Sugar and Hezekiah meet in the ring for a brutal boxing match. Here’s our A Thousand Blows episode 2 review.
Warning! These reviews are spoiler-free for the episode in question but will discuss previous episodes in detail.
It’s difficult to start an episode of TV with a bang these days. Most chapters of any given series end on a cliffhanger, a major revelation that guarantees the audience will tune in next week. Of course, there’s no such problem when you release all your episodes in one go, like A Thousand Blows.
That being said, episode 1 of the new Disney+ series did end on a minor cliffhanger as Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby) got in the ring with Stephen Graham’s Sugar, but we were denied the pleasure of watching the two fight. Thankfully, episode 2 gives us that fight and then some.
Before delving into the boxing match, A Thousand Blows takes us to Hezekiah’s homeland, Jamaica. His homeland is under attack from the British and Hezekiah and his family, and the entire community, are about to face off against the intruders. It’s an immense spectacle of violence and Hezekiah witnesses all of it. The memory plagues Hezekiah often and the series flashes back to these moments of terror as he finds his place in London.
His memories from Jamaica are intercut with his fight with Sugar. It’s not a pretty bout; Sugar is quick to cheat, biting Hezekiah when he gains the upper hand. The fight comes to an unsatisfying close and a rematch is inevitable. Hezekiah wants to get even, and Sugar needs it to regain his reputation.
Episode 2 of A Thousand Blows is all about getting to know Sugar. If he’s the series’ villain, he’s a fascinating one. Mr Lao recounts Sugar’s backstory, which makes the boxer seem almost larger than life. He’s a local legend, someone people know to cheer on in the ring, but stay far away from on the street. Graham is appropriately menacing in the role, with just a hint of sadness to him underneath all that toughness.
But times, they are a-changin’. Boxing, once a rough, bloody pastime of the lower classes, is making its way into the upper class lounges. Instead of bloody, taped-up knuckles though, the men have to start wearing boxing gloves. For us, this is pretty standard stuff, but back in the day, gloves meant weakness. You simply weren’t a man if you didn’t take a few hits to the face and break a knuckle or two.
Mary (Erin Doherty), who’s busy planning to rob the Queen, has a mysterious relationship with Sugar. We’re not privy to the details yet, but Sugar is awfully upset after seeing Hezekiah and Mary together. Mary tries to convince Hezekiah not to fight with Sugar again, because, win or lose, Hezekiah will likely die. She’s also trying to convince Sugar to start wearing gloves, telling him boxing is turning into a gentleman’s sport and he has to change with the times.
I said this in the review of episode 1 and it still applies; A Thousand Blows lacks a bit of focus. Episode 2 molds the series into an exploration of changing times through the eyes of its three characters, but the endgame is still unclear. Is this a series about boxing? Racism? I don’t have the answer just yet, but I’m hoping writer Steven Knight gets into the meat of the story soon, considering there’s only four more episodes after this.
All episodes of A Thousand Blows are available on Disney+ on 21st February.
