‘The Good Lord Bird’ finale will see true grit of John Brown as he refuses to bend when surrounded by troops
Showtime’s biographical dramedy, ‘The Good Lord Bird’, is coming to an end. In the penultimate episode, we saw the abolitionist John Brown (Ethan Hawke) and less than two dozen men raid the armory at Harpers Ferry in Virginia. What was fairly anticlimactic in the beginning, ended up getting more and more tragic as the episode ran.
Brown lost a lot of men (including a son). Very few Black slaves joined them because of a few crucial tactical mistakes. And finally, enemy troops arrived in swarms, making any possibility of escape null and void. What was more tragic to witness than anything else was how Brown’s hopes began deflating as time passed. It was additionally heartbreaking to watch because anyone privy to the history of this raid is privy to the fact that it does not end on a good note. Brown was captured, tried, and summarily executed for treason against the United States -- something we see at the very beginning of episode 1.
So, what is set for the finale? Episode 7 is titled ‘Last Words’ and that sets the tone for what is to come -- Brown’s execution. As per Showtime, in the episode, Brown and his remaining army take a last stand as more federal troops descend upon Harpers Ferry. With John Brown captured and held for public execution, Onion (Joshua Caleb Johnson), truly on his own, risks his life to say his goodbyes to Brown.
But what is this risk that Onion takes? The best guess is that the execution was heavily guarded and it would be difficult for anyone -- let alone a young Black man in women’s clothes -- to enter and witness. According to archival documents from the Virginia Military Institute, fearing the possibility of another uprising by Brown’s supporters, the Governor of Virginia accepted the offer of VMI’s Superintendent, Francis H. Smith, to send a part of the Corps of Cadets to provide an additional military presence at the execution.
So, there is that. But there is something else that is equally important in the emotional journey that has been this show. In a clip shared by Showtime, we see the conversation between Jeb (Wyatt Russell), a commander in Robert E. Lee’s army who has met him before, and Brown. Jeb tells Brown that they were surrounded by more than 1,200 soldiers and that they had no choice but to cooperate.
But Brown, even in the face of odds so extreme, refuses to double down. We see him still attempting to negotiate the freedom of slaves, and the freedom of his men. Brown, even at the doorsteps of defeat, did not stray from his true mission -- the emancipation of slaves in the U.S.
The show, and possibly this one scene, only makes the case for a zealot like Brown to be seen as an abolitionist legend. He was caught and executed. But he remained undefeated in his agenda. He remained unchanged in what he believed was god’s will.
'The Good Lord Bird' airs on Sundays on Showtime at 9 pm ET/PT.
