In "The Secret Line," Edwin Stanton aims to obtain information from George Sanders, a businessman and Confederacy sympathizer, to catch John Wilkes Booth. However, Stanton lacks leverage on Sanders, as he can work the system to get around the law. The series makes it clear that they are trying to draw parallels between then and now, with some heavy-handed attempts to make connections. To gain leverage, Stanton orders a raid on wealthy robber barons who are betting against the US dollar and on southern gold and cotton instead. This is a pretext to pressure them to give up what they know about Sanders. The raid works, and Stanton gets information about Sanders, even if it's unrelated to his connection with Booth. The information is more political in nature regarding Andrew Johnson and his deal with Sanders. Stanton uses this information to set up a meeting with Sanders, pretending to make a deal for information on Booth or the network of Confederate agents he would go to for help. Sanders pulls a gun on Stanton, giving Stanton a reason to arrest him. It's uncertain whether Sanders will evade accountability for his activities again, but it's satisfying to see him led off in handcuffs.
Stanton's arrest reveals Wallace as a double agent and removes security risk. More importantly, Sanders's arrest allows Stanton to search his office and secure a map of the Confederate network Booth is using on the run. Booth doesn't know it, but the walls are closing in on him. "The Secret Line" is much more successful than Manhunt Season 1 Episode 3, "Let the Sheep Flee," because it finally has the tension and intrigue of the political thriller viewers were promised in the series' trailers. The series excels when it focuses on Stanton's search for Booth and explores larger themes through that storyline. "The Secret Line" effectively showcases the white supremacy of the North and the benefits of slavery through the conspiracy with Sanders. It is more effective than the confrontation between Black Union soldiers and white locals on "Let the Sheep Flee." Even scenes not related to Booth or Stanton's search work better than on "Let the Sheep Flee." The flashback scene with Mary Todd Lincoln asking her husband not to let their son join the army is the best flashback scene the series has given so far. This scene is more successful because it feels more like a political thriller than a dramatization of historical events. The conversation with Mary Todd Lincoln captures a truth about these people, their relationships, and what they went through, which might not have happened in the original story.
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