Between “Peaky Blinders,” “A House of Guinness” and now Hulu’s “A Thousand Blows,” creator Steven Knight seems to have cornered the market on dark, grimy stories about the dark side of turn-of-the-century Britain. “In these stories, “Blows,” in particular, was one of last year’s standouts, a sooty, light-footed story of beaten boxers and shattered dreams between three characters fighting their way on the subway in London’s East End: Jamaican immigrant Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby), whose dreams of becoming a lion tamer quickly turn into a rise in the world of bare-knuckle boxing; Sugar Goodson (an imposing Stephen Graham), a furious pugilist whose fighting days are running out; and Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), the cunning leader of an all-female criminal gang, whose fortunes and hearts swing between the two of them.
Spread across six hour-long episodes, the first season of “A Thousand Blows” unfolded like a flurry of punches, breathlessly tracing this trio’s intersections through crime and family intrigue and the familiar rhythms of jealousy and revenge. And its finale left our characters in a very, very low point; almost all of them had lost someone or something important to them, and many of them had to lose their entire identity along the way. Season 2 sees our protagonists trying to pick up the pieces of such devastation, charting new paths and making new plans to not only survive, but find their way to the top.
Although it was filmed back-to-back with Season 1, this new set of episodes picks up about a year and changes from the explosive events of the first season. Our main characters are still healing their physical and emotional wounds. Hezekiah slowly rises through the ranks in bare-knuckle boxing matches on offshore barges (where he can fight in safety, away from the prying eyes of the law, still looking for him after killing the “Brooklyn Gent” in last season’s climactic fight). Sugar has never been so lucky, with the aging brute roaming the streets in search of his next drink. Her brother, tavern owner Treacle (James Nelson-Joyce), is broken and beaten after the brutal beating Sugar inflicted on him last season, and his family is scattered. Mary (Erin Doherty), for her part, is also abandoned by the Forty Elephants gang after being ousted as queen, now carrying out petty bank robberies with her only remaining ally, Alice Diamond (Alice Shaw).
Everyone mourns the life (and people) they had: Hezekiah for his deceased best friend, Alec (Francis Lovehall); Mary for her position in the Elephants (and her budding romance with Hez); Sugar for Mary’s heart and her place at the top of the East End boxing scene. Chinese innkeeper Lao (Jason Tobin) is still on the run after the murder of a Chinese diplomat last season, and is never seen again. These first episodes stumble a bit in getting the game board back on its feet and our antiheroes back on their feet; many are obsessed with revenge and filled with pain, or desperately trying to get back what they think is theirs. (“I need you to go back to being the man you once were,” Mary tells the bearded Sugar at the start of the first episode, and “A Thousand Blows” seems to be using that as a mission statement this season.)
Over these next six episodes, all three will have their fortunes and courage tested in new ways. Hez sees a chance to avenge Alec’s death, and his decision sets off a chain reaction that both puts innocent lives in danger and gives Mary a chance to reassert her dominance over the elephants; Mary juggles this new responsibility, her fragile leadership and the imminent death of the gang matriarch; Sugar and Treacle wage an emotional battle for the fate of their deeply broken family. And we can’t forget all about boxing; Even though this season revels more in “Peaky Blinders”-style gang brawls, so much narrative and emotional action still takes place in the ring, as Hez sees a chance for emancipation in the hands of literal Prince Albert (Stanley Morgan, seen here not in a tin can), who will grant him ownership of the Jamaican town he escaped from if he succeeds in teaching him how to box.
The show remains as elegantly and intensely staged as ever; period costumes and sets range from the dirt and grime of the streets of the East End to the ornate palaces and mansions of Prince Albert’s estate. Federico Jusid’s jangling, breathless score remains propulsive, guiding us along our character’s inevitable fate with all the stability of a metronome. No matter what you see, whether it’s fog-covered cobblestones or elegant ballrooms, “A Thousand Blows” remains one of the most beautiful shows on television.
And the performances, oh the performances; Both Kirby and Doherty perform brilliantly as outsiders rushing to negotiate or force their way past blinkered white men to take what is theirs. Graham, meanwhile, is a powerhouse just like he was last season, even if Sugar isn’t getting knocked down by life. Despite his resentment toward the other two main characters (“You have everything I ever wanted, and you have the nerve to tell me you don’t want it,” he laments to Hez), Graham sneaks in layers of pathos beneath that Cro-Magnon brow and brutal stare. His Sugar is a man made for violence and reaps all the consequences of this single-minded pursuit.
There is a lot to be said about the supporting cast, who are taking a bit of a back seat this season; Some standouts include Robert Glenister as the malevolent, sexist gang leader whom Mary and Hez both reckon with in episode 1, and Sugar’s soft-handed nephew Thomas (Will Bagnall), who attempts to stop at height in his uncle’s fighting ring. But in reality, the central appeal lies in this trio of actors, the sumptuous sets and costumes, and the rhythm that flutters like a butterfly and stings like a bee. It may not feel as fresh as last season, but I’d be willing to bet there’s still a few rounds left in “A Thousand Blows.”
Complete series screened for review. Currently streaming on Hulu.
