As the third episode of A Thousand Blows begins, Saul Woolfe (Eddie Toll) heads to The Conservative Club in Greenwich. He breaks a window and throws explosives inside. A cop walks by just before the explosion. Saul is knocked to the ground. A newspaper boy yells that two policemen were killed in the explosion. Mary Carr (Erin Doherty) watches as a woman’s child is taken. She meets Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham) who has always been soft on the workhouse kids. Sugar remembers her being scrawny. He taught her how to fight her way out. Mary says he taught him how to fight dirty, but Sugar argues he taught her how to win. Sugar asks Mary to watch him win on Saturday night. Mary informs him that the fight can’t happen since Hezekiah has been injured. Sugar gets upset and begins yelling for Hezekiah Moscow to come out. Hezekiah (Malachi Kirby) eventually steps outside with Alec (Francis Lovehall).
Once Sugar sees Hezekiah’s finger, he accuses him of denying him an honest victory. Hezekiah admits he didn’t do it to himself. Mary says she needs Hezekiah for something. Sugar warns her that she can’t trust him. Mary, Esme Long (Morgan Hilaire), and Eliza visit Jane Carr (Susan Lynch) who tells Mary she’ll see her in her room. Jane says no one gets a free ride here. Mary goes to her room and gets money from her rocking horse. Jane comes in and asks for her money. She finds it odd that Mary washed up under Sugar Goodson’s protection. Mary claims she doesn’t need protection. Jane complains Mary moved away from her family and to a man she met in the workhouse. Mary claims she’s the Queen now. She points out that she’s targeting the Chinese delegation. Jane tells her she was always delusional. She calls her a stupid girl and says she’ll be put back in her place soon enough. Belle Downer (Jemma Carlton) tells Alice Diamond (Darci Shaw) that Mary wanted her to check on her. Alice claims to know what she’s doing.
She says she can get into places that they can’t. Before long, Alice goes into her employer’s house dressed as a maid. The Ladyship asks if there is a letter from her husband. She warns Alice about getting married. She agrees to let Alice take the letters to the post. Eliza goes to Saul’s shop but doesn’t find him. Then, she joins Belle, Anne, and the others. Eliza says the kids go hungry while they all sit there drinking. Eliza believes someone needs to take them under their wing. Mary joins them moments later. Mary says Jane wanted to tell her that she’ll fail the Chinese job. Alice arrives with Lady Grace’s letter. The letter explains that Mr. Woodhouse was accepted as the translator for the Chinese. Eliza believes the job is too risky, but Mary is adamant they can do this. Eliza urges her not to underestimate her mother because she’s dangerous. Alec tends to Hezekiah’s wound and questions what Mary wants with him.
He believes Hezekiah would be a fool to trust her. Hezekiah asks Alec to teach him his technique. Sugar asks Treacle Goodson (James Nelson-Joyce) who is the best that’ll fight him. Treacle claims everyone has moved on. Bert Arnott said he’d fight him, but Sugar beat him two years ago easily. Treacle tells Ivy her old man is in the pub drinking. Sugar goes to the pub where he assaults her old man. Ivy and Treacle try to stop Sugar who turns on his brother. Sugar reminds Ivy’s old man that he gave him money to keep his wife and kids out of the workhouse. Sugar throws him out. He seems okay with fighting Bert Arnott now. Alec and Hezekiah see the cops looking for Saul Woolfe. They go running so Hezekiah can train for his matches. Mary and the women work on the details of the upcoming Chinese operation. They see the police outside breaking into Saul’s business. Eliza becomes concerned about Saul. Mary reminds her she told her not to get involved, but Eliza insists she knows what she’s doing.
They go to Saul’s shop to see if they can find the outfit. They find the outfit and one slipper. Mary says it’ll have to do. Mary takes the outfit to Lao (Jason Tobin) who says only the emperor and members of the imperial family can wear yellow. He points out that Mary should’ve done her research. Lao looks at the list of guests which includes Lo Feng Luh. He says he has something he can wear before handing the list back to Verity. Saul finds Eliza who asks about the bomb in Greenwich. He thought the building was empty. Saul should’ve left, but he wants to see her. The Captain asks his men to find Saul who killed two of their own. The Captain (James Harkness) sits down with Sugar who learns about the bombing and the tailor. Sugar doesn’t want to believe Mary is friendly with Woolfe. The Captain says Sugar needs to clean up his patch if he wants him to turn his back. He says these illegal fights can’t happen. Sugar is asked to help find Woolfe or make sure he’s moved on.
He asks what he’s paying him for. The Captain points out that he spelled East wrong on the flyer. Back at the motel, Hezekiah speaks to Lao who offers him soup. Hezekiah reveals that his mother was murdered by the British. Lao reminds Hezekiah he doesn’t have to see himself the way society sees him. Hezekiah learns that Mary paid for his rent. Meanwhile, Mary and the women try to steal the rocking horse. When she gets back to the motel, Hezekiah asks why she paid his rent. She says it’s an advance on the job she mentioned. Mary asks Hezekiah to come on an adventure with her tomorrow. She’ll introduce him to high society. Lao tells him he might have an outfit he can wear. While Hezekiah and Mary are out, Alec helps at the motel. He catches Esme trying on Mary’s jewelry. Esme pleads with him not to tell her. Alec promises not to tell if she tells him what Mary wants with Hezekiah.
