What happened to Naomi in Hell on Wheels? Her storyline confused fans twice over
Naomi Bohannon had one of the strangest arcs on Hell on Wheels — and fans found themselves doing a double take at her twice, for two completely different reasons. One was a behind-the-scenes casting problem. The other was a quiet goodbye that took the show's hero out of his own family. Here's what actually happened.
The first confusion: a new face in season 4
Naomi was introduced in season 3 as the daughter of Nebraska Mormon homesteader Aaron Hatch — the young woman Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) got pregnant and then married at Fort Smith. She was played by Siobhan Williams. But when season 4 premiered on August 2, 2014, Naomi was suddenly MacKenzie Porter.
The reason was scheduling. Williams had joined the cast of ABC's Black Box, and AMC couldn't work around the conflict, so the role was recast. Showrunner John Wirth admitted it wasn't an easy call:
"It was not my first choice, but we went ahead with it," Wirth told Entertainment Weekly in 2014.
The swap went so smoothly that, according to Wirth, the show's own composer Kevin Kiner didn't notice — he just thought Naomi looked a little different a year on. The producers also felt Porter read slightly older and taller opposite Mount, which suited a season where Naomi gives birth to their son, William.
The second confusion: where did she go in season 5?
Then Naomi all but vanished. Porter appears in just 4 episodes of the 14-episode final season, and for long stretches Cullen is simply searching for a wife and son who moved on without him. The payoff lands in episode 9, "Return to the Garden," which aired in June 2016.
Her story, in order:
- Season 3 — Naomi meets Cullen when the railroad cuts through her family 's homestead; a single encounter in the barn leaves her pregnant.
- Season 4 — Now married, she gives birth to William, named after Cullen's father.
- Early season 5 — Separated from Cullen by the railroad, Naomi survives a smallpox outbreak and leaves Fort Smith with her family, without word.
- Episode 5.09 — Cullen tracks the Hatches down and learns Naomi has fallen in love with Isaac Vinson (Toby Hemingway), a farmhand who stayed by her side through everything.
How her story actually ends
Cullen doesn't fight for her. Instead, he escorts Naomi, William, and Isaac to Salt Lake City, smooths things over with Brigham Young so the family can rejoin the church, and then says goodbye to his wife and son for good. He rides back to the railroad — and toward Mei — while Naomi builds a life with Isaac. She's never seen again.
For the record: Anson Mount has called "Return to the Garden" the best acting he's ever done.