about how it might change their friendship. Caroline organizes the welcome lunch for the town’s inbound reverend.
Someone says he’ll be back “before the reverend finishes grace.” The reverend offers to let Caroline use the new church as a school outside of Sunday. A woman jokes that Caroline must be a witch since she gets people to do whatever she says with a smile.
Good Eagle sees a fruitful tree as a sign from her deceased sister that she will always be with her. White Sun says that “our Wa-zha-zhe ancestors came to Earth from the upper world and the stars” and that “moving and changing brings us closer to understanding Wah’kon-Tah, the Great Mystery.” An Osage man says that the Osage “will be praying to Wah-kon-Tah to take pity on us.”
Charles smokes a pipe. People drink wine.
Mary nearly kisses a boy before they are interrupted. Charles and Caroline kiss.
We hear one use of “d–n.”
Discovering their parents are in debt, Laura and Mary seek to win prize money at the Founders Day town festival to help pay it off. Charles and Caroline search for jobs to help fix their money troubles, and Mitchell wonders whether his family should join the Osage in their move.
Charles and Caroline kiss. Charles suggests expanding their home to one that has bedrooms, making Caroline blush. A man kisses a woman on the cheek. Mary and a boy kiss.
Caroline says that a family member put their newborn daughter Carrie’s name in the Bible. The Ingallses sing the hymn “There is a Happy Land.”
Someone punches Eli in the face, yelling “to hell with you” as he does so. There’s a reference to someone having a stroke. A fire rages.
People smoke pipes.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Given the violence, sexual content and foul language, navigating this spy thriller is nearly as dangerous as life in the CIA.
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