Just how much do you know of the assassination of President James Garfield? Death By Lightning offers a look inside the story.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Death By Lightning season 1 episode 1
The series premiere of Death By Lightning opens in the past, but not the time period you would initially think. We start in 1969, with the renovation work on the Army Medical Museum in Washington, D.C. As they renovate, a jar falls down, and it turns out that it’s the brain of Charles Guiteau.
You would think that most people would know who this is considering his involvement in the assassination of James Garfield, but this is one of the stories of assassinations not regularly told. And so, as the men question who Charles Guiteau is, we get a look at the man in question and head further back in the past, to 1880.
Charles Guiteau is a prisoner and a dreamer in Death By Lightning
It doesn’t take long to get an idea of who Charles Guiteau is. There’s an element of him that’s a dreamer, who is willing to move around where the work is, but there is much more to his story. When we first meet him, he’s a prisoner, facing the parole board to see if he can be released.
Yes, he’s released, and so starts his journey of attempted redemption, and to become someone who matters. However, the world is stacked against him, as he’s already caused enough trouble in Chicago, where he goes to stay with his sister and her husband. As he realizes that he’s a burden on the family, he realizes that he needs to make something of himself, but his past haunts him too much.
One night, he decides to chop wood, only things don’t go as well. It’s not something that he can do, and as he gets frustrated with himself, his sister reaches out to calm him, but he whirls around with the ax held high. Fortunately, he doesn’t strike her, but there is a fear in her eyes.
His sister understands, and in the light of day, they’re able to have a conversation. She knows there’s trauma there due to the abuse Guiteau faced at the hands of his father. However, it doesn’t matter if she understands, because her husband has the final say, and he’s found a place for him to go and stay to get some help.
The surprise rise of James Garfield
While we know James Garfield as the 20th President of the United States, Death By Lightning reminds us that he wasn’t originally in the running for the position. As the senators fight for the right to be the Presidential Candidate for the Republican Party, Garfield steps up to offer his support for Senator Sherman. It’s with a great speech that a member of the delegates sees him as the best man for the job.
Nobody else does at first, but that’s mostly because nobody has even considered him. Garfield doesn’t even want the job, so when he does get a vote to become the leader for the party, he tries to talk the delegate out of it.
One thing we do get to see is how the presidential candidate was voted in by the Republican Party in the past, and we see how the arguments can break out. It’s as the votes end in a deadlock once more that Garfield starts to think. Is he considering running to be the leader?
It doesn’t really matter if he wants it or not. In a round of voting, a state suddenly adds 16 votes for Garfield, which he’s not happy about. Sherman isn’t happy about how the situation is playing out, especially as he points out that the speech Garfield gave was one that made it clear he wants the position. He just doesn’t want to admit it right now.
With more rounds of voting, more and more states start to vote for Garfield. Senator Conklin naturally starts to panic, suggesting that they’re all insane, and he makes Chester Arthur try to get everyone in line. It’s not going to happen, though, and it doesn’t really matter if Garfield didn’t want it in the first place. It also doesn’t help that some of the Senators pledge their own votes to Garfield.
Suddenly, Garfield becomes the unlikely Presidential Candidate for the Republican Party.
Who is Garfield?
This is when it looks like Guiteau and Garfield could end up crossing paths. While outside, Guiteau ends up heading over to where the crowd is gathering, chuckling at the idea of Grant getting the position. However, when he hears that James Garfield is running away with the votes, Guiteau wants to know one thing. “Who the hell is Garfield?”
It’s something that many may wonder, but not the members of the Republican Party. Even Grant has to give up his votes, making it unanimous that Garfield will run to be the next President of the United States. However, Arthur remains on Conklin's side, who makes it clear that Garfield may not be long for this role (or even in life) if he gets a chance.
Without knowing who he is, Guiteau cheers from the outside, and he even gets a chance to meet the man who will become the next President of the United States, shaking his hand and immediately becoming a fan.
The next day, we know everything is about to change. Guiteau has taken all his things, even stealing from his brother-in-law’s safe, before heading on a train to the capital. It’s time to “get a man elected to the presidency.”
Death By Lightning is available to stream on Netflix.