Death by Lightning Ending Explained: How the True Story Came to Life

Nivedita Dubey
November 17, 2025

Key Points:

Death by Lightning is based on the real assassination of U.S. President James Garfield and the events that followed.
The series explores the intertwined lives of Garfield and assassin Charles Guiteau, highlighting political tensions, medical failures, and personal ambitions.
The ending emphasizes Garfield’s legacy, Guiteau’s downfall, and the transformation of future president Chester Alan Arthur.

Death by Lightning revisits a turbulent moment in American history, tracing the rise and sudden fall of President James Garfield and the obsessive path of assassin Charles Guiteau. The limited series blends political drama and historical detail, unpacking how the events surrounding Garfield’s short presidency shaped the country. Here’s a closer look at the true story, the key figures, and how the ending connects the narrative’s emotional and historical threads.

**What Is Death by Lightning About and Is It Based on a True Story?**

Death by Lightning _ Official Trailer _ Netflix

The Netflix limited series Death by Lightning is grounded entirely in real events, adapted from Candice Millard’s respected book Destiny of the Republic. The show opens with a modern vignette—government workers discovering a preserved brain labeled with a mysterious name, Charles Guiteau—and jumps back to the late 1800s to tell the story of two men whose lives collided in a way that changed American history.

James Garfield, played by Michael Shannon, emerges as an unlikely presidential candidate. He never sought the nomination, but a fiery speech at the Republican National Convention unexpectedly vaulted him to the top of the ticket. At the same time, Matthew Macfadyen’s Charles Guiteau drifts between failed ventures, delusions of grandeur, and an unwavering belief that he is destined for greatness.

The series balances both trajectories: Garfield’s steady climb toward an office he never asked for, and Guiteau’s obsessive spiral toward violence. Their story is not fictionalized ambition it reflects documented history, political factions of the era, and the volatile cultural climate of post–Civil War America.

**How Does Death by Lightning Explore Garfield’s Rise and the Political Turmoil of His Presidency?**

Garfield’s reluctance to run didn’t stop him from becoming a standout figure at a time when America was fractured. The nation was still recovering from the Civil War, with political corruption rampant and party factions at war. Garfield belonged to the reform-driven Half-Breeds, while his opponents, the Stalwarts, fought to preserve the spoils system—a practice Garfield wanted to dismantle.

To unify the party, Garfield reluctantly agreed to run with Chester Alan Arthur, a key figure in the Stalwart machine. Arthur, portrayed by Nick Offerman, is introduced as a political insider benefiting from the very system Garfield seeks to reform.

Despite winning the presidency by a narrow margin, Garfield quickly found himself fighting entrenched political interests, including Senator Roscoe Conkling. Even so, he pushed ahead with civil service reform, especially advocating for the rights of Black Americans—one of the series’ clear thematic pillars.

Throughout this political landscape, Garfield’s family plays a grounding role. His wife Lucretia—played by Betty Gilpin—is shown as a sharp, progressive figure whose potential was overshadowed by tragedy. Their scenes humanize Garfield, highlighting what the country lost in his death beyond political reform.

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Who Was Charles Guiteau and Why Did He Believe He Was Meant to Serve Garfield?

Charles Guiteau’s story is both fascinating and unsettling. The series paints him as a man shaped by lifelong rejection and grand delusions, tracing his struggles through family tension, failed business ventures, and even a stint in the real-life Oneida Community, a free love commune that did not welcome him. Members reportedly mocked him with the nickname “Charles Gitout”—a detail the show includes accurately.

Guiteau’s belief that he deserved a position in Garfield’s administration grew from a single campaign speech he delivered during the election—a speech Garfield never requested. In his mind, that effort should have guaranteed him a prestigious diplomatic role.

He hounded Garfield’s staff, pressured political figures, and even forged a recommendation letter to Secretary of State James Blaine. When Blaine definitively told him that he would not receive any appointment, Guiteau became convinced that Garfield’s removal was necessary for the good of the nation.

The series draws a parallel to Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, with Guiteau embodying a 19th-century Rupert Pupkin—relentless, delusional, and desperate for recognition.

**How Does Death by Lightning Depict the Assassination of President Garfield?**

The assassination sequence is true to history. On July 2, 1881, with security protocols nearly nonexistent, Garﬁeld walked freely through the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station. Guiteau saw his opportunity and fired two shots.

While shocking, the shooting itself was not what ultimately killed Garfield. The series emphasizes the pivotal failure of American medical practices at the time. Despite the rise of antiseptic treatment in Europe, many U.S. doctors refused to accept germ theory. Garfield’s lead physician, Dr. Bliss, dismissed warnings from Dr. Charles Purvis—a trained Black physician aware of modern medical techniques.

Instead of protecting the wound, Bliss repeatedly probed it with unsterilized instruments, causing deadly infection. Historian consensus aligns with the series’ portrayal: Garfield likely would have survived if treated with proper hygiene.

Even Alexander Graham Bell makes a historically accurate appearance, attempting to locate the bullet with an early metal-detection device. Bliss ignored Bell’s findings, contributing further to the tragedy.

What Happens to Chester Alan Arthur After Garfield’s Death?

Arthur’s political transformation is one of the most compelling arcs in the series. Once seen as a corrupt loyalist of the Stalwart faction, he becomes an unexpected successor to Garfield.

Initially dismissed as an unqualified vice president, Arthur experiences a gradual shift in perspective. Garfield’s qualities—and his tragic death—force Arthur to confront his own values. While the series doesn’t directly include Arthur’s real-life correspondence with Julia Sand, it draws from it emotionally, framing Garfield and Lucretia as the voices guiding his moral awakening.

In reality, Arthur went on to pass sweeping civil service reforms that shaped the modern system. He served only one term but left behind a surprisingly progressive legacy.

**What Is the Meaning Behind the Death by Lightning Ending?**

The ending mirrors the opening—modern-day workers examine Guiteau’s preserved brain—before returning to the narrative’s emotional core: Garfield’s family.

Lucretia Garfield sits at the table her husband built, surrounded by children and relatives, but one chair remains empty. It’s a quiet reminder of a life interrupted, of a presidency that could have been transformative.

Before this peaceful final moment, the series includes one invented but thematically powerful scene: Lucretia visits Guiteau in prison. She calmly tells him that his legacy will amount to nothing—the one truth he cannot bear. For a man driven by the desire to be remembered, this is a deeper blow than any sentence.

Guiteau’s execution, paired with his eerie poem and empty audience, seals his fate as a historical footnote.

Ultimately, the finale positions Garfield not as a forgotten president, but as a figure whose potential and principles resonate well beyond his short time in office. The series aims to restore his place in the public’s memory, emphasizing what the nation lost through his untimely death.