
For me, the second time we really get Guiteau is in the third episode. It happens after we’ve seen him fail over and over, desperately believing he’s destined for something big. He honestly thinks he deserves a job in Garfield’s administration just for campaigning for him (without permission, and to pretty much no one!). The whole series shows him trying to get close to the president, which really annoys James Blaine. When he can’t get in any other way, he just joins the endless line of people hoping for a favor at the White House. Then, he finally gets a meeting with Garfield, and it’s amazing – he’s completely speechless. Usually, he’s all talk, but he’s suddenly overwhelmed just to be in the president’s presence. Tom Macfadyen plays it perfectly; you can see this man is on the verge of some kind of breakdown, his eyes are watery, and his voice is so vulnerable. He tells Garfield, ‘All I want, sir, is to be your friend. I feel in my core that I really know you, Mr. Garfield.’ But then he makes this plea that just breaks your heart, distilling everything he wants into something so pathetic and human. ‘Help me,’ he says, ‘to succeed like you did. Open the door… I’m begging you. Tell me. Tell me how I can be great too.’