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Warning: contains finale spoilers for A Thousand Blows.
“To be continued…” reads the caption at the end of A Thousand Blows series one, and luckily for fans, it isn’t followed by a question mark. Two six-episode series of Steven Knight’s historical drama were filmed back-to-back, which means that a second run is guaranteed to arrive at a later date on Disney+ in the UK and on Hulu in the US.
In the teaser trailer for series two, we see that Hezekiah is back on the boxing circuit after his controversial bout left American champ Buster Williams dead, Mary is back in London (if she ever left) with a loaded gun in her hand, there’s a battle in the streets where march a group of armed men led by a new character named Bull Jeremy, played by Peaky Blinders’ Ned Dennehy. There’s more thievery, more scrapping, and by the looks of it, more pain for Treacle and Sugar (James Nelson-Joyce and Stephen Graham). Here’s a more detailed look at how things were left and where the story could go next.
Hezekiah’s Revenge
In the series one finale, Mary’s ruthless mother Jane Carr (Susan Lynch) came to The Blue Coat Boy pub to give Sugar some important intel: Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall) had been stabbed by a member of The Elephants, as ordered by the gang’s leader Indigo Jeremy (Robert Glenister). Alec wasn’t the intended victim, but had been mistaken for Hezekiah (Malachi Kirby), whose death was ordered as a punishment to Mary for overstepping the line when she pulled off the Chinese legation heist without the involvement of the Elephants.
Mary had kept all of this from Hezekiah, who had mourned his best friend Alec believing that his death was the result of a random attack. To drive a wedge between his boxing enemy Hezekiah and the object of his romantic obsession Mary, Sugar told Hezekiah the truth. When Mary came to meet Hezekiah so they could run away together to New York, he confronted her about the lies and Alec’s death, and told her that she was dead to him.
In the series two teaser, we see Hezekiah point a gun at a man’s head and say “My name is Hezekiah Moscow and today you will answer to God.” That man could well be Indigo Jeremy.
Queen of the Forty Elephants
Last we saw her, Mary Carr was poised to sail to New York City to reunite with her mysterious father (we’ve met her mother Jane, but not yet the father she apparently takes after) and get away from the threat of Indigo Jeremy and the Elephant Boys. Whether she goes we don’t know, but she’s certainly back in London in the series two teaser, which sees her done up in her finery and threatening a roomful of well-dressed toffs with a loaded gun. The question remains: is she still the Queen of the Forty Elephants?
In series one, Eliza (Hannah Walters) and the rest of the girls abandoned Mary after she put them in danger by angering Indigo Jeremy. All but one of the women – Alice Diamond (Darci Shaw) – returned to Mary’s mother Jane and the Elephant Boys. In series two, will Mary and Alice still be a team, or could there be a new Queen of the Elephants for Mary to contend with?
Sugar and Mary No More
After Mary refused Sugar’s proposal of marriage, she lost his support and protection. Ever since Sugar met Mary as a child in the workhouse, where he would bring gifts of food to the children, he’d been besotted with her and hoped that they could raise a family of misfit orphans together. Mary turned him down, having already fallen for and slept with Hezekiah, which exacerbated Sugar’s rivalry with the Jamaican boxer.
A New Life for Lao
In the series one finale, Mr Lao faced extradition to China and the death penalty for the murder of Chinese diplomat Lo Feng Luh, whom he’d stabbed in revenge for the deaths of his wife and child in China when the government official viciously put down a rebellion by burning villages and having their inhabitants slaughtered. Mary had worked out from the fake gin that Hezekiah was drinking that Lao was being hidden by distiller Jack Mac, and she’d informed on Lao’s location to save her own skin. To make up for it, she then saved Lao’s life by bribing prison guards to allow Alice Diamond access to Lao’s cell while dressed as a nun. Alice set fire to the cell, freed Lao, and arranged for a stolen corpse to be left in his burning cell in order to fake his death. Mary then sent Lao up to Liverpool, where he was told to make a new life. Will he stay put, or could he return in series two?
Thomas Goodson and Uncle Sugar
The close brotherly relationship between Sugar and Treacle Goodson fell apart in episode five of series one, when Treacle implored Sugar to move on from illegal bare-knuckle boxing and fight in legitimate West End bouts. Treacle had taken over Sugar’s planned West End career himself after Sugar removed his gloves in a match and viciously attacked his opponent by biting him. Sugar reacted much the same this time, and beat his younger brother unconscious.
When Treacle came to, he told Sugar to stay away from him and his family, especially his son Thomas (Will Bagnall). Earlier, we saw Sugar tell Thomas that he needed to be a man and learn how to fight, showing him that his six-year-old sister was tougher than him in the ring. In the series two teaser, it seems that Thomas might well be having dealings with his uncle. Punch (Daniel Mays) is seen telling Thomas: “You’d better know what you’re doing.” Perhaps Thomas has chosen Uncle Sugar as his role model? Or perhaps he’s planning to avenge his dad’s attack?
Who is Bull Jeremy?
Ned Dennehy, who played scrapyard owner Charlie in Peaky Blinders, will play a new character named Bull Jeremy in series two. He must be kin to Indigo Jeremy, the afeard leader of male gang the Elephant and Castle Mob – a brother perhaps? Dennehy’s character is seen in the series two trailer marching down the fiery streets mid-battle with a group of armed men. Is he there to offer support to Indigo Jeremy, to challenge him for supremacy, or perhaps, to avenge his potential death if Hezekiah carries out his own vengeance plan? Here’s a theory: could Bull Jeremy even be the elusive New York City-based father of which Mary speaks?
All episodes of A Thousand Blows are streaming now on Disney+ in the UK and on Hulu in the US.
The post A Thousand Blows Ending Explained: What Next For Hezekiah, Mary & Sugar in Series 2? appeared first on Den of Geek.
