‘The Good Lord Bird’ Episode 6: Harpers Ferry raid portrayed in weird anticlimactic war sequence
Spoilers for ‘The Good Lord Bird’ Episode 6, ‘Jesus Is Walkin’'
What does a battle sequence really need to make it great? Tension, tragedy, dramatic sequences, grandeur, and a sense of impending doom. All of this rises up the sine wave and reaches a crescendo. In episode 6 of ‘The Good Lord Bird’, which depicts the iconic raid at the armory in Harpers Ferry in Virginia, the grandeur is missing. But that makes sense because, in reality, the raid was not so much a war but something of a skirmish. On John Brown’s side, there were less than two dozen men. And on the other side, there was Robert E. Lee’s force.
But aside from the grandeur, even with the other things present, everything was not what it usually is. In ‘Jesus is Walkin’', several things go wrong for Brown (Ethan Hawke). Because Onion (Joshua Caleb Johnson) forgot to inform them about the password given by the railroad engineer, the militia does not get any reinforcements from other Black men.
A big portion of the raid is just John Brown and his men waiting for others to join their crusade. And in a way, this is utterly heartbreaking. We know that no one is coming. And Brown’s hope slowly depleting is a tragic sight. Yes, there are other tragic aspects, especially two deaths, but the inevitable acceptance of failure is what trumps them all.
There is tension. But it’s awkward tension. It’s tension when Brown asks if other men are joining them and Onion fumbles and lies. It’s tension when they keep holding more and more hostages even as they keep arguing with the mayor outside, trying to de-escalate the situation. It’s the tension when Onion returns with a few freed slaves but now there’s a large army outside and most of the people on Brown’s side are already dead.
There are dramatic sequences. But they are not what anyone would expect. It is Brown getting scarily angry when Onion returns to what Brown probably knows is sure death. It is also when Brown’s son and Cook (Rafael Casal) are killed and Brown is suddenly unable to understand why Lee’s soldiers shot him despite the fact that they had a “deal”. And the feeling of impending doom exists because the viewers know exactly what is in store -- even if Brown does not want to believe it.
The battle sequence, which did not end at the end of the episode, was by all standards anticlimactic. But it was memorable. It was weird. But it was good. It was slow and uncomfortable, but it was unnervingly realistic. Notwithstanding the Coen Brothers-like exchanges of dialogues, of course. In every way, it was a great war sequence. Only it was nothing like anything we have ever seen. The word “unique” is a risky epithet for anything in American television. But if it can ever be used, the penultimate episode of ‘The Good Lord Bird’ is as close as anyone has gotten to it.
'The Good Lord Bird' airs on Sundays on Showtime at 9 pm ET/PT.