RIOTUS

At one point in this series, James A. Garfield (Michael Shannon) wonders if history will remember him. Certainly, the 20th President of the United States, who only held the position for a matter of months back in 1881, is not a name many Americans recognize, nor would they recall the details of his tenure. Death by Lightning tells the story of President Garfield’s unexpected rise to power during a pivotal moment in American history, using his campaign as a vehicle to paint a fascinating portrait of the political climate at the time and the people pulling the strings, including the man who would come to assassinate him.

Set around fifteen years after the end of the Civil War—during which Garfield served as a major general in the Union Army—the winds of change were sweeping the nation. Voters were looking for someone to believe in, someone to shake up the status quo. But the Republican Party had been in power for decades at this point, and many thought the status quo was enough. So Garfield’s nomination came as a surprise; at the 1880 Republican National Convention, delegates eschewed the names on the ballot and instead voted for Garfield to become the presidential nominee. Garfield did not wish to run for President; however, he felt it was his duty to listen to the will of the people.

Duty: It’s a funny thing, isn’t it? What do we owe one another, our families, our communities, our country? It’s something that is explored in interesting ways in this limited series, as many of its characters felt bound by what was expected of them. And those same characters would come to collect what they expected of others. 

What struck me most was Garfield’s innate decency and everyman approach. He wasn’t particularly interested in gaining power; he was more concerned about helping others. His speeches were impassioned, his civil rights policies progressive for the time, and his campaign tactics won him the hearts and minds of the American people. Michael Shannon fully embodies Garfield as a reluctant hero and family man devoted to his wife Crete (Betty Gilpin) and their children. Shannon not only makes you believe he is Garfield, but he also makes you believe in him. 

Gilpin is just as enthralling to watch, becoming the story’s emotional core with a fierce performance. With commendable support from Laura Marcus as their daughter Mollie, who holds her father accountable in a way only a young daughter can.

Garfield’s chosen running mate and VP, Chester Arthur (Nick Offerman), provides an interesting contrast; a career politician whose support aligned more with Stalwart Roscoe Conkling (Shea Whigham), he knew how to play the game. While Arthur, like Garfield, reluctantly took on the presidential ticket, it was for entirely different reasons. His sense of duty sat on a much grayer morality scale, which often set him at loggerheads with Garfield and pushed Arthur to breaking point.

Offerman’s portrayal of Arthur feels more representative of stereotypical politician types, and he plays it well with no small amount of charisma. His character development is one of the series’ biggest draws. Surrounding the political juggernaut are its fair share of supporters and detractors, including Republican Speaker James G. Blaine, played with aplomb by Bradley Whitford.

Charles Guiteau (Matthew MacFadyen) was one of Garfield’s early supporters, who believed in his political rise a little too much. Reliant on the goodwill of his sister, Franny (Paula Malcomson), and the politeness of 19th-century society to keep his political aspirations afloat, Guiteau’s eagerness and delusions of grandeur manifested in such a way that he truly believed he was instrumental in shaping Garfield’s rise. And when those delusions didn’t meet the reality of the President’s actions, Guiteau believed it was his duty to murder Garfield. 

MacFadyen was an inspired choice for this role; he makes you feel all at once sad for Guiteau’s constant failures and uneasy at his often violent entitlement and lack of self-awareness. His descent into emotional turmoil bubbles and roils like a pressure cooker, and you can’t bear to look away. In the 1800s, there was no real understanding of or help for those struggling with mental health issues, and the series examines how those who lived outside of societal norms were often not taken seriously, until it was too late. 

It also echoes with conversations still happening today, of the parasocial relationships many people form with politicians or those in the public eye, and how, so often, we expect them to perform as we imagine them. As well as how quickly fans can turn from love to hate. The role of Guiteau is a constant balance between comedy and consequence, and MacFadyen’s trademark charm manages to disarm you in every scene.

It’s impossible not to wonder why Netflix chose to make this series and tell this story at this particular moment. In a time seemingly devoid of Republicans with any sense of integrity, backbone, or duty to their country, Death by Lightning reminds us that it wasn’t always this way. Once, there were politicians on both sides of the aisle who sought to do what’s right for the people who elected them, and there can be again. And that we, the people, have the power to vote for something new. 

Indeed, only two days prior to this series’ debut, New Yorkers voted to elect Zohran Mamdani as their new Mayor by a landslide; a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, Mamdani ran on clear policies and wasn’t afraid to take a stand instead of trying to appeal to the middle with traditional campaign methods. The result is undeniable: Progressive policies work, particularly when championed by someone with integrity and compassion. The series underscores again and again the arrogance of rich white men who think the way things have always been should dictate the way things will always be—and how it’s possible to change things for the better. 

Political period dramas are typically very hit and miss for me, but the astute storytelling here reminds me of Steven Knight’s recent excellent Netflix series House of Guinness, and it appears the streaming giant has struck a chord once again. Death by Lightning frames grandiose political machinations with carefully curated, cinematic shots, combined with a poignant string-heavy score and contrastingly bold soundtrack choices. 

The pomp and circumstance of government is cut to its core with quietly profound close-up shots of characters at their most vulnerable. While the inner workings of the politics-du-jour may be a little hard to follow and require you to do some research of your own, that’s not such a bad thing in the current climate—we could all stand to learn more of our history. Especially when the core emotional beats hit so hard and true; four episodes were all Death by Lightning needed to tell a succinct, striking story that will leave you thinking about it for days after.