
The first season of A Thousand Blows introduces us to three central characters whose lives become intertwined in 1880s East London. Hezekiah Moscow, a Jamaican immigrant, comes to London expecting a job training lions, but ends up performing as the “Wild Man of Africa.” He quickly gains notoriety through underground boxing, where he meets Mary Carr, the head of the Forty Elephants, a powerful all-female gang. Mary is looked after by Sugar Goodson, a fiercely volatile crime boss and boxing champion who has a complex personality – he’s capable of both great kindness, like caring for abandoned children, and extreme violence towards those who neglect them. Both Sugar and Hezekiah are attracted to Mary, but she clearly prefers Hezekiah, fueling Sugar’s rage. The show is particularly notable for the range of angry expressions actor Graham uses during arguments with Hezekiah, Mary, or his brother, Treacle – a grounded family man who embodies the life Sugar could have had if he weren’t consumed by self-hatred.