Inside ‘A Thousand Blows’ Season 2: More Blood, Romance & Rivalries

London’s East End in the 1880s is a testing ground of fists and survival in Hulu’s acclaimed series A Thousand Blows. And Season 2? It only ups the ante: Rivalries sharpen, and romance is woven in amid the blood, sweat, and uppercuts as boxers, gangsters — including the formidable all-female Forty Elephants — and schemers navigate the city in the intense period drama.

Steven Knight, award-winning creator of Peaky Blinders, says these six episodes drill deeper into the human toll of power—seeking it, wielding it, retaining it. Inspired by real figures from London’s 19th-century underworld, the series grounds its action in history. “These people live on a knife’s edge,” he says. “Every decision matters. One choice can affect an entire community.”

That was certainly the case in Season 1. At the saga’s center are Mary Carr (Erin Doherty), intimidating queen of the Forty Elephants gang; Hezekiah Moscow (Malachi Kirby), whose arrival from Jamaica and ascent in the bare-knuckle boxing world reverberates across the East End; and Sugar Goodson (Stephen Graham), the volatile veteran boxer and underworld boss. Hezekiah’s boxing skills have made him a figure to be feared and exploited. There’s also the undeniable attraction between Mary and Hezekiah, which carries over into the new season, complicating loyalties in and out of the ring.

Mary remains a dominant force in Season 2. However, a flicker of uncertainty reshapes her leadership. “She’s such a complex contradiction,” says Doherty, who, like Graham, was Emmy-honored for Adolescence. “She’s deeply vulnerable, and she has to learn to sit in uncomfortable places and question whether being more human makes her less of a boss. You see her mature in a way I don’t think people will expect. It’s a coming-of-age moment, and I love that.”

Disney / Robert Viglasky

Hezekiah also evolves following the murder of his best friend, Alec, at the end of Season 1. He wants revenge, a fraught impulse given that the Forty Elephants bears responsibility for Alec’s death, which impacts his already intense relationship with Mary. “Hezekiah was craving community in Season 1, while Mary was more of a lone wolf,” Kirby observes. “Now Mary starts to understand the importance of community, and Hezekiah decides he needs to be alone to survive because he can’t trust anyone. It’s heartbreaking because the person we meet in Season 1 is full of hope, dreams, and humanity. That’s been broken down.”

Beyond the Mary-Hezekiah-Sugar triangle, grudges flare, and allegiances shift. Knight describes the episodes as offering a careful balance of strategy and chaos. “There’s always violence in this world,” he says. “But what interests me is why people choose it.”

Knight emphasizes that the East End of the 1880s was a place where poverty, crime, and ambition collided daily. “This was a city full of people fighting for space,” he says. “That tension informs everything — the fights, relationships, betrayals.”

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Season 2 further widens the field by introducing some new players, including Ned Dennehy as Bull Jeremy, and Catherine McCormack as Sophie Lyons, who disrupt the existing order, forcing established figures to adapt — or not. The arrivals strain allegiances and expose the fragility of hard-won power. “Nothing stays stable for long,” Knight notes.

While the series delivers visceral action, the drama comes from the characters’ choices. Mary, Hezekiah, Sugar, and others weigh ambition against loyalty, love against survival, in a world that rewards ruthlessness and punishes hesitation.

As the pressure mounts, Knight reiterates, the new season leans into consequence rather than spectacle. “Every punch has meaning,” he explains. “Every victory costs something. That’s what makes the drama feel real.”

Not surprisingly, Doherty and Kirby credit Knight for the show’s veracity and success. “I think he’s the closest thing we have to our Shakespeare,” Doherty says. “He’s incredibly skilled at writing the subconscious and conscious, all the mess inside us. He gets it onto paper, and that’s such a rarity, not just to witness, but to actually speak.”

Disney / Robert Viglasky

“These are working-class people you could meet on the street, yet [Knight] reveals how extraordinary their lives are,” Kirby says. “He also weaves poetry into everyday speech in a way that never feels forced or cheesy. Every character matters.”

And in this season, expect a clash of these titans, where each of the thousand blows leads to unexpected consequences. “In Season 1, we discovered who they are,” Knight says. “In Season 2, we discover what they’re capable of.”

A Thousand Blows, Hulu & Disney+