Bonanza: Season12
Season 12 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of Bonanza Season 11.
- Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
- Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
- Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.
Episode Guide
Season 12 Progress Shield
The Night Virginia City Died
Sep 13, 1970 · 49 min
In the 12th season premiere, a series of destructive fires strike Virginia City, and always late at night. Is it the work of a ruthless arsonist, or someone very close to Deputy Cl
A Matter of Faith
Sep 20, 1970 · 49 min
Dusty takes in orphaned Jamie Hunter, the son of a recently-deceased rainmaker. Jamie is determined to carry on his father's tradition by using drought-stricken Virginia City to pr
The Weary Willies
Sep 27, 1970 · 49 min
The Weary Willies are hippie-like former Civil War veterans who are now drifters and live off the land. Despite protests from fellow ranchers and the people of Virginia City, Ben a
The Wagon
Oct 4, 1970 · 49 min
After being taken into custody by a sheriff who does not care if he is guilty or innocent of a crime, Hoss escapes from the prison wagon with a woman he is convinced got a raw deal
The Power of Life and Death
Oct 11, 1970 · 49 min
A man called Davis has shot Colonel Clayton and escapes on horseback. Joe and Ben join the posse that sets out to find Davis. Ben and Joe volunteer to cross the desert. Ben and
Gideon, the Good
Oct 18, 1970 · 49 min
On the trail, Joe witnesses a woman kill a man, but the woman rides away before he can positively identify her. He rides into the nearest town, Black River and reports the crime t
The Trouble with Trouble
Oct 25, 1970 · 49 min
When Hoss volunteers to be Sheriff of a town called Trouble, he soon finds out that the town had correctly been named. Hoss almost manages to arrest the whole town, and captures t
Thornton's Account
Nov 1, 1970 · 49 min
Ben's new horse throws him down a steep slope, injuring his back. Joe tries to round up some help, but the settlers in the valley live in fear of the devious owner and his hired h
The Love Child
Nov 8, 1970 · 49 min
A dying woman and her son are rejected by her father because she had a child out of wedlock.
El Jefe
Nov 15, 1970 · 49 min
Ben and Hoss come to the rescue of Mexican farmers who are forced off their land by the greedy mine owner who runs the town of Prince River.
The Luck of Pepper Shannon
Nov 22, 1970 · 49 min
Pepper Shannon is a dime novel hero and outlaw. Ben gives a job to Pepper Shannon on the condition the one-time outlaw stays away from Jamie, who happens to admire him.
The Impostors
Dec 13, 1970 · 49 min
Hoss and Joe pretend to be stage robbers' partners in order to recover stolen Cartwright money. All goes well until the wife of one of the thieves shows up.
Honest John
Dec 20, 1970 · 49 min
Jamie forms a bond with a bum and his tame crow. Before long, Jamie suggests they repair an old wagon and leave the Ponderosa.
For a Young Lady
Dec 27, 1970 · 49 min
A girl's uncle and aunt want custody of her only because they believe she has the rights to her late grandfather's mine.
A Single Pilgrim
Jan 3, 1971 · 49 min
Settlers from Virginia argue over Hoss' fate after one of them accidentally shoots him.
The Gold-Plated Rifle
Jan 10, 1971 · 49 min
An insecure Jamie is unsure of his place in the family, having trouble adjusting at his new school and keeps getting harassed by a bully. When he takes Ben's prized gold-plated rif
Top Hand
Jan 17, 1971 · 49 min
The Cartwrights are about to start a major cattle drive with other ranchers. It has been decided that Ben's foreman will be trail boss on the drive. Weatherby, a fellow rancher w
A Deck of Aces
Jan 31, 1971 · 49 min
Bradley Meredith, a Ben Cartwright look-a-like, causes trouble when he sells land to the railroad. Ben has already turned down the deal, but Meredith, acting as Ben, accepts the d
The Desperado
Feb 7, 1971 · 49 min
Hoss is held prisoner by a fugitive black couple who they admit hate white people and have nothing to lose by killing them.
The Reluctant American
Feb 14, 1971 · 49 min
An English couple comes to Nevada to learn why a ranch owned by the British investment firm is the only company holding not showing a profit.
Shadow of a Hero
Feb 21, 1971 · 49 min
Ben is shocked to learn the Army general he is backing as governor, advocates a policy of genocide towards all Indians.
The Silent Killer
Feb 28, 1971 · 49 min
An epidemic of influenza hits the Ponderosa and the only person who seems sure of what to do is the wife of a doctor, whom Doc Martin says is a fraud.
Terror at 2:00
Mar 7, 1971 · 49 min
A racist and his henchmen steal a Gatling gun, with plans to massacre everyone - including the Cartwrights - involved in a peace treaty signing between the U.S. Army and the Paitue
The Stillness Within
Mar 14, 1971 · 49 min
Blinded by an explosion, Joe wallows in self-pity, and at first resists the efforts of a woman trying to teach him to live without sight, not knowing she is also blind.
A Time to Die
Mar 21, 1971 · 49 min
While visiting the Ponderosa, Ben's friend, April Christopher, is bitten by a rabid wolf. Ben and April and her daughter must come to terms with her illness as they all realize th
Winter Kill
Mar 28, 1971 · 49 min
The foreman of a neighboring ranch shoots a special steer belonging to the Cartwrights, and his scheming boss plots to take unfair advantage of the mistake.
Kingdom of Fear
Apr 4, 1971 · 49 min
Ben, Hoss and Joe, along with Candy and a fellow rancher, are jailed on false trespassing charges by a greedy mining tycoon. The despot runs a gold mine (i.e., a thinly-veiled pris
An Earthquake Called Callahan
Apr 11, 1971 · 49 min
The only person who can get Dusty out of jail is a professional fighter who will not return to Virginia City, so Joe stays on the man's heels no matter where he goes.