Prudent, reliable, and steadfast Sol Star was one of the most earnest characters on HBO's Deadwood, and often paid the price for being dilatory. He was often relegated to the background of important scenes and upstaged by much more colorful characters which, in a cast full of eccentric citizens of a frontier camp town, was difficult to do.
Sol may have appeared to be a centrist force of reason amidst a whirlwind of extreme and competing personalities, but there were lots of ways in which his actions (or in some cases inactions) caused more harm than good. From letting Seth dictate the terms of their friendship to allowing Trixie to verbally abuse him, these are just some of the ways Sol got worse over the course of the series.
He Let Seth Make All The Decisions
Despite their partnership, Sol let Seth make a lot of the decisions about the hardware store and their subsequent business ventures. Seth's personality was such that Sol appeared meek by comparison. Though he spoke for Seth at meetings with Al, it was only after Seth had already made up his mind and made him his proxy.
Even after the hardware store was built, Seth dictated the terms of operation, and he just as likely ran out more business than he kept, especially with the Earp Brothers.
He Allowed Himself To Be Mocked By All
Ever since Seth and Sol were forced to go to Al to buy a plot in the camp for their hardware store, Sol had to suffer harsh antisemitic jokes and remarks at his expense, which only got worse when Sol became Seth's proxy for dealing with him.
Even in Season 2, when Sol was teaching Trixie her numbers and providing an opportunity for Al to spy on him, Al was no less vitriolic with his statements. It took until the final season, when Al gave Trixie away at her wedding, that he finally stopped busting Sol's chops.
He Didn't Stand Up For Himself With Trixie
It was nearly love at first sight for Sol when it came to Trixie, but despite his best efforts she continued to turn down his advances. Whether because he broke down her defenses or because Al wanted her to get close to him for purposes of subterfuge, she consented to a more amorous relationship by the end of the first season.
Neither their entering into intimate endeavors nor their continuous cohabitation lessened Trixie's verbal abuse of Sol, and even in Deadwood: The Movie she was hurling antisemitic slurs and insults at him while he held their baby in his arms.
He Didn't Modulate Seth's Anger
As Seth's best friend, Sol should have been able to help council him on how to curb his anger problems. When Seth was controlled by his emotional state, he couldn't think clearly, and he made erratic decisions that either jeopardize their lives or jeopardized their business.
Sol got out of Seth's way and backed his play when he should have truncated his episodic paroxysms. Business was affected by occasions when Seth let his anger get the better of him, like when he blew up at the Earp brothers for leaving wares in the middle of the store.
He Did All Of The Hard Work
The daily routine for Sol Star seemed to be that he arrived promptly to open the hardware store, only for Seth to arrive some time later after becoming angry at some new slight in camp. He would then watch Seth pace for a time before he left to take on a new indignation.
Sol would then close up shop after a full day's work, only to find Seth some time later, patiently prepared to hear of his ornery self-righteous adventures. The partnership was clearly one sided when it came to the brunt of the diurnal industry.
He Was Taken Advantage Of For His Money
While monetary topics were rarely discussed between Seth and Sol, it's clear that Sol put up a hefty amount for the opening of the hardware store and later the hotel without a perfect division of labor between the two of them in Season 1.
He also partnered with Alma Garret in Season 2 for the construction of a bank in Deadwood which, while the widow assumed the bulk of the financial risk, was still expecting him to tend to the bank ledger while she succumbed to an opioid addiction.
He Didn't Consider His Own Safety
As shrewd as Sol could be, there were plenty of times when he disregarded his own customary level headedness and didn't give a thought to his own personal safety, as seen in the very first episode of the series when Seth faced an angry mob.
Later when Seth took on Al Swearengen, Seth followed him blindly into the fray and got shot for his troubles. In Deadwood: The Movie, he thought nothing of going after Hearst's Pinkerton agents despite knowing he could die and having just gotten upset with Trixie for putting their infant in danger. For someone as cautious as Sol is, it's jarring to see him throw safety aside on more than one occasion.
He Tried To Change Trixie
Sol should have known when he first set eyes on Trixie that she was a survivor, and as such wouldn't abandon the very skills that helped her exist so long in a place like Deadwood; her abrasive personality and foul temper.
Sol continuously tried to make Trixie more ladylike, including chastising her for using derogatory language. He hadn't accomplished it even by Deadwood: The Movie, when her uncouth attitude brought down the wrath of George Hearst upon the camp a final time.
He Didn't Get Enough Screen Time
The cast of Deadwood was a prodigious one and it was simply impossible to focus on every character in the same way, but certain characters got more screen time than others. Sometimes, unfairly so. Case in point, Sol suffered from being relegated to an accessory to the combustible escapades of Bullock and Trixie.
Perhaps due to his meek disposition, reserved nature, level-headedness, or all of the above, he wasn't given any more screen time than Merrick or even Doc Cochran. This despite being Bullock's best friend and being instrumental in the first episode of the series.
He Suffered From A Lack Of Character Development
The largest character arcs belonged to morally complex figures like Al Swearengen and Trixie, while Sol grew minutely as the series went on. From Season 1 all the way to Deadwood: The Movie, his disposition, personality, and moral compass remained the same.
While it was encouraging that Sol always stood up for what was right, backed Bullock's plays, and believed in Trixie even when she didn't believe in herself, he deserved more engaging character development than what he actually got.