Manhunt
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John Wilkes Booth has seen the future, as this third episode ofManhuntopens, and it looks pretty great.
Booth dreams of becoming the second president of the Confederate States.
But when he gets to Richmond, it will all be worthwhile.
First, however, he wants Booth captured.
Booths not in Montreal, but that doesnt make it irrelevant to his story.
Confederate supporter George Sanders (Anthony Marble)isin Montreal, and thats where reporter/double (triple?)
agent Sanford Conover (traveling under the name James Wallace) finds him.
Conovers going to have to work for it, however.
Sanders tells him Surratt is in Montreal visiting his father, even though his father is dead.
His father is actually his Father, as in the Man Upstairs.
Hes at the monastery where he trained to be a priest.
Meanwhile, Booth and Herold reach their destination but engage in a tense standoff with Swann in the process.
Cox considers Booth a hero and remains bullish on a Confederate revival, but hes also a pragmatist.
But for Booth, its Richmond or bust.
The legitimate capital of the United States has its own problems.
They kill Cuffys young cousin, Alec (JaQuan Monroe-Henderson), after wrongly assuming hes stealing a horse.
Its Alecs horse, but that doesnt matter, and Stantons intervention comes too late.
Stanton and Johnson exchange words, but, in the end, strong arguments are all Stanton can offer.
Surratt overpowers him and escapes.
It looks like Stanton is going to have to take care of this himself, against Ellens protests.
Whats more, Sanders has bought a newspaper,The Weekly.
(Could misleading news influence public opinion?
What a concept.)
Fortunately for him, the River Ghost shows up as promised with some supplies.
That doesnt include food for the horses, who start whinnying.
And if you didnt hate Booth already (and if you dont, whats wrong with you?
), try having any sympathy for him after he kills a horse to keep it quiet.
At Alecs funeral, Cuffy offers Eckert a new lead.
Theyre right, too.
But, as Baker points out, he cant prove it.
Clues and Codes
This episode was directed by John Dahl.
Dahl broke through with some neo-noir movie gems in the 90s, most notablyRed Rock WestandThe Last Seduction.
He then went on to directRoundersand the waiting-to-be-rediscoveredJoy Ride.
He mostly works in TV now, focusing on prestige shows likeFor All Mankind,The Americans, andJustified.
Can the Stanton marriage be saved?
Historically, they stay together.
But undoubtedly, Stantons poor health and determination to keep working anyway was a source of stress.
That does not seem like a tremendous leap of the imagination for the show to make.
Cuffy and Alec belong to Company G, a real Civil War regiment.
Theyre fictional characters who take their names from contemporaneous members of showrunner Monica Beletskys family.
Company G is under the command of Sergeant Powhatan Beaty (Joberde Metellus).
The real Powhatan Beaty led an interesting life.
There, he became a lecturer, playwright, actor, and director.
He married Henrietta Vinton Davis, the most acclaimed Black Shakespearean actress of the era.
