Hulu has just released a new miniseries titled Washington Black on its platform, and all eight episodes are now available to stream. The period drama kicks off with a gripping first episode that wastes no time pulling viewers into the life of George 'Wash' Black, a young boy who escapes slavery in Barbados only to eventually find himself on the run with a bounty on his head and no clear path to safety.
In this article, we're going to break down what all happens in the premiere. So if you’re avoiding spoilers, now’s the time to stop reading!
Spoilers are ahead from Washington Black episode 1!
Halifax, Nova Scotia 1837
The first episode opens with the introduction of an older George 'Wash' Black. He's living in Halifax and goes by the name Jack for some reason. While Wash/Jack is tinkering with a new invention, a man named Medwin Harris walks into the room. Medwin, who seems to be his landlord, reminds him that they’re running late for an event.
He then asks about the contraption Wash/Jack is working on. Wash/Jack explains that it’s a device meant to help him fly. An invention he believes could revolutionize global travel. Medwin listens with genuine interest and encourages his ambition. He then tells Wash/Jack that they need to get a move on it because the ferry is coming in. It appears that Medwin is also Wash/Jack's employer, and they both work at the docks.
The following scene features a young white woman and her father arriving by ship in Halifax after departing from London. While their journey seems straightforward, it’s hinted that a more significant, perhaps personal reason lies behind their decision to leave the U.K. and start fresh in Canada. As Wash/Jack is unloading the ship's cargo, he and the woman exchange a few words before their conversation is interrupted by the woman's father. We find out that the woman's name is Tanna. As she walks away, Wash/Jack seems to be taken away by her presence and beauty.
Tanna and her father make their way to the accommodations arranged by her father's benefactor. While on their way, it becomes clear that Tanna is not just a white woman. She's half black and half white. However, her dad wants her to hide her black side. At a local restaurant, Wash/Jack meets with a woman he calls Miss Angie. He asks her if any mail from the Royal Science League has arrived for him, and she replies that nothing has come. Angie then asks him about the contraption he's working on. Wash/Jack tells her that he's working on making a device that will allow him to fly across the ocean to London so that he can win the RSL's World Expo. Like Medwin, Angie is also supportive of his dreams.
Tanna and her father, who we now know goes by Mr. Goff, arrive at some sort of art show the next day. This is where Tanna meets a man named William McGee. He is Mr. Goff's benefactor who provided them with accommodations in Halifax. They have a slightly awkward conversation before Mr. Goff walks into the room and introduces himself to Mr. McGee. Tanna finds herself blindsided when her father reveals to her that she and Mr. McGee are to be married.
She then storms outside, and Mr. Goff chases after her. Tanna thought she and her father had moved to Halifax for a fresh beginning and to work on his new book, but that turned out not to be the case at all. After Tanna revealed to everyone in London that she was mixed race, it caused a scandal that jeopardized their social standing. No one wanted to court Tanna, so Mr. Goff made the decision to leave England behind after Mr. McGee agreed to wed his daughter.
Later that night, the Black community in Halifax gathers at a local bar. Medwin spots Wash/Jack sitting alone at a table and approaches him. He tells Wash/Jack that earlier that day, he heard news of a bounty hunter who arrived in town searching for a Black man named George Washington Black. The two exchange a tense, knowing look.
It's a new day, and Wash/Jack heads to Mr. Goff and Tanna's house to deliver packages that arrived at the dock earlier that morning. The parcels are addressed to Mr. Goff from the Royal Science League. Mr. Goff asks him how he's aware of the RSL, and Wash/Jack replies that an old friend was a member. Mr. Goff then asks Wash/Jack to bring the packages over to his office. During this scene, we learn that Mr. Goff is a scientist with the RSL who studies and catalogs marine life.
Later on, Wash/Jack runs into Tanna at the nearby beach where they formally introduce themselves. Of course, Wash/Jack doesn't share that his real name is George Washington Black because he's on the run. He introduces himself as Jack Crawford. He then shows Tanna his flying invention before they share another intimate moment. Tanna announces that she has to get back home, and Wash/Jack tells her that they should meet again. Although Tanna doesn't give him a direct answer, it's clear she's open to the idea.
Barbados 1829
The first episode takes us back to Barbados in the year 1829, where a young George 'Wash' Black works the fields of a sugar plantation with his caregiver (Big Kit) and other enslaved people. Their harsh reality is reinforced when the plantation owner/slave master shows up to issue a stern warning about disobedience before riding off. The next morning, a mysterious man travelling in a strange vehicle arrives at the fields. After Wash helps him fix his car problem, the man instructs him and several other enslaved people to follow him.
They arrive at the plantation owner's home. We find out that the man's name is Christopher 'Titch' Wilde, and he's the younger brother of the plantation owner, Erasmus Wilde. Titch is an inventor and abolitionist who, after securing funding for his flying machine, abandoned his investors in London and fled to Barbados. He asks Erasmus for a place to stay and money to help him with his invention, and Erasmus agrees. He also asks for Wash as an assistant, meaning Wash no longer will have to work in the fields anymore.
Once Titch and Wash are alone in his office, Titch shares with him that he's a scientist with the Royal Science League. They begin working on Titch's flying machine together that Titch calls the "Cloud-cutter." It's a contraption that Titch's father came up with, and Titch wants to finally build it and fly across the Atlantic in it. One day, Titch and Erasmus's younger brother, Phillip Wilde, arrives in Barbados. He had been locked up in a London asylum before traveling to the island. From their very first meeting, Phillip is cruel to Wash. We find out that the main reason he acts so cruelly is because he's like the black sheep of the Wilde family.
While Titch and Wash are working on the Cloud-cutter one day, an incident involving Philip results in Wash getting hurt. The injury leaves Wash with a scar. Titch cares for him until he recovers, teaching him how to read along the way. Wash even helps repair the Cloud-cutter's battery. Now, they're ready to fly.
Tanna's backstory
In the first episode, we learn about Tanna's past before she moved to London with her father. As a young girl, Tanna lived in the Solomon Islands with her mother and community. However, she was forced to relocate to the United Kingdom to live with her father after her mom passed away. It's what her mother wanted for her so that she could have a better life.
Here's what happens in the last two scenes of the first episode:
- Wash comes face to face with a bounty hunter. At the very end of the episode, we're taken back to Halifax in 1837, where Wash/Jack encounters one of the bounty hunters after him. However, he's able to successfully ward him off with help from Angie.
- Back in Barbados in 1829, Phillip leads young Wash into the woods and points a gun at him. A gunshot rings out before the episode cuts to the credits.
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