David Bianculli

Over the course of this series, we learn many new things about familiar names like Nathan Hale, Paul Revere, and Benedict Arnold.

But the name Coyote mentions here was new to me.

The sheer number of the battles and the details about them attest to how hard our ancestors fought for the notion of a Federalist society.

At the end, the American Revolution reminds us that the quest to maintain that society and to strive to achieve a more perfect union is far from over.

I'll end The Way the Series Does by citing Alexander Hamilton.

Death by Lightning is a period piece, but it plays like a 19th century version of the West Wing.

It's full of political intrigue and unexpected betrayals, focusing on an elected representative whose desire is to do right and do good, no matter how many obstacles are in the way.

James Garfield, played by the always intense Michael Shannon, brings his intensity to Garfield's public oratory.

But at home, his Garfield is a gentle, loving husband, father, and farmer, an unlikely person to rise to the top in the snake pit of national government in the 1880s.

Equally unlikely to achieve any level of success is Charles Guiteau, another character from humble beginnings.

Guiteau, though, is a lot less noble than Garfield and a lot less humble.

In fact, he may be delusional about his own self-worth, and he's not above stealing, lying, forging, or other crimes to further his ambitions.

In the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins, Guiteau was portrayed with the enthusiastic optimism of a child.

And that's how he's played here by Matthew McFadden, who played Tom on Succession.

It's a wholly committed, completely empathic portrayal.

You can feel Guiteau's emotions, his highs and his lows, instantly and deeply, often in the same scene.

As in this one, when we meet Guiteau for the first time, facing a panel and defending his behavior in 1880 after being incarcerated in the New York jail called the Tombs.

James Garfield, on the other hand, has no such ambitions.

He's a congressman representing Ohio, but spends most of his time back home.

He's asked to do a favor for a fellow Ohio politician to nominate him at the upcoming Republican National Convention in Chicago.