4 out of 5

The team sets ashore and must pass through some tribal grounds on their way further inland, Sacajawea providing some reluctant translation with the occupying tribe to smooth the travel.  Dingess cleverly uses the juxtaposition of how the Americans wish to present themselves – pomp and circumstance – with the rather tepid reception they receive from the Indians to parallel the flashes we get of Lewis and Clark before being tasked on their journey, personalities quite in contrast with the more civilized or focused personas presented to their men.  This purposeful “transition” between arcs – once again smartly paralleled by the literal transition from one location to another, and from sea back to land – ends up being a perfect place for the dash of backstory we get, as it’s essentially all we need (a general Why of this journey) and it’s seeded with further character building to prevent it from being an exposition dump.  The only hiccup is the framing of the details by this meeting with the Indians; while I’ve mentioned my appreciation for the cleverness of the narrative, when the issue ends, the interaction feels rather pointless, or that it opened up issues that could’ve been explored better on their own.  I realize just having everyone walk and flashback might’ve seemed a bit plain, but the method used doesn’t really amount to something much different, just they pause with some Indians to flashback instead.  But a minor nit for an otherwise solid one-shot, with the dialogue and art and color up to the amazing standards of all the previous issues.