‘The Good Lord Bird’ Episode 5 Preview: Will the show stay true to real-life failure of Harper's Ferry raid?
Episode 4 of Showtime’s historical biographical dramedy ‘The Good Lord Bird’ saw Onion (Joshua Caleb Johnson) and the fanatical abolitionist John Brown (Ethan Hawke) continue their fundraising mission for the war against slavers. And these oratory events took them to Canada. But, on foot. Tired of his erraticism, Onion left Brown for a bit. But at another oratory from Brown, Onion felt compelled to support him and his Herculean cause. And he was compelled further when the legendary Harriet Tubman (Zainab Jah) endorsed Brown in a room full of potential new recruits. As the recruits joined, we saw Brown open a map that charted Harper’s Ferry in Virginia.
So, what comes next? Titled, ‘Hiving the Bees’, Episode 5 will see Onion and a new recruit called John Cook (Rafael Casal) head to Harper’s Ferry to prepare for the arrival of John Brown and his army. A little bit of history: From October 16 to 18, 1859, Brown and his men, in an effort to initiate a slave revolt in the Southern states, tried taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. But Brown’s party, as we have seen all throughout the show, was a tiny one. Historical records vary but there were less than a couple of dozen men.
The raid, unfortunately, ended with the capture and execution of Brown. The U.S. Marines, led by Robert E. Lee caught him, following which Brown was hastily tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia -- among several other charges -- and hanged, making him the first person executed for treason in the history of the United States. Despite the fact that the raid was a small one, it was his trial that turned Brown into an icon. The raid also had major ramifications on the history of the U.S. Supposedly, it even contributed to Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860.
'The Good Lord Bird' has made an effort to be comedic about how it tells the story. But there's nothing that can soften what will happen next. The promo for the episode makes a couple of things very clear. One, they knew they were headed towards a dangerous mission. We see the social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass (Daveed Diggs) tell Brown and his men that this raid would be a “steel trap”. The second thing, this episode will be a precursor to the actual raid as we see Brown announce that they were going to conduct the raid the following night.
Of course, we will, in all likelihood, see the events to come represented as truthfully as possible. But one has to wonder what kind of comic liberties the show will take in the process. Yes, the raid was an unsuccessful one and had many casualties on Brown's side. But will we see that? Or will we see a somewhat satirized version of that story?
The episode will also see Onion struggle to perform his mission of recruiting more African-American soldiers from the area when Cook’s reckless behavior threatens their exposure to suspicious neighbors. Per Showtime, “After several weeks of waiting, Brown, his army and his daughter Annie (Maya Hawke) finally arrive -- creating a new distraction for Onion: true love.”
Onion’s struggles with Annie will obviously provide some comic relief, after all, everyone thinks he’s a girl (thanks to Brown mishearing his name in episode 1). But this comic relief will no doubt not soften the blow that is to arrive next.
'The Good Lord Bird' airs on Sundays on Showtime at 9 pm ET/PT.