Esme claims Mary wants to get laid. They begin kissing before Eliza barges in and asks for their help. Mary takes Hezekiah to the West End. Hezekiah says he came from a poor village, but it had its own beauty. Mary learns that his father took a stand against the British army. She says she knows what it means to be an orphan. Once they arrive, Mary asks Hezekiah if he’s ready for Lady Farnley. Mary speaks to Lady Chartwell about her husband’s gout. She points out Victoria Davies who is the Queen’s goddaughter. Mary speaks to her. Victoria says she seems to be everywhere and everyone. Mary tells Hezekiah there’s a gentleman he should meet. She introduces him to Peggy Bettinson (Ziggy Heath). Mary tells Hezekiah that Peggy is the key to getting into the burgeoning West End boxing scene. Peggy knows about the bout with Sugar Goodson. He invites Hezekiah to the West London Boxing Club. Mary says his friend, the Yellow Earl, will also want to meet Hezekiah.
She asks Peggy about facilitating the invitation they previously discussed. Mary and Hezekiah talk about their future success before watching the performer together. Mary tells him that she is free. Outside, Hezekiah continues talking about Miss Lala. He wants to be a star like Lala. Lao tries on an outfit. Saul and Eliza talk about the possibility of leaving together when he heals. Hezekiah asks Mary about the job. She mentions the Earl of Lonsdale. He’s a keen boxer and a friend of Peggy Bettinson. Lonsdale is hosting a Chinese delegation and Queen Victoria will be giving a special gift to the Chinese. Mary wants to take it. Hezekiah wants 200 pounds for his troubles. When Mary returns, Lao tells her that Sugar was looking for her. In private, Sugar tells Mary that one of her women is hiding Saul Woolfe. His lad saw Saul in the cellar at The Green Dolphin. Sugar wants him off his patch because it’s costing him money. He also knows what Mary is up to.
Mary insists it won’t mess with anything. She reminds Sugar they’ve known each other for a long time. Sugar warns her not to take him and his protection for granted. He agrees to keep her secret. Sugar says he’s still in contact with Jane and her crowd. William “Punch” Lewis (Daniel Mays) riles up the crowd at the boxing gym. He introduces Bert Arnott and Sugar Goodson. Hezekiah asks Alec why he’d hide Saul down there. Alec argues he couldn’t leave him for dead. Mary comes in and finds Eliza sitting with Saul. Eliza apologizes and says she’s afraid he’ll die. Mary asks for Charlie Mitchell. Bert Arnott knocks Sugar to the ground. Sugar gets back up and the fight becomes more competitive. Sugar wins just before the police rush in. Charlie is told about Woolfe. The Captain tells Sugar that no means no when he says it. Charlie arrives to help Saul. He has to remove Saul’s arm. Mary talks to Charlie about getting Woolfe out of town. Charlie tells her she’s out of favors. She gives him money.
Once Charlie leaves, Mary tells Eliza this is why she told her to keep emotion out of it. Next, Woolfe is put on a boat with Jack (Gary Lewis). Eliza stays with Mary because her place is with the Elephants. Mary reminds her there’s no room in the Elephants for anyone who questions her leadership. Hezekiah and Alec run together. Alec tells him that the boxing gloves are the future. Hezekiah puts them on and practices punching. Alec tells him that he can be great.
A Thousand Blows Review
The third episode of A Thousand Blows was really more of the same. It wants to touch on some important topics, but it really never goes far enough. Instead, the story is pretty much what we’d expect and what we’ve seen so many times before. It’s becoming a bit like a Warrior knockoff with a blend of The English Game on the side.
The story has taken a few silly turns because the writing is getting a bit dumber. For starters, Alec was easily beaten in the ring by Treacle who was considered a weaker opponent to Sugar. Hezekiah fared much better, but he’s now asking Alec to teach him what he knows.
It would seem that Hezekiah already knows what Alec knows and more, but it’s good they’re trying to keep Alec relevant. Mary and the Elephants aren’t very intelligent considering a large group of them visited a man’s shop that had just been raided by police. Not to mention, the man in question had killed two cops.
Rushing into his building to look for stuff seems pretty stupid when you’re running a criminal enterprise. At the very least, one of the women should’ve covertly gone into the tailor’s shop to avoid unnecessary trouble. The relationships are pretty weak as well. Alec and Esme knew each other for about two minutes before they had their tongues in each other’s mouths.
Through three episodes, it’s still hard to cheer for any of the main characters. The series is watchable at times, but it is pretty dry without any emotional impact. On top of that, there isn’t enough boxing to keep it engaging during the slower scenes. It really doesn’t help that there hasn’t been a single surprise yet and the series is very mild in terms of the violence and portraying the time period accurately.
It’s okay but it really didn’t need a second series to cover this story. The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of A Thousand Blows can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion here.