{"id":2146330,"date":"2025-11-10T11:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2146330"},"modified":"2025-11-10T11:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:42:09","slug":"death-by-lightning-on-netflix-is-an-entertaining-historical-drama-pluribus-intrigues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/death-by-lightning-on-netflix-is-an-entertaining-historical-drama-pluribus-intrigues\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Death by Lightning’ on Netflix is an entertaining historical drama, ‘Pluribus’ intrigues"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It would be easy to just give \u201cDeath by Lightning\u201d a pass simply because it\u2019s a story where the principal character, Pres. James A. Garfield (portrayed by Michael Shannon),<\/a> is from Northeast Ohio. Mentor to be exact.<\/p>\n

That would do a disservice to the fine piece of storytelling based on a book by Lexington author Candice Millard that tells what the story of what was seemingly a fallow period in U.S. history. This incredibly entertaining four-episode series is proof that assumptions should not be made.<\/p>\n

Garfield, the nation\u2019s 20th chief executive, served about four months before being disabled by an assassin\u2019s bullet and succumbing to those injuries made monumentally worse by the work of a doctor that would be considered malpractice today.<\/p>\n

By any measure, Garfield was a progressive of his time, favoring given Blacks the right to vote, reforming the nation\u2019s civil service system and ending patronage in the government in general. He fought against entrenched elements of the Republican Party of the time, including a scurrilous New York senator Roscoe Conkling (the brilliant Shea Wigham of \u201cBoardwalk Empire\u201d) and his fellow legislator and henchman Chester Arthur (the equally brilliant Nick Offerman).<\/p>\n

Garfield, needless to say, seems to have his work cut out for him in more ways than one. Presidents weren\u2019t isolated at that moment in time and they were not as cautious. The miniseries\u2019 title comes from Garfield\u2019s believe that any act of potential political violence would be considered a case of \u201cdeath by lightning,\u201d despite what happened to fellow Republican Abraham Lincoln nearly two decades before.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret what happens to Garfield. He is eventually shot, but \u201cDeath by Lightning” \u2014 directed by Matt Ross, with the script from writer-creator Mike Makowsky \u2014 painstakingly Garfield\u2019s side of the story and that of his assassin, Charles Guiteau (\u201cSuccession\u2019s\u201d Matthew Macfadyen, an Emmy winner).<\/p>\n

It delves into the delusional world that Guiteau created to justify his appointment as a foreign consul for the Garfield Administration. To the series\u2019 creators credit, they don\u2019t paint him as a villain, but instead deal with the issue of mental health, a possible reason for the violence against Garfield. In a sense, it allows them, coincidentally, Makowsky said in a recent interview, to hold a mirror up to today\u2019s America.<\/p>\n

Macfadyen masterfully creates a multifaceted character in Guiteau. His devolution never seems obvious, making the eventual transformation and the ultimate comeuppance all that more relevant.<\/p>\n

As for Shannon? His Garfield is noble, intelligent and humble. He\u2019s the quintessential every man and Shannon brings all of those characteristics to the forefront.<\/p>\n

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