Dan Dority

Lore & Background

Dan is violent and short-tempered but not heartless. In season 1 he defies Al, with Doc Cochran's help, by getting Sofia Metz out of town instead of killing her, and he spares Ellsworth even though Ellsworth saw him kill Brom Garret. When Al is near death at the start of season 2, Dan tells Trixie he would have been a worthless scumbag had he never met Al.

Reader's Guide

Dan is resentful when Al chooses Adams for the negotiations with George Hearst, despite being plainly unsuited to them himself.

Dan resents fellow henchman Silas Adams's standing with Al, though Adams saves him from having his throat cut in the season 2 finale. In season 3 Hearst's bodyguard, Captain Turner, challenges him to a fight; Dan kills Turner brutally in the street but is nearly killed himself, and the fight leaves him shaken and aware of his own mortality. In Deadwood: The Movie, a decade on, he is still Al's loyal henchman, tries to keep the ailing Al off alcohol, and is left a third of Al's money.