"Purged Away with Blood" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Hell on Wheels, which aired on September 16, 2012 on AMC.
In the episode, The Swede (Christopher Heyerdahl) reveals himself to be the "White Spirit" as he aids the Sioux in their war with the railroad.
Reverend Cole (Tom Noonan) also plays his role and hijacks the train taking Durant (Colm Meaney), Eva (Robin McLeavy), and Doc Whitehead (Grainger Hines) to Chicago.
Leader Yellow Dog (Darcy Singer) gives a white wolf pelt to The Swede, who explains to Cole that the Sioux rescued him after he was chased out of town.
At church, Joseph shows Ruth (Kasha Kropinski) a Bible passage that Cole marked and left for him: "Jesus said to them, if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak to buy one."
Cole admits to being a terrible father, to which Durant agrees that "great men often are" and adds that his wife never forgave him for it.
Inside, Eva and Doc grab the wounded Yellow Dog and hold him until he bleeds out.
While keeping watch on Cole's train, Elam confides to Cullen that Eva is carrying his baby.
Joseph tells him he loves him, then stabs him in the gut with a knife, and he falls to the floor, only able to gasp "Behold your legacy" before he dies.
As the track is repaired, Elam tells Eva they need to discuss the baby when she comes back from Chicago.
Doc asks Cullen to be the one who executes him, adding that there is no honor in the way he has been living, but he wishes to die with some.
Regarding his character's demise in this episode, Tom Noonan stated: "I sort of knew all along that might happen in the second season...
Club's Alasdair Wilkins gave the episode a B− grade, calling it "an off-kilter, occasionally nonsensical hour of television.
"[3] Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave it 4 out of 5 stars, stating, "The episode may have been a mixed bag with first rate performances and story decisions that left me puzzled, but I'm hoping that for the final stretch of episodes, Hell on Wheels finds one track and rides it brilliantly to the end.
Noonan has always done a solid job portraying the man through his drunk tirades, his crazy beheadings and general outlandish actions, despite the character teetering around in the background.