Hulu’s A Thousand Blows takes us into 19th-century London, a time marked by inequality, crime, and the brutality of a world where survival is a privilege. After analyzing everything we knew about the show, we figured we were going to love it… and we weren’t wrong. Steven Knight brings to our screens the worthy successor to Peaky Blinders. He brings London’s East End of 1880 as a backdrop and turns it into a battlefield, where bare-knuckle boxing is not just a spectacle, but a way of life and, for some, the only path to respect and power. Ready?
Here we go!
Broken Dreams in A Thousand Blows
The story follows Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby) and his best friend Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall), two Jamaican immigrants who arrive in London in search of a new life. They arrive in the city after being deceived, expecting to start without delay in the job that has been promised to them. What they find, however, is a ruthless world, where Black people are looked down upon — treated almost like animals — and where opportunities for those without money or connections are few and far between.
In A Thousand Blows, you can really feel how Hezekiah and Alec go from young dreamers ready for the new opportunities that London brings to men who do what they have to do to survive in a relentless city that hates them. Hezekiah uses his innate talent for fighting to do just that. As he begins to stand out in the world of underground boxing, he crosses paths with Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), the leader of the feared gang “The Forty Elephants.” Mary sees in him a diamond in the rough and slowly introduces him to the most dangerous circles of London.
But Hezekiah’s rise doesn’t go unnoticed, and he soon becomes a direct rival to Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham), a veteran boxer with a fearsome reputation. Goodson and Mary have known each other for years and both have maintained a balance of power that is about to break. Sugar not only sees in Hezekiah a threat to his dominance of the boxing world but also feels that his presence represents a change in the rules of the game, something he is not willing to allow. Sugar is willing to shed blood to maintain the position he has earned in the city. This rivalry becomes one of the axes of the story, with fights that go beyond the ring.
“If the City Promises Anything, It Is Killing You at the First Opportunity”
The contrast between the two sides of the city that A Thousand Blows reflects so perfectly is brutal. A city divided between class and money — or, rather, if Bridgerton taught us anything, only money — between the working class of the East End and the luxurious balls of the West End. It almost seems that luck plays a big role in deciding which side of the city you end up on. In fact, we feel that Mary could have belonged to that splendorous world of the West End where appearances can be deceiving. After all, she uses her appearance to blend in with a world that considers her lesser simply because she is a woman.
Mary uses the sexism that exists at the time to her advantage. And, if we look beyond that, we discover a fierce, determined, cold, and seemingly unscrupulous woman who actually has a heart. Only she chooses to show her compassion in a brutal and almost cruel way. But that is what she learned to do to survive: hide any trace of vulnerability and heart deep inside her because if there is one thing the city promises, it is to kill you at the first opportunity. And she learned that lesson years ago.
Thus, each of the main characters in A Thousand Blows has their own story of how they got to where they are. While Hezekiah’s traumatic origin is presented to us through flashbacks, Mary and Sugar’s scars reside in their childhood in a very obvious way. The three of them ended up fighting tooth and nail to survive and thrive through guts, blood, and heists. But, in the end, the past comes back to haunt them and tear down the walls they’ve built around themselves. And, in the midst of it all, Hezekiah and Mary find themselves in a much more than professional way and we love it!
We look away at the boxing scenes — it’s not our cup of tea — but we watch everything else closely. A Thousand Blows is violent not just because of the hard punches, but because of how the children suffer at the hands of those who should protect them or how the rich impose their rules on the poor, trampling them. The show is also not external to violence against the different or against women exercised by men who run riot in a patriarchal system. In the end, they are all part of a city where, as in every jungle, only the strongest survive.
The Good, The Bad, and The Best of A Thousand Blows
That said, one of the show’s greatest strengths is its setting. The series masterfully captures the atmosphere of Victorian London, showing its streets filled with mud and misery, the crime-infested slums, and the opulence of those who control the city from the shadows. Every setting, from the dark alleys to the underground boxing clubs, is designed to immerse us in a time when life was hard and death was an everyday reality.
Although they are not especially to our taste, the fight scenes are another of the series’ strong points. A Thousand Blows shows boxing as it was: raw, bloody, and without rules. There is no elegant choreography or stylized movements; here, fighters fight for their lives, and the series manages to portray it perfectly and keep us on the edge of our seats.
However, the performances are the strongest point of all. Malachi Kirby gives an impressive performance as Hezekiah, a man caught between his talent and the circumstances around him. His character evolves from an idealistic young man to someone who must make sacrifices to survive in an unforgiving world.
Erin Doherty, as Mary Carr, deserves all the awards she can get. She perfectly embodies a calculating and ruthless Mary. With one look she shows that she is a leader who knows how to navigate a world dominated by men and who uses her intelligence and ferocity to stay on top.
Stephen Graham, for his part, gives another impeccable performance as the villain of the story. His presence is intimidating and overwhelming. We hate Sugar Goodson but we can understand where he comes from — a man fighting to hold on to what little he has in a changing world — thanks to the nuances Graham manages to infuse him with.
Any negative points about A Thousand Blows? Well, we really had to think hard here because there are almost none. Maybe we would say that there are some secondary characters who you can tell have potential for much more. They ended up playing too secondary a role for all that could have been. The good thing is that season 2 is confirmed so there will be opportunities to give them the place they deserve!
A Thousand Blows is available to stream on Hulu.
