I’m going to go a little meta here if you will indulge me for a moment… I love this shot. Henry’s just kicked the shit out of Abe, and he looks so invigorated. High on bloodlust, like he’s this close to ripping someone’s throat out. Now, talking about the book as well as the movie, I really wonder how hard Henry had to try to not kill Abe in their training sessions. He always puts on the appearance of having himself so together, and he makes it seem like he doesn’t find it difficult at all to not attack innocents for blood, you know? BUT… Let’s think about how he tortured John MacNamar and Abe had to make him stop. Let’s think about how he forced John Wilkes Booth to know exactly what was going to happen to him, before he killed him. That’s Henry enjoying violence and cruelty. He comes across as so kind and gentle and compassionate, and I’m not saying Henry isn’t those things as well, but something I kind of like about the movie is how much more aggressive Henry is than in the book. Because I think he does have that pent-up anger and capability for and enjoyment of violence in both versions, it’s just in the movie you can see him express it a little more, outwardly.

I really wish we could have seen Henry’s point-of-view in the book. I want to know how much he struggles not to be a monster. He says “Judge us not equally, Abraham,” but how different are you really, Henry? And how much is he just lying to himself?