Death by Lightning
Netflix
I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into with Death By Lightning, Netflix’s current #1 show in its Top 10 list, a four-episode drama about the assassination of Andrew Garfield. Stuff historical drama, perhaps? No, not at all.
Death by Lightning blends humor and drama, anchored by Michael Shannon as the near-incorruptible Garfield and Succession’s Matthew Macfadyen as the legitimately Tom Wambsgans-like Charles Guiteau, the eventual assassin of Garfield. Spoilers, I suppose, for a historical event follow.
Guiteau is a fascinating portrayal of a con man who gets into the politics game, or at least tries to by hustling Senators and power brokers, ultimately being tossed out of every room despite what he thinks is an earnest desire to help. Becoming jaded, he turns his anger to Garfield, killing him in an attempt to boost the fortunes of the Vice President, Nick Offerman’s Chester Arthur, who he believes is a friend (he isn’t).
The whole cast is great here outside of the leads, from Offerman to Betty Gilpin to Shea Whigham to Bradley Whitford. It’s an engaging historical mini-event, running just four episodes, and I was not surprised to see that critics love it.
Death by Lightning
Netflix
With a full 54 reviews in, Death by Lightning is sitting at a certified fresh 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its audience score is nearly identical at an 89%. It is a relatively easy watch at under four hours, and I did the entire thing yesterday. Even if you know where all this is heading, as is the case in many historical dramas, it’s still gripping in terms of how you get there, and you will learn a few things about a tale you may not have ever heard before. I certainly hadn’t, other than knowing Garfield was on a list of “assassinated presidents” that we learned in social studies class.
I’m honestly a little surprised that Death by Lightning is performing this well on Netflix, but its competition of Squid Game: The Challenge, a Marines documentary and Nobody Wants This, three weeks into its run, gives it some breathing room. Stranger Things is starting to rise up the list as we approach its return for season 5 in the next two weeks or so, and Netflix is going to start curtailing big releases ahead of that, as it will arrive like a nuclear bomb.
I really do recommend Death by Lightning, even if you’re not normally into shows like this. It’s funny, it’s full of great performances and surprisingly informative, even if no doubt some historical liberties have been taken.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
