As he helps runaway slave Cora (Thuso Mbedu) into an underground freight train - Whitehead’s invention that makes the historical euphemism for the South to North escape network vibrantly literal - the conductor sees her incredulous expression and tips his hat. If you do blaze through the series, you might as well take the advice of one of its conductors. It’s hard not to imagine how “Underground Railroad” would fare if it were to unfold weekly, giving each installment a more lasting spotlight. Instead, Amazon is releasing all of them in one fell swoop, making it far too easy for someone to muscle through too much without reprieve, or else shy away from the show entirely should it get too challenging. The series is dense enough that each episode would, and should, stand on their own with enough space for viewers to digest it before moving on to the next. The entirety of “The Underground Railroad” - 10 episodes altogether, most running at least a full hour - will be available upon its May 14 premiere on Amazon Prime, but that is a mistake. In adapting Colson Whitehead’s novel to the television screen, Barry Jenkins has molded something harrowing, emotional and almost too big to take in all at once. Whispers fade into the background, sharing terrible secrets as urgent prayer. People alive, dead and somewhere in between stare into the camera with quiet, solemn clarity. Ghosts of horrors past, present and future linger at the story’s edges, flicker in and out with eerie ease.

Every single frame of “ The Underground Railroad” is haunted.

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