Manhunt
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Theres never been any doubt about who murdered Lincoln.
Beletsky uses two central figures for this exploration.
Booth knows what they dont: that the day will be remembered for other reasons.
The series and Boyles performance depict him as a consummate egotist, which squares with history.
Hes not, as quickly established, a lone gunman.
But who is everybody?
And what, exactly, is a go?
Stantons visit to Sewards home helps establish the gravity, and the strangeness, of the situation.
Whoever broke in wasnt interested in stealing from Seward, just taking him out.
Hes right, though.
They soon receive word of Robert E. Lees surrender at Appomattox.
The Union has won, at last, a tearful Lincoln tells the room.
That certainly applies to Booth.
(A character well later learn is nicknamed Peanuts, played by Daniel Croix.)
It really happened that quickly and brutally.
(Its probably worth noting here that the greatCarl Franklindirects this episode.)
Hell soon find he has bigger obstacles to overcome, however.
Fortunately for him, he knows a guy.
Mary becomes the object of Booth and Herolds racist, leering insults, which she endures with dignity.
Stanton also finds Lincoln, positioned diagonally in a bed too small to hold him, obviously near death.
Lincoln dies and the plot thickens.
We replace our presidents with elections, not coups.
(On the nose?
Stantons investigation then takes him to Booths hotel room where he finds a coded message.
Another clue: a $500 deposit into a bank in Montreal, a hotbed of Confederate espionage.
So what does this mean?
And if so, Eckert asks his boss, then what?
Stantons reply: Id have to start another war.
Its also a gripping mystery, even if the culprit is clear from the start.
We know how and why Booth did it, but was he pushed?
And, if so, who did the pushing?
I also dont think absolute historical accuracy is a standard by which to judge a project like this.
Yet the scene offers some insights into Booths character and the tense atmosphere in Washington even before the assassination.
Beletsky has to make some strong choices and stick with them.
Like Swanson, she goes with angels.
Similarly, theres been much debate about Mudds complicity.
His descendants protested his innocence for generations, an effort that even brought in the Supreme Court in 2003.
(The court refused to hear the case.)
Beletsky allows no such ambiguity.
Lincoln called Stanton Mars after the god of war.
(See alsoMidnight Mass.)
