"Hatfields & McCoys" finale: The families end the feud
(CBS News) The last part of the "Hatfields & McCoys" miniseries aired Wednesday night as the feuding families finally decide to bury the hatchet.
The impetus for peace is the hanging of Ellison "Cotton Top" Mount (Noel Fisher), the mentally challenged, illegitimate son of Ellison Hatfield.Fisher told CBSNews.com that "Cotton Top," was put in a situation he was not able to cope with and that there were "too many elements going on and too many people making decisions for him."
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As he steps on to the gallows "Cotton Top" proclaims, "The Hatfields made me do it! They hornswoggled me with love!"
After a very violent episode two, in which viewers see the McCoys murder Anse Hatfield's younger brother and the Hatfields seek revenge, "Devil" Anse Hatfield (Kevin Costner) says he's had enough.
"I do not wish to keep the old feud alive," the head of the Hatfield house proclaims. "The war spirit in me has evaded, and I sincerely rejoice at the prospect of peace."
In the end, the Hatfields and the McCoys made their truce official more than 100 years later when they both signed a peace treaty in 2003.
The miniseries aired in three parts on History channel and earned rave reviews from critics as well as record-breaking ratings for cable TV.