The Good Lord Bird Mini Series (2020) Review

So this show has come to Sky in the last week and I have now watched the 7 episodes of The Good Lord Bird and here is my review for it. The premise of the show sees a young slave join a crew of abolitionist soldiers led by a charismatic religious leader. 

Main Character

Ethan Hawke plays John Brown the lead here and he is amazing here, I mean he shouts a lot but it is so intense that it just works and makes you want to follow his crew on his mission. I also think Hawke has a really great grasp of dark comedy, as I found him hilarious at times but also a really interesting character that leads this show so well. 

Supporting Characters

This show basically introduces Joshua Caleb-Johnson as the character of Onion and he is fantastic here, he delivers a great performance for such a young actor. He is basically the person that we see the show through and it is done really well, you really grow attached to Onion and really want to see him succeed with this crew that has been assembled. Hubert Point-Du Jour plays Bob and I thought he was really good on the show and was just a really likeable addition to the cast and had a really good chemistry with Caleb-Johnson and their dynamic was really good. Daveed Diggs from Hamilton & Snowpiercer plays a smaller role but when he is on screen he does a really good job and is just so charming as we have grown to expect from him. The rest of the cast also do a great job and make this a great ensemble cast with great people throughout. 

Story

This show has an interesting story, seeing this ragtag group of people trying to abolish slavery through pretty violent ways is great to watch and you do want to see them succeed in their mission. Seeing the story through Onion's eyes makes it a different watch from usual and seeing the work of John Brown is great. However, this show does suffer from some old fashioned tropes, the main one being the white saviour for the black man, it is really forced down your throat here how John Brown is a saviour and it just comes across as a bit tacky and obvious. 

Script

The script is very good, the dialogue has a great blend of humour and drama. As I said earlier Hawke has such a great handle of dark comedy and he nails the blend between humour and drama and it makes John Brown a great character to watch. The characters develop well and it does a good job in making you care about them and the cause that they are fighting for. 

Style 

The show has a really good show, it does feel like if you played either of The Red Dead Redemption games then you will like this show, as in the way it is presented it feels very much like it is inspired by that show which is good with me. The action is brutal and feels very real and the obvious racism is pretty uncomfortable to watch to an effective degree, also this show has an amazing intro with the music, it gets you right into the mood for the show in a very effective way. But this show probably has a few too many episodes and could have done with 5 episodes to make the story flow better and some people would find it too preachy and it does feel like there could have been a bit more nuance to the characters instead of having obvious protagonists and obvious antagonists. 

Overall 

Overall, this is a great mini series that is a fun watch with some pretty dark moments. Hawke, gives an emmy worthy performance and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves and if you like westerns then this is a show that will be right up your ally. 

Rating - 8/10