The first season of A Thousand Blows was lightning in a bottle.
I had high expectations for a gritty drama written by Peaky Blinders mastermind Steven Knight, and boasting stellar talents including Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty.
It didn’t disappoint and left me yearning for more. Luckily, I didn’t have long to wait – just one year, in fact, as it’s finally back with season 2 today.
In an age of TV where streamers are constantly cancelling brilliant TV shows left, right and centre, it felt rare and refreshing when season 2 was confirmed before the first had even been released. A mere 11 months later, Disney Plus has dropped all six episodes of the new season to binge in one go.
Whereas the first season was darn-near perfect in my ears, it took me a short while to feel truly absorbed by the story in the second. Despite the horrifying levels of darkness it descends to, it felt like it started a little slower than I had been anticipating. But don’t worry – after a couple of episodes, it finds its flow once again.
The premise of A Thousand Blows is a fascinating blend of fact and fiction. Set in Victorian-era London, the first season followed Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby), who arrives in the Big Smoke from Jamaica in the hope of becoming a lion tamer.
His dreams dashed, he pursues a different ambition, rising through the ranks of the underworld as a bare-knuckle boxer.
However, he has stiff competition in the form of Sugar Goodson (Graham), who not only views him as a nemesis in the ring but also on the streets. Sugar is respected, revered, feared… and Hezekiah threatens everything that makes him the top dog.
This feud is deepened by the relationship Hezekiah develops with Mary Carr (Doherty), the Queen of the Forty Elephants all-female gang, whom Sugar has known and had a close bond with for years.
The first season of A Thousand Blows ends in devastation, as Hezekiah’s best friend Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall), who he encouraged to join him on his voyage to England, is killed.
Hezekiah had actually been the intended target of the assassination, as punishment for Mary carrying out a heist without involving the male Elephants gang. When Hezekiah finds out the truth about Alec’s murder, he feels betrayed by Mary and tells her that she’s ‘dead’ to him.
By the end of A Thousand Blows season one, the relationship between brothers Sugar and Treacle (James Nelson-Joyce) is in tatters. Sugar almost beats his own sibling to death, despite his younger brother always having the utmost love and respect for him.
While Sugar does learn that Treacle survived the horrifying beating, their relationship is changed forever, with Treacle telling Sugar that he doesn’t want him near him and his family.
Season two picks up shortly after the events of the first. When Hezekiah first came to London, he was full of hope and optimism. Now, he’s hellbent on revenge, hardened by the tough hand that the city dealt him from the moment he arrived.
The Forty Elephants gang has been disbanded, the women setting off on their own to make a living elsewhere. But Mary has huge ambitions to make a fortune, and she isn’t going to let the small issue of the gang splitting up get in her way. She embarks on a mission to regroup with her trusted female comrades, and she has her eyes set on an enormous target.
If you thought Stephen’s physical transformation to become Sugar was incredible in season one, then you’re in for a shocker when you see the dishevelled character for the first time in season two. I had to do a double take when he came on screen, as Sugar’s fall from grace has sent him spiralling to the bottom of a deep, never-ending pit.
One big question that might be on your lips after watching the first couple of episodes, and was certainly on mine, is: where is the boxing?
It makes sense story-wise that there would be a hiatus – Hezekiah is facing a ban, Sugar is spending his time at the bottom of a bottle, and Treacle has been left in charge of the Blue Coat Arms following his recovery. But those intense fight sequences, where you can feel every punch and smell every drip of sweat through your screen, couldn’t have come sooner.
Once again, lead actors Malachi, Erin, and Stephen knock their performances out of the park. Hezekiah, Mary and Sugar all share the tendency to adopt a tough exterior, which breaks down when any of them are around one another.
Treacle actor James also delivers a sensational depiction of a broken man who still has a place in his heart for his older brother despite the trauma he has experienced at his hands.
By the end of A Thousand Blows season two, having delved into the true history behind Hezekiah Moscow with a historical expert when the first came out, I found myself questioning how much of what I had just watched actually happened, no matter how gripped I had been while watching the intricate plot unfold.
The story appears to veer even further away from true events this time around. While I am fascinated by how Hezekiah, Mary and Sugar truly led their lives, for A Thousand Blows, this dramatic licence doesn’t bother me. With a third season already confirmed, there’s no question that I’ll be back in the ring ready for round three.
A Thousand Blows seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Disney Plus.
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