I like the depiction of Victorian blackness, which ends up being a real thing that the hero dude has to consider. Like, being Irish and Catholic isn't the same, and he has to own it. Did you ever see, what was its name, the movie about the Victorian Cousins, one black, one white? Hang on imma google.
Yeah, "being a real thing that the hero dude has to consider" is specifically where I think this short could have been amazing as a novel.